Heard a comment from a pretty frustrated follower one day that she is fed up with some younger leaders showing off the whole time. She rather goes for good and experienced leader that creates a wonderful connection in the first place, despite they might be less "fit" and slow in general. Older folks have to impress less and are experienced which does count for some partners. There is a lid for every pod. Cheers from Munich.
As a 28-year veteran of tango, a teacher and an organizer in LA…this interview left me feeling sad and hopeless. Not to say Robin is not right, but, I believe, there is more we can do as people, as teachers and as organizers instead of just resigning to this sad reality.
I agree. It left me sad and hopeless too. I'm just a hair away from giving it all up. And I agree, as a teacher and organizer, there IS more you can do. Start by requiring everyone in your class rotate. They benefit from learning to dance with others, those who never get asked get a chance to demonstrate their skills. At milongas, there are ways you can reward those who rotate. For one, give bands to followers. They give away a band to the leader who invites them to a tanda. The leaders with the most bands at the end of the night wins a prize. It will have to be good. Give away a free private, for example. Perhaps the leader with the most bands at the end of a season gets a free pass to a convention. You can also do 1-dance tandas or snowballs. Above all, talk about community and inclusion. Let them know about what goes on and what others are feeling. Not everyone will care, so maybe let the leaders know what we see. Above all, let them know what they're missing! Are they there for erotic fantasies or do they want to dance? They may be missing out on the best dances with an older person. One WCS teacher here actually has everyone sit in a circle and talk. She'll divide us up into groups to have us work on something together, all with the idea of building community and making friends. I never see that in the Tango community. I know a lot of people in the WCS community who gave up tango because they couldn't tolerate the "snobbiness". The WCS community they are used to is anything but. Sadly, the Tango community is missing out on that. Dancing and enjoying a tanda with a friend you love can be every bit as fun.
When there's a mixed age community, the real age demographic distortion happens when older leaders prefer younger followers (of course, the younger leaders as well). Since there are usually more followers than leaders, this leads to a decline in opportunities for older followers to practice, as well as the 'rapid learning' of young followers who get a lot more floor time. I find BA to be more gender balanced (when it's not high season), and the young leaders are so focussed on improving that they will dance with older followers just to be out on the floor. I also think they're more accustomed to touch as a society, so they're more comfortable embracing someone they're not physically attracted to.
Very true statement. I see this as a contributing factor to older followers get left out as well. An older leader told me the other night that he knows there's a problem and tries to get around to as many followers as he can. What he and others need to learn is that they all keep asking the same followers who have no problem getting asked at all. I know a lot of them have good hearts. Maybe if they knew that an older follower only gets 2 or 3 tandas a night and the younger ones get on average 10, that might motivate them to branch out.
Wise and sensible comments: thanks! I particularly liked the observation that while women are "used to" ageism and deal with it, men are not. IMHO, best to skip the four earlier stages (Denial, Anger, Negotiation, Depression) and go straight to Acceptance.
A very insightful interview. I started learning and dancing Tango as a mature, tall, clumsy, not thin woman in my late 40's. After taking some extremely frustrating beginner classes and workshops, I was told to try one of Robin Thomas' beginner classes. To this day I am so thankful that I decided to take "one last Tango class" before I tossed my dance shoes in the garbage. To this day I am so glad I took that class. Because of Robin's teaching style I continued to study and dance. In those days our classes were intergenerational and he ran a popular after class practica where we of all ages danced together. It was wonderful! Through the years I have made so many friends of all ages because of Tango. In this atmosphere, I was allowed to develop into a decent intermediate dancer. My time spent studying with Robin are some of my most pleasant Tango memories. With that said, I enjoyed the insightfulness discussed in this interview. Ageism is a fact of life and even more so in a youth centered culture. There is a time and place for everything. I used to dance 7 days and nights a week, now it is just not possible because of knees and years of 5 inch heels!😊 Although I may not dance as fast or gracefully as I once did does not make me a bad dancer. Both the follower and the leader are together for a tanda, and I still believe that moment in time should be a lovely conversation on both sides. As one of my dear Tango leader always says, "if I look in her eyes after our tanda, and she is smiling, then I have done my job!" There were so many nervous beginner leaders I have danced with regularly over the years who are now quite popular. So although ageism is a reality in the world and our NYC Tango community, I have found courtesy, kindness, and a little more thoughtfulness always go a long way. After all, everyone of us was a beginner once upon a time; and everyone of us will age and not be physically what we once were in our full bloom. Always love you Robin, but I am now too old for your Milongas!❤
Older dancers of any sex would do well to pay attention to comfort, and to recognize that being comfortable may require other fitness besides tango and the gym. Also worth keeping in mind, people choose dances for powerful social reasons not just dance skill reasons. The not-at-all-sad part of this is that if you are serious about improving your dance, and you are emotionally intelligent, and you want to find the like-minded people who want to dance with you, tango is a fantastic activity for older people.
