[Tango-L] Lead and follow

[Trini y Sean (PATangoS)]

--- On Fri, 10/10/08, Mario <sopelote at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I don't get it...why is the guy always the
> 'heavy'?
>   Are men always the 'stupid' one? Always who
> 'needs improvement'?
>   Always too thick to 'understand' that they should
> learn to dance in the woman's shoes, too?
>   This just sounds like 'bull' to me..sorry.
>   Give me a place where 'men are men' and
> 'women are women' ... then the fun really begins.


Men aren't always the 'stupid" one, but he does assume a responsibility toward the woman.  If he's not prepared to accept that responsibility, then he needs to try some other dance.  Tango expects the "men to be men" and accept that responsibility.

There is absolutely no mistaking that the more a man understands the woman's role, the better a leader he becomes.  For older milongueros they learned the woman's role without even trying - they went to practicas to try out steps and in the process learned the woman's role.  It helped that they were in their teens or twenties.  The men who start today at age 30+ generally need to be more conscious about learning the woman's role.

Perhaps, one day, if you learned the woman's role, you'll better understand why learning to follow adds so much to the man's arsenal.  Until you learn it, you might not appreciate it.

Trini de Pittsburgh