[Tango-L] yale tango, male followers

[TangoDC.com]

Yale Tango Club wrote:
>   Our more experienced guys also occasionally dance with each other and we don't think anything of it.
Gentlemen:

If you haven't tried following before, I highly recommend you consider 
the following tips:
* Ask one of your buddies to take you for a spin, rather than a stranger
* Before you start, clarify whether or not you'll be lead-swapping, and 
how often (e.g., between songs, or within songs)
* Have yourself a drink first, so you get a little *vague* between the ears
* Stay on your toes, as though you were wearing heels, so you can pivot
* Decide in advance how far you'd like to take things in case you 
encounter one of those "tango moments"
* Don't start with a milonga
* Do give close embrace a shot
* Make sure you're wearing bright, reflective colors, so other dancers 
can see you violating the line-of-dance (or else just wait until it 
ain't so crowded)
* Don't let your right arm go all flimsy-- you won't be connected
* Keep your free (i.e., non-standing) leg very loose, so your partner 
can tell where your weight is
* Try following again, the same night, after you've gone back to 
leading, and see whether you've picked up enough material to chew on for 
two months, or only one

Once you've experimented with that, leaders, I can also recommend 
screwing around with the following, regardless of partner gender, 
height, ethnic background, or age ("her" is used here for convenience only):

* Ask your partner to backlead on purpose, and see how well you can 
follow her
* Ask your partner to alternate backleading and following (this may be 
the default case anyway)
* Try leading normally, but with your right arm out instead of your left 
(i.e., a mirrored embrace)
* Try backleading (i.e., you look like you're following, and do follower 
moves)
* Try leading with both hands behind your back (the less you're shaped 
like a sphere, the more challenging this will be)

Best of luck (Lord knows I need it),

Jake Spatz
Washington, DC