[Tango-L] Strong Lead - resistance effect

[WHITE 95 R]

This is only my opinion and I don't presume to correct anyone. I think
that the word "resistance" can be used to mean different things in
tango. For instance, it's common to find among new women dancers a
tendency to collapse the point of contact upon receiving a lead from
the man instead of taking the intended step. She leaves her body pretty
much where it started at the beginning of the lead. Sometimes if the
lead is large enough, (as when the leader displaces his body enough
distance) the collapsing woman will actually lose her balance rather
than  move. In cases like this, one uses the word "resistance" for lack
of a better term to explain to the woman that the lead is actually a
movement transmitted to to feet via the points of contact. Actually,
what one is looking for is a connection between the leader's body and
the followers body which will result in the woman actually moving
through space in response to the leaders signal.

Having
said all that, I will say that for me, resistance is not at all a
desirable quality in a woman dancing tango. There are at least 2 women
I know who teach actual resistance to leading. These tactics include
actually frustrating the man's intention by either not moving or moving
in a manner not anticipated by the man's intention. To each his or her
own, but for me this is not very good and not much fun. When dancing
with these women, the dance becomes a kind of struggle, almost a
competitive game of some sort. I prefer the tango to be danced by a
leader and a follower rather than 2 leaders trying to out maneuver each
other. I guess it can be fun sometimes, but in general that is not for
me. I rather dance as a follower and let another do the leading than
compete for the lead.

As for too strong or too weak a lead, I
also think that these terms can be used to mean different things. For
instance, a tentative or unsure lead by a man could be construed as
weak. A premature movement by the man before the woman responds to the
lead could be described as too strong. For me these cases are the
result of timing problems rather than excessive or insufficient force.
Of course, manhandling a woman is totally undesirable and can be
described as too strong. Sometimes there is a lack of connection
between the man and the woman. Other times, neither of them has learned
the skill to do whatever they are trying to do and the woman feels
"over led" and the man thinks that she just does not follow. This
happens more often during workshops while the couple is trying to
perform the figures taught by the the "master du jour". 

I've
found myself sometimes using too much force or using hands and arms to
"steer" a woman through steps in a dance. I don't like it (nor do the
women) and I wondered what happened and why. It is frustrating to find
one's self in these situations and I decided to try some experiments.
When the woman complains about over leading of too strong a lead, I
tried very consciously to lead as clearly and gently as possible, and
to lead her in movements that I'm very familiar with and are rather
common and simple. Well, to my surprise, I've found that in some of
these cases, the woman does not perform the step I led and intended her
to do. Obviously, since these leads have worked very well thousands of
times, I deduced that my over leading was an effort to lead her to do
something she could not do or would not do for whatever reason. In that
case it's just a mismatch, a "mala junta".

I've had the good
fortune to dance with many women who are wonderful dancers. For me a
good follower responds to my leads in an effortless and smooth manner.
There is no resistance at all. Every lead is followed without the need
of pushing or pulling. It's very easy to keep one's balance and the
dance is wonderfully fluid, divine. I particularly enjoy dancing with
women who seem to intuit the lead, specially in turns... I'm very aware
that in tango the man indicates the direction and motion of the woman,
but then he actually follows her in a millisecond. The leader is always
following the woman and proposing the next step, etc. If the man is
tentative and does not follow the woman, or worse yet, he goes before
she does, the dance is pretty awful. Likewise, if the woman actively or
unconsciously resists the leads, the dance is not so much fun. For me
the dance is a "real time" event. If the woman doers not follow, the
timing of the dance is compromised. For me this is most important
because I love to dance rhythmically and I love to follow the music. 

Cheers,

Manuel

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