Regarding the taxi issue, after the crisis in 2001/2002 taxis used to be very affordable to foreigners. It obviously depends on your budget, but even if you find it unaffordable, it would still be practical, no?

I don’t think I wrote that I knew how women felt or that they did not feel pain wearing high heels, I certainly did not intend to. As you say yourself that is not possible, and does not really depend on me being male or female. I could wear high heels all day every day and still not know how you feel (For example, I could be fine and you not, or vice versa).

To be clear, there is certainly more stress on the foot when wearing high heels. What I am wondering is if the risk of injury might be overstated due to sampling bias among other things, and that proper shoes, exercise and technique may mitigate a lot if not all of that risk.

To use your example: Of course I don’t know your period pains, but I might still give advice on how to use pain killers in combination to relieve some of that pain. That could be good advice or not, but that does not depend on me having period pain or not. If, based on knowledge of pharmaceuticals, you find that it is bad advice, that should be the reason not to follow it, not my Y chromosome.

And, at the risk of swamping your thread, I have a little more to say. When I am actually dancing in the follower’s role, I definitely feel more comfortable in heels than in flat shoes. But when you are teaching a class, you don’t spend all that much time actually dancing. A lot of the time is spent standing watching your students, or walking around to see different couples. To a lesser extent, this is true when you are taking a class, too. And during that standing around and walking time, it’s definitely more comfortable to be in flat shoes than heels. Even if you are a dancer, you cannot escape from the basic laws of physics.

I also did a quick survey of the women out on the streets today. I did see some heels, especially on the older women, and more than in Europe, I grant you. But the vast majority of the women were in flip flops or some kind of flat or low-heeled sandal. This may be a matter of changing fashions, of course. But I’ve also seen plenty of professional dancers arrive at class or the milonga in flat shoes and change there. And I find it interesting that Gabriela Gonzalez chooses to wear special Comme Il Fauts with wedges instead of the usual high heel.

I’d like to add a few points to this discussion. I dance for hours every day here in Buenos Aires, where I live — at milongas, classes and practice sessions. These are my thoughts — they are not meant to be prescriptive, just a description of how I experience the heels issue.

I find, personally, that my feet feel much more relaxed in open-toed sandals. I also haven’t seen anyone dancing in closed-toe heels for a long, long time (and I do enjoy looking at other women’s pretty shoes).

In general, I much prefer to wear high heels to follow. I also like to put on my very highest heels (10cm and very skinny) quite frequently to do solo technique exercises, as they offer an additional challenge when it comes to balance (I also know a couple of male professional dancers who wear high heels for technique practice sometimes for the same reason: after being able to balance in the heels, they feel *extra* stable and grounded when doing the same moves in flat shoes).

At the milonga, I frequently wear skinny 8.5cm heels (I prefer shoes from the brands Alanis and Greta Flora, which fit my particular feet best). But, when practising with a partner, I prefer to put on 5 or 6cm heels. And I often wear those lower heels to the milonga too. I am a dancer and I need to spare my feet.

I frequently do leading practice, swapping the lead back and forth with a female practice partner. As I definitely do not like to lead in heels and I don’t want to have to change my shoes back and forth all the time, I find myself following in my flat shoes (I like the soft leading shoes made for women which DNI are unfortunately no longer making — not their new rubber model — or Bloch split-sole trainers). Following in flat shoes in these situations definitely has some advantages, both in terms of sparing my feet and in terms of strengthening my feet, since I often have to rise onto the ball of the foot to follow when in the flat shoes.

I am lucky in that I haven’t had problems with my feet. I do stretching exercises daily. And I also think my personal technique as a follower is rather foot friendly. It involves keeping my weight equally distributed over the ball and heel of my foot, with my centre of gravity over the arch of the foot (rather than having all my weight on the ball of the foot) and keeping my heels low to the ground or on the ground whenever possible (including during pivots, where the heels may not have as much weight, but are on the floor). Your technique as a follower may be different. Some teachers and dancers I admire teach a technique with weight over the ball of the foot, which can also work well for tango. I’m just describing what I personally dance and teach.

I have to also agree with Melina. The most important thing is not how you look, but the health of your feet. If I am lucky enough to live to be 100 I still want to be dancing tango. And there can be no doubt in my mind that heels do put pressure on the foot, even if you are a very experienced dancer and heel-wearer with excellent tango technique.

One minor point: you suggest arriving at the milonga by taxi. I find this a rather impractical solution, at least here in Buenos Aires where taxis are extremely expensive. I prefer to go to milongas (and return home afterwards) on foot, by bicycle or by bus, unless I can share a taxi with friends. And I know few people who have the finances to adopt your suggestion. But I don’t wear my tango heels to walk to the milonga. I wear the healthiest, most comfortable street sandals (or trainers in winter) I can find when I am not dancing tango. My feet need a break from the heels! I carry my heels in a pretty shoe bag and change into them when I get there. In any case, many women’s tango shoes have ‘cromo’ on the soles and are not designed for wearing outside.