I'm an older female Tango dancer. Before Tango, I competed in ballroom for 10 years and trained like I was going to the Olympics. Maybe not as extreme now, but I still train like that for Tango. I do core and balance exercises every day and a strenuous hike each week to keep my endurance and strength up, besides attending classes. Yet, with a lifetime of playing music, boatloads of musicality, years of dance background, very fit and trim,. and definitely better than the novice young women who never sit out a Tanda, I sit and sit and sit. Heads purposely don't turn my way. Eyes move away. When you say we should accept the reality of age and accompanying physical changes, given my physical shape, that seems to me to be more of an excuse. I also find it to be a harmful stereotype to be pushing here when it's not always true. In fact, I know a lot of young people who are in worse shape than the older crowd I hang out with. The problem we older followers have is we come on the scene older. Young followers instantly have men, like vultures, circling around them, even those who are horrible. I saw one really good leader who won't even look my way, dance with a newbie. She was bouncing all over the place. I don't think she ever took a Tango class. He gave a look of pain to a leader sitting next to me, but then proceeded to ask her for another tanda. Older followers who are new don't get that chance. No one dares ask us to dance, so we never get to prove ourselves. It's a slow process picking off one leader at a time at classes that rotate, but this is what I'm trying to do. To make it worse, though, at the class I attend, 90% refuse to rotate. "Give it time," I'm told. "It takes years." Some of us don't have that many years, and we are never given the chance. At the same time, I do not believe any man is responsible for me enjoying the dance. I can't change you. I have to accept the reality that age preference and discrimination is real, especially in Tango. If I may, I'l like to suggest you interview older women on this topic. I appreciate hearing from men why they don't include older women, but women will tell you a very different story. I don't know that it would help though given the reality.
I read this with interest. Two short tips (unsolicited advice, sorry): try investing in a few private lessons with the right kind of tango teacher to see whether there any flaws in your following technique, posture etc (I can say this without any hypocrisy at all, since I myself take those lessons regularly, and I work on my flaws, everyone has them, but very few actually take those privates), and the other tip, see whether you can learn to lead (only if you want to, of course), help build a community of women who lead women, and then, slowly get to enjoy dancing with women who will not judge you sexually. I'm not talking out of my rear part here since these are views that have been confirmed to WORK by people I interviewed on this channel. And that's also the other thing I wanted to tell you: there are now 2 videos on ageism by women available on my channel, out of these 2 I particularly recommend Melina Sedó because she gives a very full, balanced picture of both the very real issues suffered by women like you, and also what you can actually do about it.
@@DonAgucho Interesting. I forgot I left this comment. A lot has changed since then - I started getting the attention of some good dancers and I'm actually enjoying Milongas now. How things have changed in just 2 months. More than that, I'm enjoying the dance more! Same thing happened when I was into ballroom. The better you get, the more fun it is. I would encourage everyone not to give up. The key really is in getting better. Older women may need to be a LOT better than the younger ones, but what's wrong with that? Like I said, the better you get, the more fun it is! It does require private lessons though. So to your point @donAgucho, I believe we are in agreement. Absolutely!
Thank you for sharing Robin! I agree with everything you expressed... and not surprised. We just need to be more mindful during our own experience of dancing. Blessings to all dancers
@@DonAgucho names?? no, of course. ;-) Just my anecdotal observation throughout the years, of musicians who never seem to make much progress, and others that... do.
This is all about the energy which people bring, style, health, hygiene, and skills so the chances are there for everyone. However, each dance has a sexual component in which biology works. Therefore, the age of women matters to some leaders and this should be also understood.
