The 'eyes' have it

This is my theory about the problems of getting dances in Argentina.
When I go into a dance hall in the UK, I have a good look around. I make eye contact with friends and sometimes with new people and think I must dance with that person because they looked back at me.
In Argentina you will have lost the chance to dance with those people. You can't line up people for dances later during the evening. When you make eye contact you have to mean business - it is now or never. Ask them to dance at that point or reject them for the evening. They may reject you and there is no point in trying later.
So when you enter the hall you don't have a good look to seek out the pretty ones, you just don't make eye contact - as if you were walking through a rough area of town and to make eye contact might provoke a fight. Then you make eye contact, you invite, you succeed or you fail. If you fail you wait until the next time the music starts and try with someone else.