[Petal]

Originally Posted by spindr

At least the traditional way of asking for a dance was explained at TLC.

"Argentine tango has an etiquette, or convention, of its own so that a leader's machismo is not “dented” by being publicly refused a dance by a follower. Before requesting a dance, a leader will make eye contact with their chosen follower across the room. If the follower maintains eye contact as the leader approaches, then the leader can “safely” assumed that the follower will accept the verbal offer to dance. However, if the follower breaks eye contact as the leader approaches (for whatever reason), then this is considered to be declining the invitation to dance — the leader can easily abort their approach, without having (their ego dented by) a more public verbal refusal. Similarly, followers can indicate their willingness to dance by making eye contact with leaders."

See also: http://www.cyber-tango.com/art/eyeask.html

SpinDr.

That's exactly what i was taught by am wonderful tango teacher, Stefano, earlier this year.