[Tango-L] Lead and follow

[larrynla@juno.com]

I first had the principles of leading and following made clear to me 
more than 40 years ago, by the translation of a book by a French 
dancing master writing in the mid-1800s. Those principles are simple.  
The details are not, and they vary from dance to dance.

(1) The embrace must be good.

(2) The man must know what he wants the woman to do. She must not - 
until he asks her to do it with the silent language of the body.

(3) Music is your master, your partner your mistress.

(4) You (two) are one of many.

Whole books could be (and have been) written about this subject. In 
this forum we can only mention a few of the most important aspects as 
they relate to tango.

(4) We must remember when we dance that we are part of la pista, the 
flow, a much more poetic and accurate term than the awkward English 
phrase "line of dance." We must protect our partner from other couples 
- and this is true of the woman as well as the man. He is most 
responsible for this, but no man is perfect and the best of us can be 
surprised.

We must also protect other couples from us! Leave the show-tango moves 
for when the floor becomes more open, or adapt them to the crowd.  A 
lift, for instance, is best done in a close embrace, her feet only an 
inch or two off the floor, and the woman's feet extending no more than 
an inch or two from her body and her heels pointing straight down.

(3) Few things are more despised than a man who cannot interpret the 
music for his partner, few men more admired than one who can creatively 
interpret the music.  Slow does not necessarily mean sad, nor fast 
happy.

A woman is not a meat puppet, but a real person.  She gifts a man with 
the role of guide and protector. He abuses this gift at his peril.  
Women talk and even the kindest woman will only not let him abuse her 
trust forever.  A woman is not a slave who must automatically do what a 
man wants.  He must seduce her.

He must listen to her body language.  Is she skilled at following? At 
tango?  Able to do some actions well and others not?  Does she have 
favorite adornos?  Is she sad?  Tired?  Suffering from some hurt?  
Happy? Willing to adventure?  Feeling naughty?  If sad, he can let her 
know with his embrace and choice of moves that he wants to comfort her 
- or if he has the gift of comedy he might tease her out of her sadness 
for a time.

[part two of this message follows]


Larry de Los Angeles
http://shapechangers.wordpress.com



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