I appreciate this topic but I think the title and some of the thinking here is mistaken. If this agism is "natural" why does it vary in time and space? It may be "natural" that young people learn faster. It may be they have greater flexibility and faster response times etc... but that is not a cause of ageism. It may also that young people in our current society desire to associate with other young people. That is true but I don't think that is "natural." I can think of many societies that are much more intergenerational than the United States. I think the answer is that ageism not natural in the same way sexism, racism, adultism, or any prejudice or system of oppression is not natural. I don't think it is something we just have to "accept" if in fact we want to have a more intergenerational community or less of a generationally divided community. This doesn't mean young people dancing among themselves is bad or wrong. But how do we create environments where young people would want to dance with older dancers? This discussion never get's here because ageism is considered "natural." If it is agism in tango is "natural" then there is zero responsibility or agency in changing it. I don't think that is what you want to say.
As a victim of ageism, I couldn't agree more. Young people will see as age creeps up on them, that you never feel old until you have no choice. Until then, we are full of energy and spunk and have a lot to bring to the dance.
So I am a 24 years old leader. I have been dancing since almost 10 years. In my scene there are very few young dancers. I want to dance with good dancers. My experience is, that a 20 something follower that has danced just 3 or 4 years actively is often much better than all the old women even those who danced 20+ years. I have one partner over 50 who I dance with, because she is very good. But I have rarely a good tanda with older dancers, the movement is rarely smooth and in sync, they dont have the reaction speed. Ive never danced with a woman over 50 who could dance double speed steps in a milonga or the dotted rhythms, even in slower tempos it feels sluggish, its just too slow. Also the older dancers are much more likely to have horrible tension in their embrace which translates too me. And at some point it is not only not enjoyable, but becomes painful. The chance for a good tanda at the age over 60 is basically 0, unless they are a dance teacher or something. Over 40 its slim. When they are around 20 the chances are kinda good and if they are a beginner I can already make a connection and if they stick around I can potentially have a new dance partner in 1 or 2 years. And besides young dancers being the better dancers I am so glad to have a couple of people under 35 I can talk with. I cannot really connect with the older people in the same way, so it kinda feels lonely, being at a milonga. With young people it becomes a social event. Edit: its also not about them being beautiful or something. There are some young, beautiful dancers who I love to dance with in the beginning, but if they are not improving I dont want to dance with them again. A Tanda is pretty long and the only reason to stumble through it with someone who is just beginning is to build a relationship that can lead to better and better dances quickly, but if they are not open for feedback and not improving there is absolutely no reason to dance with them again. Id much rather dance with people who I know I can enjoy the tanda with then.
I don't necessarily agree with all your opinions stated here (I am ''young'' but I prefer to dance with older women, and I know plenty that are great dancers), but this comment is a good reflection of what Robin said (among other things) about what a lot of young people in tango generally desire, and also of young people learning faster & generally having more ''fit'' bodies. On Facebook, there was quite some of backlash against those points he made, mostly by women in the ''older'' category, but I can certainly see where he's coming from.
@greg, there are plenty of older follows who could dance circles around you. Why,? Because they have had years of experience in connection, embrace, movement, and musicality., Try dancing with them. You may be surprised by how much you can learn from their wisdom, their hearts, and their souls.
Let's remember that everyone gets older please. Even the youngsters that are so "hot" right now. Tango is a dance for all people. With my 23 years of Tango social dancing experience I can tell you that age does not mean bad dancers. It becomes harder because a lot of leaders go after the young ones, but I have come to realize I want to dance with a real dancer, a dancer that is after connection. I dance with people of all ages, if it is nice I will want to dance some next time again, if it is not nice, I don't care how young or cute you are, I will pass. I have had wonderful tandas with young dancers and wonderful ones with older dancers too. I go to a milonga to dance period. If a dancer only goes after young ones we older followers will know and pass the word, attitude does matter, even if you think we don't see. It's not that hard to be a nice human being and remember, you will turn older one day too. Great to hear Robin speak on this and for the record, a wonderful DJ any day/year/era!!!
How many older women have you danced with? Not all are as unfit as you might think. I rode my bike around Lake Tahoe at the age of 60 in under 6 hours counting breaks. That's a 72 mile ride and a 4000' elevation gain. Can you do that? ;)
![Informal Tango Interviews #61, Yelizaveta Nersesova [Content creation in tango; leading as a woman]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0iUOm6n7lGA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Informal Tango Interviews #61, Yelizaveta Nersesova [Content creation in tango; leading as a woman]](/img/tr.png)
Heard a comment from a pretty frustrated follower one day that she is fed up with some younger leaders showing off the whole time. She rather goes for good and experienced leader that creates a wonderful connection in the first place, despite they might be less "fit" and slow in general. Older folks have to impress less and are experienced which does count for some partners. There is a lid for every pod. Cheers from Munich.
