[Tango-L] Mario, Mario, Mario

[Jay Rabe]

Mario,

Well I for one am awaiting with anxious anticipation (sincerely) the results of your trying not to feel like foxtrot.

But I also wanted to echo one part (while disagreeing with other parts) of Bruno's post.

Having a follower that will work with you is invaluable.  But her skill level isn't as important as: first, she doesn't take steps that she doesn't feel you are clearly leading, even when she knows what you are trying to lead. And second, here paraphrasing Bruno, that she give you constructive feedback: "I felt like you were leading me to ..." etc.

I won't argue that a good instructor can be a huge help, especially in keeping you on track, that is, keeping you from building habits of using bad technique. But on the other hand, one of the core features of tango, that has recently been discussed on the list, has to do with finding your own style. You do that by trying things and seeing what works for you and what feels right to you. But the bad habits thing is a huge risk when you are working on your own from YouTube videos. And the risk is not completely eliminated even when you have a helpful practice partner, as you can end up learning each others' bad habits. So if you get something to work with one partner, make sure you try it with another and see if you can still make it work.

A final suggestion: videotape yourself and study the videos. You can often visually catch posture and other frame errors that you can't feel when you're dancing.

Good luck,

          J
        TangoMoments.com





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