Finally, I would agree that it is better to get shoes that are slightly more fitted in terms of length than ones that are too long. But the shoe should definitely feel soft, flexible and comfortable right from the moment you try it on in the shop. And you may have to try a few different brands to find one that suits your individual foot shape, arch height, etc.

Finally, I’d like to say something about your suggestion that Melina is employing ad hominem (ad feminam?) arguments. I do not believe in identity politics. I think it’s fine for men, including gay men, to have opinions on ‘women’s’ issues (such as abortion, for example). But I would advise caution here. Let me give you an example. I have very severe, debilitating period cramps. You can, of course, empathise. But as a man you cannot actually know how it feels (in fact, no one can know except for me and perhaps some other women who suffer similarly). So I would get a little angry if you were to tell me that my period pains are actually not that bad. Or that my period is not painful. You cannot feel it yourself. And the same goes for the heels. If women tell you that being in high heels for long stretches of time hurts their feet and you yourself have never spent long stretches of time in heels, I think it is inappropriate for you to counter their argument that it hurts with the answer “no, it doesn’t”. So, I agree with Melina: if you really want to know whether it hurts for some women or not, try it (high heels, not menstruation).

Happy dancing!

My understanding is that our main disagreement is in terms of whether wearing high heels necessarily leads to injury and whether technique and the other factors I listed can reduce the risk of injury. You did not provide further arguments to support your case, yet you keep arguing as if it were an indisputable fact.

What really ticked me off, though, was the following attempt to discredit me: “I suggest, that you start wearing them in classes and Milongas for – let’s say a year. And then let’s talk about it again.” before you unilaterally decided to withdraw from the discussion. That’s not fair play, and I will not participate in that kind of discussion. Smiley or not.

It would actually be helpful if you clarified your position, it is not clear to me why it is ok for you to save your feet, but I have to ‘consider the implications’ for agreeing with that strategy and suggesting it may be a good idea to take a taxi to the milonga instead of walking on high heels. That was where the illusion came into this, nobody needs to see how long you walked or not, contributing to the illusion of effortlessness that may or not matter to you. I don’t think it is very important in this discussion anyway.

I never claimed there is no risk involved in wearing high heels, but I suspect that the dangers are generally overstated.

As I wrote in my second reply to you, I though we were mostly in agreement, yet we keep on arguing. If your objections to wearing high heels are on other grounds, being up front about it would ease the discussion and quite possibly make it much more interesting. Maybe it could also explain your repeated references to your being or not being a feminist. Hard core or not.

I actually did not notice, that the discussion was so old. I am sorry, because then, I would not have commented on it…

As for stopping the public discussion: I indeed think I made my final arguments in this last post. Further discussion would contribute little that could be interesting to the public. From there on, it is just political and philosophical differences, that go much farther than Tango and thus might not be interesting for the rest of the community.
This is why I suggested, we might discuss in private.

I’d also like to say: I do not threaten. I think, that all my posts kept a respectful and friendly tone. If you’ve got another impression, I’m sorry. I will not comment again.

Nice.

I do not wear high heels in classes, because I don’t teach how to wear high heels. I teach how to dance Tango. For us, the basic technique is the same, whether you are male or female and not matter which kind of shoes you wear. But this is not a discussion, I want to get into now. Ask our students, if it works out or not.

And: For me, Tango is not an illusion. It’s connection. When I dance with a man, he will not be able to see my shoes, but to feel my embrace. This is what matters for me.

Another thing: Yes, it helps, not to move too much at a Milonga. Definetely, because I practise this. I avoid climbing stairs, I let Detlef get the drinks. I don’t stand up to walk to another table… But is this really a solution? Do you what to tell women that everything’s fine, if they just sit still and wait for the next dance? Please do think about the implications.

I am not a hardcore feminist – but it is discussions like these, that might turn me into one.

As for the pro’s and contra’s of high heels: I suggest, that you start wearing them in classes and Milongas for – let’s say a year. And then let’s talk about it again.

So, that’s definetely my last post on that topic. So if you wanna discuss it with me some more, write me directly.

Best,

M.

Tango is (still) mostly a social dance, and I believe it is better to teach women how to wear their heels than telling them to avoid them altogether. One ‘secret trick’ is to avoid walking or standing so much/long when wearing them. Arriving dressed in heels directly from a taxi is one image that comes to mind. Keeping the illusion up, while staying elegant and sexy (or whatever you want to call it). Isn’t it more difficult to teach your students proper high heels technique without wearing them yourself?