Love your analogy!
As a 28-year veteran of tango, a teacher and an organizer in LA…this interview left me feeling sad and hopeless. Not to say Robin is not right, but, I believe, there is more we can do as people, as teachers and as organizers instead of just resigning to this sad reality.
I agree. It left me sad and hopeless too. I'm just a hair away from giving it all up. And I agree, as a teacher and organizer, there IS more you can do.
Start by requiring everyone in your class rotate. They benefit from learning to dance with others, those who never get asked get a chance to demonstrate their skills.
At milongas, there are ways you can reward those who rotate. For one, give bands to followers. They give away a band to the leader who invites them to a tanda. The leaders with the most bands at the end of the night wins a prize. It will have to be good. Give away a free private, for example. Perhaps the leader with the most bands at the end of a season gets a free pass to a convention.
You can also do 1-dance tandas or snowballs.
Above all, talk about community and inclusion. Let them know about what goes on and what others are feeling. Not everyone will care, so maybe let the leaders know what we see. Above all, let them know what they're missing! Are they there for erotic fantasies or do they want to dance? They may be missing out on the best dances with an older person.
One WCS teacher here actually has everyone sit in a circle and talk. She'll divide us up into groups to have us work on something together, all with the idea of building community and making friends. I never see that in the Tango community.
I know a lot of people in the WCS community who gave up tango because they couldn't tolerate the "snobbiness". The WCS community they are used to is anything but. Sadly, the Tango community is missing out on that. Dancing and enjoying a tanda with a friend you love can be every bit as fun.
When there's a mixed age community, the real age demographic distortion happens when older leaders prefer younger followers (of course, the younger leaders as well). Since there are usually more followers than leaders, this leads to a decline in opportunities for older followers to practice, as well as the 'rapid learning' of young followers who get a lot more floor time.
I find BA to be more gender balanced (when it's not high season), and the young leaders are so focussed on improving that they will dance with older followers just to be out on the floor. I also think they're more accustomed to touch as a society, so they're more comfortable embracing someone they're not physically attracted to.
Very true statement. I see this as a contributing factor to older followers get left out as well. An older leader told me the other night that he knows there's a problem and tries to get around to as many followers as he can. What he and others need to learn is that they all keep asking the same followers who have no problem getting asked at all. I know a lot of them have good hearts. Maybe if they knew that an older follower only gets 2 or 3 tandas a night and the younger ones get on average 10, that might motivate them to branch out.
Wise and sensible comments: thanks! I particularly liked the observation that while women are "used to" ageism and deal with it, men are not. IMHO, best to skip the four earlier stages (Denial, Anger, Negotiation, Depression) and go straight to Acceptance.
A very insightful interview. I started learning and dancing Tango as a mature, tall, clumsy, not thin woman in my late 40's. After taking some extremely frustrating beginner classes and workshops, I was told to try one of Robin Thomas' beginner classes. To this day I am so thankful that I decided to take "one last Tango class" before I tossed my dance shoes in the garbage.
To this day I am so glad I took that class. Because of Robin's teaching style I continued to study and dance. In those days our classes were intergenerational and he ran a popular after class practica where we of all ages danced together. It was wonderful! Through the years I have made so many friends of all ages because of Tango.
In this atmosphere, I was allowed to develop into a decent intermediate dancer. My time spent studying with Robin are some of my most pleasant Tango memories.
With that said, I enjoyed the insightfulness discussed in this interview. Ageism is a fact of life and even more so in a youth centered culture. There is a time and place for everything. I used to dance 7 days and nights a week, now it is just not possible because of knees and years of 5 inch heels!😊
Although I may not dance as fast or gracefully as I once did does not make me a bad dancer.
Both the follower and the leader are together for a tanda, and I still believe that moment in time should be a lovely conversation on both sides. As one of my dear Tango leader always says, "if I look in her eyes after our tanda, and she is smiling, then I have done my job!" There were so many nervous beginner leaders I have danced with regularly over the years who are now quite popular. So although ageism is a reality in the world and our NYC Tango community, I have found courtesy, kindness, and a little more thoughtfulness always go a long way. After all, everyone of us was a beginner once upon a time; and everyone of us will age and not be physically what we once were in our full bloom.
