[Tango-L] women leading

[Yale Tango Club]

Hi
  In my club, a year or two ago, some girls were starting to lead. It's fun, it's a new skill, and we would do it whenever we felt like it. Since our gender balance is usually fairly close to equal, some of the guys found themselves on the sidelines without a partner, watching the goings on. When there were several, they would usually start complaining, of course they also found it secretly exciting, but that's another story. Several suggested I email out an executive order that there shall be no more such girl-leading while there were perfectly good guys right there. I did not, of course. We like to dance with guys, but we also like to lead. They felt kinda stupid all the while they were yammering. Then somehow they decided they would try following and still dance with the girls. Last year we started a separate mini-practica of which the condition was that people lead and follow the same amount of time. So we still dance with guys but we get to lead them half the time. The
 guys in the practica are getting really good at following and the girls at leading, especially from trying it on guys. It spills over into social dancing somewhat and it's a lot of fun. We are all becoming better dancers.
  I don't really care whether this would be frowned upon in Argentina (or in Texas). Go ahead, make my day!
  Tine 
   
  Tine

Lois Donnay <donnay at donnay.net> wrote:
  Not only that, but we are shaping what exists in Buenos Aires. When I lead in
practicas and lessons in BsAs, Argentine women will ask me later to dance with
them in the milonga (early, though-later and the "old guard" will get 
upset.) I
have also led men (Argentine) in the milongas in BsAs.

Would this have happened without us foreigners in BsAs? Maybe. But not as
quickly. Would tango be as popular in BsAs without us? Maybe, but not as much.
Who can tell? Who gets to decide?

Some philosopher once said "You can't look at a thing without changing it".
Maybe we non-Argentines have been looking at this too much.

Lois in Minneapolis (Loisita is B Aires)

> So the question I wonder and am interested in asking the community is are
> there those trying to replicate what exists in Buenos Aires, or are we
> ourselves shaping what it is going to look like here in the States?
>
> Scott
>



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