[Tango-L] arm angle, keith, huck

[Gary Barnes]

I think we might be having a frame of reference confusion.

Keith said:
> 3 inches lower and they would appear to me to have a little
> humility/modesty.


but Huck said:

> I much prefer the more classic angle of about
> 135 degrees as taught by most Argentines I've taken from.
>
> I try to avoid any angle less than 90 degrees since that turns
> the leader's elbow into a weapon.

and Martin is talking about:

> Guys who stick
> out their left arm  greater than 90 degrees, or 135 as huck suggests,
> yikes! ,  or even wider


I'm not at all sure what each of you means -- especially huck.

Detlef has his _upper_ arm horizontal (at 90° from his body), and his  
forearm vertical (at 90° from his upper arm).

If someone has their elbow down lower than that, and keep their  
forearm vertical, they take up less space.
Their upper arm might be around 135° from vertical, or around 45°  
from their body.  Is that what you mean, Huck?  This seems to be  
equivalent to "3 inches lower".  But that pointy elbow is safely  
tucked away.

If someone has their upper arm non-vertical, with their hand sticking  
out further than their elbow, they will take up more space (and also  
punch people). Is that what you mean, Martin?

And if they have their upper arm non-vertical the other way, with  
their elbow sticking out further than their hand, they will take up  
the same space, but their elbow may poke people. Is that what you  
mean, Huck?

When tall guys dance with the position Detlef is in here, in a  
crowded milonga, I do feel in danger of getting my neck caught in the  
trap! And if they dance like that with a short woman, she looks like  
she's been hung out to dry. But neither is the case in the video.

I usually try to have my forearm vertical (ish), and adjust the angle  
of my upper arm so its comfortable for my partner and the  
spaciousness of the milonga.  I do not have a protractor at the  
milonga, though.

GB






On 19/06/2009, at 3:24 AM, Nussbaum, Martin wrote:

> I disagree with these guys, especially for social dance.  Guys who  
> stick
> out their left arm  greater than 90 degrees, or 135 as huck suggests,
> yikes! ,  or even wider as I've seen in fashion lately, are an  
> accident
> waiting to happen for some unlucky person, like an illegal clothesline
> tackle in football, neck high. I think it also look very pretentious,
> and should have a little red flag hanging from the wrist, WIDE LOAD.
> Why take up more real estate than you need to? keep that damn arm  
> inside
> the vehicle, reasonably close to you, no more than 90 degrees, and out
> of my face when you spin around.
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