Martin N. touched on this topic in his post and I'd like to re-post my question from a few months back. This is directed to all and any who host/organize milongas in the US:
Why do you feel it necessary to keep the room so dark? I never received any responses to that question so I'm posting it again. I almost solely ask for dances via cabeceo; about 95% of the time. The remaining 5% I may ask someone I know well, that I am sitting next to, if they want to dance or kind of nudge them, as even uttering the words sometimes seems too hard a task for me. Maybe 5% of the time out of that above 5% I will be asked by the woman. I was asked just at the last milonga I went to, but I declined because a live band was playing, and I don't dance to live music (unless I have a partner lined up that _Wants_ to dance to live music and I don't want to miss out on _that_ person). I've gone as far as deciding not to attend any more milongas or festivals that have in the past been kept too dark for cabeceo. One of these is the Baltimore tango fest. I won't return until assured that the lighting has been taken care of. The "barn" was so dark last year that you could have fornicated in the corner without much notice or attention. I wasn't even able to make a cabeceo work from 10-feet away, so I left after one or two tandas of dancing and lots of sitting. Has no one else noticed how different peoples behavior and energy levels are at daytime or well-lit milongas, be they traditional or alternative music'ed, rather than dark cave-like environments? People are a lot more lethargic when the room is too dark. For myself I've found a good measuring stick the digital camera. If I can take a photo where you can tell who's being photographed without the flash, the room is properly lit. If you have to use a flash the room is too dark. Ta. _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l