Dress code for maestros (or "Dressing advice for performance")

This text is not only written for maestros but for anybody who whishes to look better while performing in public, including in front of cameras. The reason why it is titled after maestros is because, by definition, they are dancers who want to be seen1, and, when I shoot tango videos, many of them seem to ignore this. I have observed recently that this goes for people who give a class as well.

Of course, these are only recommendations that are I consider good in most situations, there are of course reasons to do other ways.

When we are not sure what to wear, black clothes often seem like a safe bet and elegant. That is is only partly true. I personnally own a lot of black clothes as they comes with a lesser risk of post-purchase disappointment2. But is is a colour that will not make you very distinct, whatever the colour of the background is. Regarding photography and video, this flaw will be even more noticeable in the digitised performance. Also, from pure photography point of view 3, black is a colour that is harder to get the right focus, hence the more black you wear, the more risk you are at to be blurry in the resulting photo/video. There must be a reasons why black is used in some shows by people who have to be there but should not be seen.

It is also better to avoid flat colours. They may give your body a monolithic appearance and make it harder to people's eye to perceive the details of your movements. Movements are not only composed by arms and legs. Especially in tango.

In the same vein, it is better to avoid loose clothes or long dresses that would somehow hide the movements of your thighs and knees.

Regarding tango, this text mainly applies to the follower rather than to the leader. Things depend if you want the leader to be discrete or be put forward but, most of the time, it is the lady (or the follower) who bring beauty in the dance, so it makes sense for the leader to be discrete.

Conclusion: if you wish to look better while performing a show, for viewers as wells as for cameras:

  1. Avoid wearing too much black
  2. Avoid wearing solid colours
  3. Avoid loose clothes that would hide you body's movements

Prefer visible colours and details. About cloth shape, I do not know enough about cloth to give more precise advice.

Black with glitter or transparent black may look nice, but beware that you have to dance really well then.

TC, December 2015
Last modification, January 2022

  • 1 I do not consider that milonga social dancers dance primarily to be seen or taken in photo.
  • 2 Yet I am not necessarily trying to be well dressed most of the time.
  • 3 Non-studio, as I am talking about live events.