[Tango-L] Ladies Leading

Sat May 3 23:36:34 EDT 2008

.. I am a "lady who leads"....actually, most of the time now....I have 
only danced, with any success, with 2 men as followers.  I have tried 
with others, but I have found that male followers have a tendency to 
settle back on their heels and "grow roots" into the floor with every 
step, and as suggested by Nina, it's really hard to talk them into 4" 
inch heels :)

Your description of following, as Nina points out, leaves a whole bunch 
of stuff out, but I am willing to assume that you were just trying to 
find the words to describe the experience.  I know I am not always sure 
how to describe the difference, but there is a big one.  As I said when 
someone asked me which I prefer, I genuinely enjoy both leading and 
following - for completely different reasons because they are very 
different experiences.

I am surprised that you found women to be insensitive, too "fancy,"  
etc.  I learned as a follow, and repeatedly tell new leaders, no amount 
of fancy steps can substitute for a warm embrace and musicality.  Not 
that I didn't try to learn some of the fancy steps as a new lead, but I 
don't worry about them very much when I am at a milonga....and 
certainly a lot less than some of the male leads I see/dance with.

I would really love to hear from other women who lead...

Have you joined the Buffalo Argentine Tango Society Yahoo! group yet? 
It's easy, and the best way to make sure you know what we're doing and 
what's going on with the Argentine tango in and around Buffalo......go 
to www.yahoo.com > select Groups > search for Buffalo Argentine Tango 
Society > follow the directions to join BATS_tango.  Thanks!

-----Original Message-----
From: larrynla at juno.com <larrynla at juno.com>
To: tango-L at mit.edu
Sent: Sat, 3 May 2008 9:07 pm
Subject: [Tango-L] Ladies Leading

The second Tuesday there starts here in L.A. a practica hosted by
CasaDePractica.com for ladies who lead.  I intend to go as a follower.

When I first saw women leading (mostly) other women I was annoyed.  It 
meant
that TWO women were taken out of the pool of women dancers.  I was also 
annoyed
because most of the women had all the bad qualities of beginning 
leaders:
insensitivity to their surroundings, trying movements too advanced for 
them,
trying fast and big movements which endangered others, and so on.

As time went by I noticed more women leading, but grew less annoyed.  
As their
average skill level improved they became less dangerous.  It also 
dawned on me
that here was a chance to learn to be a follower.  I'd heard that 
learning to
follow made (most) leaders better.

Also, in classes I'd had teachers who were really good leaders 
demonstrate a
technique by leading me in it.  It was fun.  I didn't have to think or 
be
responsible or anything but just float along and enjoy the music.  It 
took me
years to get to the point where I could experience this "Zen tango" 
while
leading and it might have taken longer if I hadn't had some meditation 
training.

So out of curiosity is this phenomenon, ladies leading, on the rise in 
other
areas?  And do they lead men a lot?

Larry de Los Angeles

_____________________________________________________________
Looking for insurance?  Click to compare and save big.
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2111/fc/Ioyw6iifSf08r7S7J1g5xO1uQ8fNnN5BiKtjXfZdaBr2hsiThnIx0m/?count=1234567890

_______________________________________________
Tango-L mailing list
Tango-L at mit.edu
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l