[Tango-L] Why is it so hard to walk?

[Michael]

Sharon:
Let's put aside musicality for now.

Beginner leaders are rarely taught HOW to lead. They are usually taught WHAT
to lead. The emphasis is what does the man do with his feet. This reinforces
that it's more important for the man to know what he is doing instead of
what the woman should be doing.

I teach the CONCEPT of leading. I talk about food shopping and put a chair
with wheels in front of myself. I explain I don't push the chair to get it
out of my way and step forward. I illustrate that my arms are part of my
frame and the upper body has to move first. If my feet move first, I'll kick
the chair (shopping cart.) The sequence is I come onto the balls of my feet,
my weight moves forward and energy is transmitted to the chair though my
arms. The chair moves backward and NOW there is space for me to move
forward.

I don't think men are taught the A frame. Just because there isn't room at
chest level doesn't mean there isn't room on the floor. If the man leads the
woman to step backward, there will be space for the man to come forward. If
he's afraid the woman won't move, he will forcibly push with his arms or
step around the woman.

Michael
Going home to New York
On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 5:13 PM, Sharon Pedersen
<sharon.pedersen at gmail.com>wrote:

> I've been watching some new leaders in our community, and they struggle
> with alking.  Huge steps leading with their legs, or holding themselves in
> an
> awkward contorted stance and walking with always-bent legs, or taking very
> wide steps when walking forwards, or being unable to coordinate to a
> relatively slow beat and having to hover the foot in the air waiting for
> the
> beat to catch up before putting it down.
>
> How do you help your beginners to walk reasonably and musically?--