[Tango-L] Tergiversar = to distort, twist

[David]

> what the heck are we debating here??


I'm not sure what we are debating about at any moment in time, but I think what started it off was this statement, made a while back:  "Like every other lead in Tango, it is an invitation, not a command. The lady may ignore it if she wishes, or even fight it."

Now I'm really hoping that the person didn't mean exactly what these words are actually saying, but if they do, then it would seem that if the leader (for example) "invites" the follower to step back, it would be perfectly appropriate for the follower to fight it, and I guess, do something else.  For some of us, this seems to be quite different from the traditional concept of leader and follower.  I also don't think the OP was taking about unclear leads, collision avoidance, or any other special circumstances. 

>From there, we had some discussion on what an invitation is.  At one point I was thinking that some might be happier if the terms Leader and Follower were changed to Inviter and Decider (as some appear to have strong opposition to the idea of the man leading and the woman following).  I'll also admit that I'm still confused by someone who said they will sometimes "invite" a step where she has no choice but to follow.  I didn't know that it was possible to give an "invitation" if there was no choice in the response.  That sounds more like a directive than an invitation (or maybe even leading).

Of course, we also heard from the "can dish it out but can't take it" crowd, with someone saying that people who disagreed with him could dance with broomsticks, and then later whining when a reply back to him wasn't up to "his" level of politeness.

Maybe what we are really debating is how much can Argentine Tango change, before it is no longer Argentine Tango.  Unfortunately, I don't have the answer to that question.

Regards,

David



PS: Who made this quote?

"I lead every thing. Everything! I lead her foot during the boleo...if she blinks, I lead that, too!" 

For the answer, see here:  http://www.tangopulse.net/tango_pulse_sound_bites.htm