[Tango-L] Not leading vs.leading the cross

[Jay Rabe]

Sergio said:

> If the man walks to her right and wishes to prevent her from crossing ... he does so by placing 
> his foot close to her right one so that she is deprived of that option.

This highlights what I contend is the crux of the situation. If one does NOT do as Sergio said, that is, if the leader places his foot some distance to her right of her right foot, thereby allowing the cross, then this foot placement and the accompanying misalignment of the torsos constitutes a defacto "lead." That is, if the follower's objective is to maintain connection by staying in front of her leader, and if he steps slightly wide on count 4, then the cross is the only step that she can do that will bring her back into alignment with him. That is, if she steps L back, she clearly pulls away from him, a fact which is usually evident after the fact to beginning followers who will feel the disconnection and (in a practice situation) will often comment, "I missed the cross, didn't I?"

So to summarize, you can lead the cross with the torso windup and unwind, turning CW on 4 and returning CCW on 5, or you can keep your torso facing front and effectively "lead" the cross by placing your foot wide to your left of her right foot with no torso movement at all.

            J
        TangoMoments.com



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