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!

“Chris, … Your comments against teachers are only the result of short sighted snap remarks…”

May I ask what makes you think it at all relevent that this performer is also a tango teacher? No-one even mention tango teachers here until you did.

Simba, unfortunately a lot of younger and famous dancers can’t dance socially. Just go to “hip” places in buenos aires and you’ll witness that everyone is dancing for show and intimidating people on the dance floor. Fortunately in buenos aires you still can find milongas where social dancing skills are required. And yes, the old dudes will push you out of the ronda if you’re screwing everybody up. Tough luck