Heels – How low can you go?
The tango hub website uses some sort of geekno techery witchcraft which allows us to see what people are searching for when they stumble across our little haven of tangoy goodness and we have found that second only, in the more abstract search results category, to searches about Lady Gaga and Catsuits (no really! I have no idea why), are searches about starting to dance in flat shoes or low heels. This is a subject that gets talked about a lot and was written about recently by the lovely Lynn Collins in this post. We asked some of our prettiest readers what their thoughts were on the subject…
So… What would your advice be to a someone that is after their first pair of tango heels? How high or low should you go?
Terpsichoral Tangoaddict
The writer of the Tangoaddiction blog.
Personally, I don’t like following in flat shoes. I think the tango is designed to be easier to dance in heels and if you don’t you usually find yourself going up onto demi-pointe, which is more tiring than wearing heels would be. I learnt a technique where I distribute my weight evenly between the ball of my foot and the heel (my body weight is over the arch of the foot, not towards the front), so maybe I feel the need for high heels even more than most. However, it’s not necessary to wear the highest heels you can find, especially if you are a beginner follower. You should wear whatever heels are most comfortable and you feel most stable dancing in. But I do think it looks and feels nicer to wear some kind of a heel. And, call me crazy, but this includes male followers, for me.
Richard Slade
Organiser of the Menuda Milonga.
Let me start off by saying that I’m not really sure what sorcery followers employ to be able to walk in various directions, especially backwards in heels. I find it tricky enough to walk forwards in the soft, glove like men’s dance shoes I wear, so hat off to all followers.
From talking to my own partner (or at least listening), I think the most important thing is for a follower to firstly feel comfortable and supported in the shoes they choose. Then of course there’s the ‘feel like a queen’ factor. Attitude helps, so high heels may be a bonus.
As a leader though, I never base my choices of who to invite for a dance based on the shoes that they wear. Be it flats or heels. That doesn’t mean that we don’t notice, and occasionally comment on a foot flattering pair of strappy 6″ spikes. As for leading a follower that is wearing flats, it doesn’t have to be a problem, though it does change the feel of the dance into one where the follower can sometimes feel slightly springier in each step rather than smooth. If I had to choose, I certainly would say I’d prefer a follower in heels.
Look out for Richard’s guest editorial on the subject of mens shoes, coming soon.
Maria solero
A Tango performer & teacher based in London www.mariasolerotango.blogspot.com
I would say that Tango is a personal experience, and for that reason everybody should consider what they, themselves, find most comfortable. In the best cases the body’s awareness becomes stimulated when we start a dance or any physical activity. So the first thing I would say is to pay attention to the new sensations, pains, comforts or discomforts you may experience at the beginning and please don’t let the bad elements become part of your dance. I recommend to my students that they start with low heels, but the heel is not the only important thing to consider at the time of selecting your shoes. They also have to be confortable, just your size (not bigger not smaller) and not platform ones, you should be very close to the floor and from your other foot. Something very important is the sole, it has to be some kind of leather or untreated leather. Avoid rubber ones as you can damage your joints. For those who don’t feel comfortable with heels for any reason, I would recommend dance trainers, they come with special rubber that allows you to scroll, they are very comfortable and not that expensive, but never flat shoes. Even for walk they are not good. We need an arch for protection, to hold our feet in good “posture” and in tango we also require a bit of heel to allow the weight to change easily to the toes.
Then if you have “pes cavus”, which means that your arch is very deep, you will probably feel better with high heels.
You can start with any size of heel or even thick socks as long your choice doesn’t become a barrier for a good technique and enjoyment.
Ken Brown
A thoroughly nice chap and one of our most active friends from the other side of the pond.
I love dancing with women in heels, or flats. Here is what I have noticed. When I first look at a woman to dance with. First I look at the embrace then the shoes. I look to see if she walks on the inside of her feet and keeps her heels about 1/32 of an inch off the floor. This tells me she has the strongest part of her foot on the floor and is able to support herself. When I see a woman who starts off the evening in heels, and changes into flats later, you will notice that the heel is raised higher in the air than it was when they were wearing heels. This tells me she is trying to compensate for the height difference of the heels and may or may-not have good balance. If person dances with the weight forward and keeps their heels off the floor 1/32 of an inch it does not matter wither she dances in flats or heels. The weight is on the ball of the foot supporting the person. Now from a fashion point Heels do look nicer and makes a dancers legs look slimmer and longer, and they make her feet look pretty also. I believe it’s all about balance on the person. I am average height and I dance with people taller than me and shorter than me. It does not matter I adjust my embrace to fit the person I am dancing with. When I dance with my tall friends 6ft+ they dance in heels and become anywhere from 6ft+ to 6ft 5in or so. They carry their balance well and we have lots of fun.
Irving Washington
Some timid soul who would rather not be named.
I know that this is wrong but I have to admit that when I start my cabeceo I initially direct my eyes towards the feet. If the follower in question is someone I know and she is sans heels I will assume that she has had enough and will never take my cabeceo any further. If I have never danced with a follower before I will look at heel height, shoe style and the skinniness of the heel, as these are usually pretty good indicators of the ability of the follower. Its shallow I know but I don’t think i am the only one that thinks this way. I guess my advice would be that if you want to maximise your time on the dance floor and you re a beginner, get a pair of nice tango shoes, I’m sure you will get more dancers from Leaders that wouldn’t usually consider asking you (even if you are effectively tricking them into asking you).
Lynn Collins
The lady that wrote our last post on this very subject TANGOKOMBINAT
TH asked me to write something designed to do two things: firstly to offer some advice to post beginners seeking their first pair of tango shoes and secondly to talk about the acceptability or otherwise of women dancing in flats. Both of these topics are juicy and interesting so let’s dive into first shoes first.
You’re hooked, you’re practising ochos in the kitchen and the supermarket aisle, you attend every práctica, every milonga, you dance to everything with everyone, your confidence is growing, you feel you’re getting it, but what you don’t have is The Shoes. The way I see it there are two possible choices: bonkers and practical. Bonkers is 9cm heel Comme il Fauts in purple with white polka dots. Practical is any shoe that is comfortable. And here’s the truth – the more comfortable the shoes, the more they will look like they were designed by an orthopaedic surgeon on a wet Wednesday. The heels will be low and stumpy, the toes will be closed and the colour and style will make you lose the will to live. High heels might be tolerable, but they are not comfortable. There are hundreds of women out there who, when asked, will swear that their beautiful, stylish shoes are exceptionally comfortable. Uh-huh? Translated this means “They don’t hurt quite as much as others I’ve worn.” Or “I don’t feel a thing once the endorphins kick in.” Dancing in high heels hurts sooner or later, and the higher the heel, the hurter the pain. But there are benefits to heels which we’ll come to, and it is possible to make reasonable compromises along the comfortable-bonkers spectrum. Meanwhile, let’s rewind to look at practical considerations. carry on reading Lynn’s post here…
