[Tango-L] women leading

[Michael]

> What a crock!  why is it that a woman can't be as good
> a leader as a man, and still be a good follower?  I've
> seen it, i've danced on either side of it, I know it
> is possible.  I think the naysaysers are just
> threatened.
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I can't keep track of who wrote the above statement because
it was pasted on top of somebody else's message on top of
somebody else's message.

I remember Daniel Trenner saying at the 1998 Washington
Tango festival (before Anne Sophie put it on) that women
learn tango 10X faster when they learn how to lead and men
learn tango 10X faster when they learn how to follow. I only
comment that learning how to follow advanced my learning how
to lead. 

One of the rules of leading is to wait for the woman to
step. I remember following a female leader. She made the
same mistake I did in leading ochos, i.e. stepping sideways
before the partner pivoted to come in the other direction.
After that experience, I finally learned what "wait for the
woman" means. Up to that point, I HEARD the words. When I
followed, I EXPERIENCED what it meant not to wait. 

Even today when I have difficulty with a figure, my teacher,
Joe, will lead me so I can try and figure out how to lead it
correctly and what I'm doing wrong.

I wonder if some women learn to lead because they are so
dissatisfied with the leaders in their community. Are they
sending a message?

Michael Ditkoff
Washington, DC