[Tango-L] What Does It Take to Dance Tango?

[Michael]

Somebody wrote:

Extending the leg backwards more than a little bit forces the body to lean forward and put weight on both feet to keep from falling over.  Big no-no.  Aside from wearing heels taller than they are stable on , excess leg extension is the major reason women hang off men's shoulders.

The place to get the extra distance a woman needs to match the longer stride of men (aside from men taking somewhat
shorter steps) is the push off from the trailing leg.  A bigger push-off allows her to reach back more without
losing equilibrium, just like stepping forward.  But short men leading tall women would step backwards the same way.
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The above makes absolutely no sense to me. You should be able to move your foot backward until you feel your hips starting to turn to get a longer stretch. If I'm standing on my right foot (I wish I could except it's sprained from a car collision), I can reach back with my left without impacting my balance. I don't fall over. I don't want to reach so far my hips start to turn.

The great Carlos Gavito wrote "I lead but I follow." Yes, the man indicates the size of the step but that is from moving his upper body, not his feet. I can feel when a woman has reached her maximum backward stride. It doesn't make any difference that my stride is longer than her's. I'm following her body and I shouldn't be pushing her beyond her maximum stride. The woman shouldn't need  to match the size of my step. I'm adjusting to her, NOT the other way around.

Michael Ditkoff
Washington, DC
Beginning 3 weeks of physical therapy, 3 times a week to rehabilitate my sprained ankle. Dying to dance!!