[Tango-L] Improving Discussion - Clarification of terms

[Brian Dunn]

Dear List,

This is getting interesting. Thanks to Amaury & Myk for pursuing clarification of terms - here's my offering.


Clarification: LEAD

Is it possible to "lead" a follower without touching them? I hope we agree it is possible, at least in principle, because everyone in our classes does it in the first five minutes of their first class ;).


Clarification: CONNECTION

Chicho says (about his lead), "No arms, just connection"...

If it is possible to lead one's partner without touching them (see above), then I suppose we could call the mysterious signaling medium that makes this communication possible "connection".  Perhaps this is what Chicho refers to here.  But apparently this would not need to be a "physical" connection for the lead/follow signal to be received and understood - as, again, our beginner students discover in the first five minutes.  

With this view of lead/follow connection, the arms are seen as "sufficient but not necessary" as a signaling medium for many tango ideas.  One can choose to use them for signaling, of course, and many leaders do - but apparently other non-physical signaling mechanisms can work just as well or better in many cases, since no physical effort would be required.  

On the other "hand", arms are certainly "necessary" for colgadas, otherwise somebody's hitting the floor, and it won't be me :) ;)
 
All the best,
Brian Dunn
Dance of the Heart
775 Pleasant Street
Boulder, CO 80302 USA
303-938-0716
www.danceoftheheart.com
“Building a Better World, One Tango at a Time”