[Tango-L] "El hombre marca y la mujer sigue"

[info@adagioconbrio.co.uk]

Dear tango-L list readers/writers:
responding to:
"Didn't we have a woman post her PHD thesis here last month. In which she tells us how the old world mentality of male/female role playing (in the dance and cabeceo) are just antiquemale dominance devices that are now being challenged and defeated even in BsAs. Then she thanked the Tango-L readers who sent her many 'pro-active' emails." Mario
"A PHD implies some intelligence, but no wisdom is necessary." Sean

i would like to clarify that i am not on a PHD course (Sean: does it grant me wisdom and remove intelligence? ; ) i thank Mario to refer to my research, however, i am pretty sure i stopped at the 'challenged'/s: no winners and no defeated for the moment! 
the research paper i shared with all of you was the outcome of the 5 weeks course 'National identity and cultural translations' with Prof. Marta Savigliano (author of 'Tango and the political economy of passion' and 'Angora Matta') and Prof Jeff Tobin, held last summer in Buenos Aires @ Glosas(http://www.glosas.org).
I -academically- only hold a BA in Dance and Related Arts from Chichester University (1998-2001, UK) and although i was suggested to pursue a PHD I for now enjoy writing independently. Since i received an award/grant from the Arts Council of England to attend the course in Bs As i was keen to share my observations and research in the UK, both in writing (participating at Forums, Symposiums and Conferences) and in my live dance works (Resolution Festival, SouthLondonTango, Rassegna di Danza). It took me a long time to get a grasp here, and the paper i shared with you took over one year to write (difficult to fit all in 20 minutes!). so as my friends would go to milongas, i would stay in and read Derrida, Lacan, Butler, Irigaray, Savigliano, Levy-Strauss, etc trying to understand... I know... I should dance instead! - but with whom???!!!

Regarding the "El hombre marca y la mujer sigue" or "Lead an invitation that can be ignored or fought"

many Tango dancers and teachers refers to Tango as a dialogue. yet when i see them dancing, i don't see/feel/recognize a dialogue.... who talks and who listens? who intiate and who responds? who approaches and who rejects? who smiles and who frowns? who shouts and who whispers? who/what determine the subject of the dialogue? who/what shifts the flow of conversation? 
I personally like to think of it as a conversational interplay, as it often happens in contact improvisation. both parties have the chance to initiate and respond, and sometimes both parties are surprised.....briefly... then the conversation goes on.
from vikipedia (different interpretation: any greeks on the list can verify?)
<<<A dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog)[1] is a reciprocal conversation between two or more entities. The etymological origins of the word (in Greek διά("diá," through) and λόγος ("logos," word, speech) creating concepts such as flowing-through meaning) do not necessarily convey the way in which people have come to use the word, with some confusion between the prefix διά-("diá-," through) and the prefix δι-("di-," two) leading to the erroneous assumption that a dialogue is necessarily between only two parties.>>>

so what do we 'mean' when we dance Tango? and is our meaning 'flowing'? and if it is, 'thorough' what?

if interested, check the 7th International Festival of same-gender Tango in Hamburg: http://www.queer-tango.de/html/seite.php?m=0&p=3&mk=1

my best 'conversationally' dancing wishes...
Adriana
www.adagioconbrio.co.uk

ps: i would not really define myself as a lesbian or as a feminist....! (some people ask/wonder...)