Hi, Martin, Cabeceo is really the only way. It can be delicious and irresistable. the sales pitch must fit the context. The context here is tango - intense and intuitive. In addition to that, tango dancers usually happen to be hypersensitive people. No verbal sales pitch can be as intuitive as a cabeceo.\
I believe that a verbal invitation is inappropriate to tango, unless the person who is asking or who is being asked has a vision inpairment. In that case - "may I dance this tanda with you?" is an almost full-proof invitation that will result in a yes (please note that I suggested "may I dance with you?", instead of "woul you like to dance?") Again, if there is a vision impairement, there are other creative things to say to a woman: - My life will be ruine if you do not dance this tanda with me. - I may never dance tango again if we do not dance this tanda. - I had a dream of dancing this exact tanda and the person was you! - If we dance this now, it could be amazing and unforgettable. Etc., etc. Cabeeo is the only way, but if a person cannot see well, the words must be sensitive and poetic when addressing women. It is an ancient wisdom that men love with their eyes and women with their ears. Warm regards, Nina Quoting "Nussbaum, Martin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Nina wrote: > "If someone had offered me to "do a few milongas", I am not sure I would > have answered it any differently than this woman. :)Language holds > power. Never underestimate the power of seduction (salesmanship, > persuasion). This is an example of a failed sales attempt. The man had > 2 seconds for a sales pitch and he failed to sell himself and the > experience he was offering to the woman, and she did not want to be a > woman with him." > > Okay, Nina, let's digress into a new topic momentarily. My preferred > invite method is always the cabaceo, a custom I love, despite the fact > that many followers in my neck of the woods (NYC ) are unfamiliar with > it, so instead of meeting the eyes of leaders would rather stare at the > floor glumly wondering why they arent dancing. Add in the fact that > milonga hosts in the US strangely insist on keeping the lighting so dark > that you cant see a cabaceo from 10 feet away, let alone across the > room, as you could in the brightly-lit BA milongas. (I always > wondered why they don't want us to see how everyone in the room is > dancing). So, leaders often fall back on a poor alternative to the > cabaceo, the direct verbal invite. Please educate me, Nina, what are > some examples of quality 2 second sales pitches you, or others on this > forum, have heard and accepted? I have experimented with the gallant, > "May I have the honor of this tanda?" To the mundane, "would you like to > dance?", to the direct, "let's dance this one", to the humorous "good > god, woman, its Disarli, how can you possibly sit this one out?" I > would like to expand this repertoire, so if you have cant-miss ideas, > please share. > -Martin Nussbaum > ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.earthnet.net Boulder's Premier Datacenter _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l