Always love you Robin, but I am now too old for your Milongas!❤
Older dancers of any sex would do well to pay attention to comfort, and to recognize that being comfortable may require other fitness besides tango and the gym. Also worth keeping in mind, people choose dances for powerful social reasons not just dance skill reasons. The not-at-all-sad part of this is that if you are serious about improving your dance, and you are emotionally intelligent, and you want to find the like-minded people who want to dance with you, tango is a fantastic activity for older people.
I'm an older female Tango dancer. Before Tango, I competed in ballroom for 10 years and trained like I was going to the Olympics. Maybe not as extreme now, but I still train like that for Tango. I do core and balance exercises every day and a strenuous hike each week to keep my endurance and strength up, besides attending classes. Yet, with a lifetime of playing music, boatloads of musicality, years of dance background, very fit and trim,. and definitely better than the novice young women who never sit out a Tanda, I sit and sit and sit. Heads purposely don't turn my way. Eyes move away. When you say we should accept the reality of age and accompanying physical changes, given my physical shape, that seems to me to be more of an excuse. I also find it to be a harmful stereotype to be pushing here when it's not always true. In fact, I know a lot of young people who are in worse shape than the older crowd I hang out with.
The problem we older followers have is we come on the scene older. Young followers instantly have men, like vultures, circling around them, even those who are horrible. I saw one really good leader who won't even look my way, dance with a newbie. She was bouncing all over the place. I don't think she ever took a Tango class. He gave a look of pain to a leader sitting next to me, but then proceeded to ask her for another tanda.
Older followers who are new don't get that chance. No one dares ask us to dance, so we never get to prove ourselves. It's a slow process picking off one leader at a time at classes that rotate, but this is what I'm trying to do. To make it worse, though, at the class I attend, 90% refuse to rotate. "Give it time," I'm told. "It takes years." Some of us don't have that many years, and we are never given the chance. At the same time, I do not believe any man is responsible for me enjoying the dance. I can't change you. I have to accept the reality that age preference and discrimination is real, especially in Tango.
If I may, I'l like to suggest you interview older women on this topic. I appreciate hearing from men why they don't include older women, but women will tell you a very different story. I don't know that it would help though given the reality.
I read this with interest. Two short tips (unsolicited advice, sorry): try investing in a few private lessons with the right kind of tango teacher to see whether there any flaws in your following technique, posture etc (I can say this without any hypocrisy at all, since I myself take those lessons regularly, and I work on my flaws, everyone has them, but very few actually take those privates), and the other tip, see whether you can learn to lead (only if you want to, of course), help build a community of women who lead women, and then, slowly get to enjoy dancing with women who will not judge you sexually. I'm not talking out of my rear part here since these are views that have been confirmed to WORK by people I interviewed on this channel. And that's also the other thing I wanted to tell you: there are now 2 videos on ageism by women available on my channel, out of these 2 I particularly recommend Melina Sedó because she gives a very full, balanced picture of both the very real issues suffered by women like you, and also what you can actually do about it.
@@DonAgucho Interesting. I forgot I left this comment. A lot has changed since then - I started getting the attention of some good dancers and I'm actually enjoying Milongas now. How things have changed in just 2 months. More than that, I'm enjoying the dance more! Same thing happened when I was into ballroom. The better you get, the more fun it is. I would encourage everyone not to give up. The key really is in getting better. Older women may need to be a LOT better than the younger ones, but what's wrong with that? Like I said, the better you get, the more fun it is! It does require private lessons though. So to your point @donAgucho, I believe we are in agreement. Absolutely!
Thank you for sharing Robin! I agree with everything you expressed... and not surprised. We just need to be more mindful during our own experience of dancing. Blessings to all dancers
Excellent interview!
9:00 interesting distinction! "20 years experience" could mean 20 years doing the same thing, so no growth! Happens in music too.
(friendly tone) Could you give me some examples from the music world?
@@DonAgucho names?? no, of course. ;-)
Just my anecdotal observation throughout the years, of musicians who never seem to make much progress, and others that... do.
This is all about the energy which people bring, style, health, hygiene, and skills so the chances are there for everyone. However, each dance has a sexual component in which biology works. Therefore, the age of women matters to some leaders and this should be also understood.
