[Tango-L] Who leads what who follows what

[WHITE 95 R]

Hi Doug,

I don't follow that line of thinking completely. True, the woman embellishes and has a degree of latitude for expressing herself as she accepts the lead (la marca). I'm a man and so I dance most often the man's role unless I'm teaching another man and I need to dance the woman's role in order to instruct. For me the dance is summarized in this basic assumption. The woman dances around the man and the man dances around the room, following the line of dance.

There is a code of the dance and that is that the woman dances in a grapevine pattern around the man. The man suggests a step to the woman. He gives the impulse or energy to denote the direction and motion. Now, here is the trick the the whole thing. The man must follow the woman at every step so he can lead the next movement. boleos, ganchos, sacadas, barridas, etc. are only the result of interrupting, blocking or redirecting the basic walking steps of the woman. 

There is not really a lot of latitude for the woman (or the man, really) to dance autonomously. The man does not really lead the beats, phrasing or musical structure of the dance. That falls within the music the dancers are dancing to. The woman must also be very aware of the music as well as her partner since both must obey the rhythm and/or melody of the music. Basically both dancers, the man and the woman must follow the music.     The man marks the direction and degree of motion. the tango code dictates how the woman moves in the direction indicated. The man follows the woman's each step immediately and leads the next step +after+ she has finished her previous step. Both dancers add musicality, style, nuance and embellishments.

Cheers,

Manuel

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www.tango-rio.com

> From: doug at swingfusion.com
> To: tango-l at mit.edu
> Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 10:59:32 -0700
> Subject: [Tango-L] Who leads what who follows what
> 
> I am lead.  Have been instructed to always lead very footfall of follow,
> every weight change of follow, every boleo, gancho usw..  Follow adds style,
> follow adds embellishment.  I shape dance, she adds nuance.  I lead beats,
> phrasing, musical structure of dance.  Follow works within structure to
> create intricacy.
> 
>  
> 
> Questions - How common is this attitude in tango?  Is this what most leads
> want?  What most follows want?  Is it de rigueur?
> 
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