[Tango-L] Is it Balls, or just a Heel?

[NANCY]

--- On Thu, 6/4/09, Mario <sopelote at yahoo.com> wrot
>  One hears a lot about how the guy has to 'take care of'
> the woman, provide safe space,
> listen to her, etc. etc.... what about the care and feeding
> of the lead????


Mario, you take care of the woman because she can't see behind herself.  And you are in charge of leading and indicating the speed and size of her movements. I am quite sure that if you started to step backward into someone, that she would indicate, by pressure of her left arm, that you should stop.

> Last nite, a woman remarked to me in a practica; "Move your
> right arm lower you are lifting
> mine!"...hmm, that's a new complaint and so I asked " How
> tall are you?" in order to file the information and apply it
> where appropriate.."What does that have to do with
> anything?" I get back in an incredulous, pissed-off
> voice....do I dance with her again?  Am I stupid?

The point of a practica is to improve. If you don't want suggestions, then don't go to a practica.  And I am with the woman on this one:  you are dancing with her.  Do you know how tall you are?  If yes, then you should have a good idea of how tall she is. But her height has no bearing on her suggestion. The real point is:  don't lift the woman ( of any size or height) and throw her off axis by raising her left side. I call it the "I'm a little teapot" embrace and I hate it.