[Tango-L] Where does the lead leave off and the follow begin??

[Jack Dylan]

> From: Martin Waxman <martin at waxman.net>
> 
> The lead leaves off after the mark; the follow begins when the lead 
> is interpreted/understood.
> 

I don't fully understand Martin's answer because he uses the words 
'mark' and 'lead' in the same sentence and I don't know whether he 
uses them with the same meaning or not. 

In Ballroom, the man leads a step or a figure and the lady 
interprets/understands it correctly because of her training and she 
dances it exactly as she's been trained to do. This works because 
the music has a strict tempo and all the figures are standard and 
have been learned and practiced in every detail. I don't find Tango 
anything like that. When does the lead leave off? - almost never, IMHO. 
I lead the lady's step from start to finish and then, I lead the next step. 
How can it be any other way? Let's take the simplest thing in Tango - 
the forward Walk. Yes, I lead her backward step with a forward 
projection of my chest and the lady's foot starts to move because she 
understands the chest lead. But do I then  'leave off''.  No, I follow through 
and lead her through the full extent of her step and she doesn't put her 
foot down until l lead her to do so. Perhaps, this is what Martin means 
by 'mark'. The lady then doesn't bring her feet together [collection] to 
complete the step until I lead her to do so, all at the exact speed and 
timing that I want. 

IMHO, most of the time, and yes there are always exceptions, but 
mostly the lady doesn't need to interpret anything. She won't know 
exactly what she's actually supposed to do until she's already done it. 
We'll, that's my opinion. And if we want to go back to 'pet hates', another 
of mine would be 'ladies who try to interpret my lead' rather than waiting 
until she knows exactly what I want. I don't want to come across as a 
male chauvinist who controls every aspect of the dance. I do give the 
lady time to enjoy the things that ladies enjoy but I also lead the timing 
for that - while always listening to the lady, of course.
 
Jack