[Tango-L] Coaching the Lead

[Jay Rabe]

Mario,

My 2c:

Posture for both leader and follower:
Imagine your body pulled by two strings. The first is from your crown, pulling straight up. This aligns your head and vertebrae vertically along your spine. The second is pulling from a point in the center of your chest, mid-way between your throat and your breasts, and is pulling out and up at a 45deg angle. This pull results in your shoulders going back and dropping down, and lifting your chest, of course. Finally, keep your abs/core engaged, with your belly button pulled back towards your spine. This tips your pelvis slightly and slightly flattens your lower, "sway" back.

Attitude for both leader and follower:
"Stand up" to your partner. Maintain your autonomy and sovereignty. Regardless of how ethereal you feel when you get into the zone, do not swoon, do not cave, do not compromise the integrity of your posture. Even for a very tall leader and very short follower, stand as tall as possible. Tall leaders avoid bending over no matter how nurturing and protecting you are feeling towards her. Short followers avoid tipping head back as if "looking up" to your leader. it will tend to arch your back. Instead stand tall (string pulling on crown) and maintain your own wholeness and individuality.

Balance:
For both leader and follower:
When you step, visualize moving your tailbone, which is very near the center of your body's mass, to position it directly above the foot you are stepping onto.
For leaders: Pay attention to your followers axis/balance. To some degree you have a responsibility for maintaining your follower balanced. on her axis. If she has taken a step, and you follow her (in the Gavito sense), yet perhaps you slightly misjudged your step and you can feel that she is slightly off-balance and leaning or pulling on you in one direction or another, then it behooves you to slightly sway or lean your upper body (still keeping yourself vertical, of course) to a position that allows her to be more comfortably balanced without straining and using your for support. One way to think of it is that she moves her foot according to her interpretation of your lead, and you move her torso (by moving your own torso which is connected to hers) to a position that is directly above her standing foot, thereby keeping her balanced on her axis.

         J
    TangoMoments.com

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