She’ll never tell you your belt buckle hurt. She just won’t accept your next cabeceo.
Close embrace means your partner feels everything between your chest and hips, plus whatever is on your right hand and wrist on her back. Here are five common culprits and easy fixes.
1. The big belt buckle
A large metal buckle sits right at the point of contact in many embraces. Choose a slim buckle, a belt with a flat clasp, side adjusters on your trousers or braces. Tangonaut‘s men’s outfit guide mentions elegant suspenders for the classic Argentine look.
2. The watch on your embracing hand
Your right hand rests on her back. A heavy watch or metal bracelet presses, scratches and catches on lace or open-weave fabric. Move it to the left wrist, swap to a light strap, or take it off and put it in your bag. TangoLife London’s dress code guide recommends avoiding anything that might catch on your partner’s clothing. The same goes for chunky rings.
3. The stuffed pockets
Phone, keys and wallet in your chest or front trouser pockets become hard lumps in the embrace. Leave them in your bag or jacket on your chair. As a bonus, a phone-free tanda is a better tanda.
4. The glasses
Close embrace often puts your face near hers. An old Dance Forums etiquette list suggests considering contact lenses, or removing glasses while dancing unless you can’t see where you’re going, and mentions getting whacked in the head by someone’s glasses as they turn. If you need glasses to navigate (and floorcraft matters), choose a light, slim frame.
5. The heavy scent
Strong aftershave isn’t something you wear on your skin. It’s something you put on every partner’s clothes. The same Dance Forums list says to hold off on aftershave and perfume, because some people are sensitive to them. BE-TANGO also flags overpowering perfume (BE-TANGO’s guide to what to wear to tango class). See perfume, deodorant and the embrace.
A quick pre-milonga check
Before you walk onto the floor, do this:
- Empty your pockets.
- Watch and rings off, or on the left hand.
- Flat belt or braces.
- Fresh shirt in the bag.
- Mints, not cologne.
Why it matters
Small comforts are big in tango. Dimitris Bronowski built Wonderful Tango Leaders on thousands of followers’ answers about what makes a leader their favourite choice, “even if you aren’t the best dancer in the milonga”. His piece on opening and closing the embrace with grace shows how much the embrace changes in a single dance, so make sure nothing on you gets in the way.
“Even if you aren’t the best dancer in the milonga.”
From Wonderful Tango Leaders by The Curious Tanguero, on what makes followers choose a leader
More for leaders: the leader’s shirt, trousers that let you walk and our complete guide to tango shoes and clothes for men.
Find a store: see our guides to men’s tango shoe stores, tango stores by country & city.
Upgrade your milonga kit
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