Follower's Guide to Festivals/Milongas
I wish someone had told me how to decide who to dance with when you don't know anyone . . .

Tips and Tricks
Humorous Solutions


Tips and Tricks:

Sometimes I'll be at a festival watching the milonga floor and I'll see someone dancing, but I can't tell if the leader is good or not. I like to wait for a milonga to come up so that I can watch him dance it. This is a great cue for me. If he looks relaxed and on the music, and his follower seems relaxed, I feel pretty good about accepting a tango with him


To take care of myself, I've worked out a system. I say "yes" to all new invitations to dance until I have a bad set. Then, I make sure that my next set is a comfortable one with a friend or someone I know is a nice dancer. Otherwise I end up dancing 3 or 4 sets in a row that are painful and then I get in a funk and I don't want to dance anymore.


My friend Nanette accepts all dances with a new partner unless a milonga or a vals set comes up first. If that happens, she asks if they can wait for a tango set for their first dance. Milonga with a new partner can be really hard!
On the other hand, my friend Yifang likes to dance vals with new partners because she is very strong in vals, and feels more able to help a struggling leader in that dance.
Go for what makes you most comfortable!

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Humorous Solutions:

Sitting at the Grand Ball, chatting with old and new friends, I notice a pattern. There's no one to dance with, the followers all complain.

What about him? I ask. Sure, he's 80, but he's probably the kindest man in the room - gentle embrace, smells like old spice, and gives wonderful compliments to every follower. Too old, they say.

Well, how about that guy, he's great! I point. Really? He's so boring, they say. He's just walking. Yes, I respond, that's the thing, he takes you in his arms and you can relax completely. So subtle! They're skeptical.

Ok, I say, that man there, he's one of my favorites. So musical, and never runs into anyone, no matter how crowded the floor. Too short, too tall, too old, too young, too fat, too skinny, they say.

So, who do you want to dance with? I ask. Oh, him, that teacher over there . . . I've been waiting all night but he won't even look at me. Do you think I'm too short, too tall, too old, too young, too fat, too skinny?


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