I suppose this is true for you personally? (Just asking, no judgment)
I appreciate this topic but I think the title and some of the thinking here is mistaken. If this agism is "natural" why does it vary in time and space? It may be "natural" that young people learn faster. It may be they have greater flexibility and faster response times etc... but that is not a cause of ageism. It may also that young people in our current society desire to associate with other young people. That is true but I don't think that is "natural." I can think of many societies that are much more intergenerational than the United States. I think the answer is that ageism not natural in the same way sexism, racism, adultism, or any prejudice or system of oppression is not natural. I don't think it is something we just have to "accept" if in fact we want to have a more intergenerational community or less of a generationally divided community. This doesn't mean young people dancing among themselves is bad or wrong. But how do we create environments where young people would want to dance with older dancers? This discussion never get's here because ageism is considered "natural." If it is agism in tango is "natural" then there is zero responsibility or agency in changing it. I don't think that is what you want to say.
As a victim of ageism, I couldn't agree more. Young people will see as age creeps up on them, that you never feel old until you have no choice. Until then, we are full of energy and spunk and have a lot to bring to the dance.
The Virgin concept?
Right?! Un-f-ing-believeable. 🤦♀️
😂
So I am a 24 years old leader. I have been dancing since almost 10 years. In my scene there are very few young dancers. I want to dance with good dancers. My experience is, that a 20 something follower that has danced just 3 or 4 years actively is often much better than all the old women even those who danced 20+ years. I have one partner over 50 who I dance with, because she is very good. But I have rarely a good tanda with older dancers, the movement is rarely smooth and in sync, they dont have the reaction speed. Ive never danced with a woman over 50 who could dance double speed steps in a milonga or the dotted rhythms, even in slower tempos it feels sluggish, its just too slow. Also the older dancers are much more likely to have horrible tension in their embrace which translates too me. And at some point it is not only not enjoyable, but becomes painful. The chance for a good tanda at the age over 60 is basically 0, unless they are a dance teacher or something. Over 40 its slim. When they are around 20 the chances are kinda good and if they are a beginner I can already make a connection and if they stick around I can potentially have a new dance partner in 1 or 2 years.
And besides young dancers being the better dancers I am so glad to have a couple of people under 35 I can talk with. I cannot really connect with the older people in the same way, so it kinda feels lonely, being at a milonga. With young people it becomes a social event.
Edit: its also not about them being beautiful or something. There are some young, beautiful dancers who I love to dance with in the beginning, but if they are not improving I dont want to dance with them again. A Tanda is pretty long and the only reason to stumble through it with someone who is just beginning is to build a relationship that can lead to better and better dances quickly, but if they are not open for feedback and not improving there is absolutely no reason to dance with them again. Id much rather dance with people who I know I can enjoy the tanda with then.
I don't necessarily agree with all your opinions stated here (I am ''young'' but I prefer to dance with older women, and I know plenty that are great dancers), but this comment is a good reflection of what Robin said (among other things) about what a lot of young people in tango generally desire, and also of young people learning faster & generally having more ''fit'' bodies. On Facebook, there was quite some of backlash against those points he made, mostly by women in the ''older'' category, but I can certainly see where he's coming from.
@greg, there are plenty of older follows who could dance circles around you. Why,? Because they have had years of experience in connection, embrace, movement, and musicality., Try dancing with them. You may be surprised by how much you can learn from their wisdom, their hearts, and their souls.
Youth does not necessarily equate to fitness.
Let's remember that everyone gets older please. Even the youngsters that are so "hot" right now. Tango is a dance for all people. With my 23 years of Tango social dancing experience I can tell you that age does not mean bad dancers. It becomes harder because a lot of leaders go after the young ones, but I have come to realize I want to dance with a real dancer, a dancer that is after connection. I dance with people of all ages, if it is nice I will want to dance some next time again, if it is not nice, I don't care how young or cute you are, I will pass. I have had wonderful tandas with young dancers and wonderful ones with older dancers too. I go to a milonga to dance period. If a dancer only goes after young ones we older followers will know and pass the word, attitude does matter, even if you think we don't see. It's not that hard to be a nice human being and remember, you will turn older one day too. Great to hear Robin speak on this and for the record, a wonderful DJ any day/year/era!!!
How many older women have you danced with? Not all are as unfit as you might think. I rode my bike around Lake Tahoe at the age of 60 in under 6 hours counting breaks. That's a 72 mile ride and a 4000' elevation gain. Can you do that? ;)