Fire and Flame chic

Dress Code: Chic and elegant No jeans No trainers

The Fire and Flame Ball (31^st Jan, near Marble Arch, see website) has an actual dress code.

In the tango scene, there's quite a lot of scope for signalling what kind of dance you prefer by how you choose to dress. The signals are not very reliable, and do not have fixed meanings, but they're there. The same approach might work for a milonga.

I'm full of curiosity about the relationship between who turns up and what they wear. Will anyone who always wears jeans, suddenly appear in a proper pair of trousers? Will bandanas be discarded, and in favour of what? Will T-shirts disappear, and if so, what will replace them? Who will, and who will not, brush his hair? Or will anyone who'd have to change his usual appearance, simply stay away? And what will be my own reaction to changes?

I did have my outfit clearly in mind, but I think I'll have to change it because of the cold. Not every dress delivers at a sub-zero bus stop. We'll see.

Anyway, if you want a ticket you can pay online, and it's cheaper if you book this week. Scroll down for the paypal thing to pay online, or you can send a cheque if you're quick. There might also be places at the workshops, but for those you'd better ring or email Brigitte, whose number is on the site. Adrian and Amanda are great, I've posted videos of them before (here's one). And there will be shoes.