[Tango-L] Following is active & mulitLEVEL leads

[larrynla@juno.com]

Floyd Baker (Buffalo's Ladies Only lesson report) wrote of exercises to improve following.   I want to second and emphasize a point he makes - following is as active a process as leading.  In a couple of weeks Casa de Practica here in Los Angeles (LINK - casedepractica.com) is beginning a series called Leading Ladies of Tango, which I plan to attend as a follower.  I know very well I'm not going to have an easy time of it.

At least from leading I know intellectually some of what a follower does.  I expect my reflexes will give me most problems, especially learning to give over much of the control of my larger actions.
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Looking at another aspect of Floyd's commentary - "Multilevel" might be a better word than mulitiple to describe leading and following.  For different parts of our bodies and psyches all at the same time contribute to the synchronization of two partners.

One of the most important parts is usually neglected in classes on leading and following - the emotional and mental connection between partners.  I suppose this is partly because exercises for that would be boring or difficult or both, or maybe considered so profound a part of us that it's unchangeable.  (Interestingly, Floyd did deal with this issue, as when he talks about having followers close their eyes and so on.)

We can divide a body up into several levels or functioning parts - perhaps with the psyche one level above everything else!  The midriff is the most massive "cargo."  Where it goes everything else goes.  When analyzing a figure this is the first item to consider, ditto when creating a figure.  Many sports spend considerable time on exercising and training the middle, including the martial arts.  Sumo may be the most obvious, but I recall judo spending a lot of time on it the year I studied it.

Hand leads have gotten a bad rap in tango.  It's sometimes said that one should not use them to lead at all.  That's wrong.  It's more correct to say that one should use one's hands only for leading that is not better done by something else.  But there are some actions for which hands are crucial to leading properly.  (If you don't know what they are, consider this a thought exercise!)

Thanks for the post, Floyd.

Larry de Los Angeles

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