[Tango-L] Who leads what who follows what

[steve pastor]

The reasons that men lead and women follow are not merely psychological.
  There are actual physical reasons. I could quote from "The Physics of Dance",
  but I'm just firing this off.
  At most levels lead and follow probably work best. It is only at what I would 
  have to label as the "higher" levels of dance that a more intricate communication
  between partners becomes workable. 
  This is similar to the recent musicality discusion. Many, many dancers can
  barely express the basic rhythms in the music, let alone react to the more
  subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) changes in energy, phrasing, etc, that
  is in the music.
  I have begun thinking of leading tango as either delivering a monolgue, or leading
  a discussion. I would rather have the other person "say" something interesting,
  rather than keep repeating, "Yes, Dear." I would rather let them complete a
  "thought", as opposed to cutting off their contribution to our dance.
  (Remember, though, that both partners are dancing to the same music.)
  It is my opinion that most women are not given the tools to be able to 
  influence what the leader does next. The flip side, of course, is that 
  many men would not welcome that kind of input.
  There are women who I love dancing with, because they do express themselves 
  (and I don't mean adornos, etc). There are some women who are too blatant in
  insisting that they will do what they want. And there are women who just don't 
  know how to "say" anything.
  It is safest to assume lead/follow. But for some of us, it is much more rewarding
  to have a conversation. Learning the skills to both lead and listen well 
  enough to have a converstion, though, is no trivial task.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

       
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