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Post date: Mar 23, 2014 2:05:03 AM
My recent post Sex to Sell Tango? which attracted more interest than most of my posts (for some reason...) and some interesting comments came out of it.
The suggestion of using nude or scantily clad women to attract more men into tango was a facetious one and not one that I would consider seriously. It may work for samba, but tango is a different beast.
More public tango displays, e.g., flashmobs, out-door milongas, was suggested. From my experience, these type of display have certainly attracted more people into tango, both men and women. For this reason I fully support such initiatives as the Sydney Tango Flashmobs.
It is important that these type of tango displays show tango as a dance that is accessible to all, and different from ballroom tango, which is what many people mistakenly associate with Argentine tango. The message to be drawn from such displays are that "You too can dance this dance!" and that tango is a fun, playful, and sensual dance."
Someone has suggested that we should charge men less than women to get more men into tango because they have to take more lessons than women (as their role requires not only learning their own moves but that of their partner) What do you think of that idea?
This strategy is one that I am hesitant to employ as I feel that women would see it as unfair. I am however curious to know what others think. The use of of material incentives is not new in the entertainment industry. Some nightclubs, for example, offer free entry or drinks to women who arrive early to attract more men to their premises.
From that last thought comes a "Eureka" moment as I am reminded of a recent comment from my tango cyber muse Terpsichoral: "Good young female dancers are *precisely* what we need if we want to attract more men to tango."
So the key, perhaps, is to attract more young women into tango. I think that may be part of the answer. The story of a young male dancer I know comes to mind. He is an excellent tango dancer but was ready to quit tango because there were not enough young women in his age group dancing tango in his city. He was being increasingly attracted to the salsa dance scene which had no such lack. Fortunately and fatefully, due to a sudden influx of some beautiful young women into the local tango community, he stayed.
People not only dance because they love the dance and the music, they also dance to socialise. If men enjoy the social aspect of the dance they are more likely to stay. The same applies to both sexes of course.
Above right photo: Sexy tango photo used here facetiously. Sourced from 'Best Cities for Bachelors to Visit'
Lower left photo: From 'Why Men Dance Tango'
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