[Tango-L] the care and feeding of a new lead dancer

[Mario]

I have completed 4 1/2 years at this dance and looking back, I would like to express a few opinions that may help someone trying to survive the first couple years of learning to lead in the social dance. If it is the pleasures of the social dance that interest you; First, listen to the music..it's dancing to the music that will keep your dance always alive and interesting.. Second: keep it simple and learn to distinguish between performance dancing and social dancing.Performance dancing looks good but trying to imitate it will detour you from going directly to your goal...being able to dance fluently and enjoyably with women. Third: If embracing a woman while the world turns, is your idea of fun, then go for it and never break the embrace for any reason. Four: Learn to lead the ocho atras, cortado, caminato ala cruzada and giros right and left.. also walking on the woman's left.. once smooth and automatic, weave them in and out of the music... Five:
 study the videos of Pedro Sanchez... he dances fluently to the music, is obviously enjoying every note of it, and so are his partners....anyway, this is my advice to the budding new lead dancer. Being detoured into complicated figures and joyless open hold dancing can have you quitting at around the one year mark..and remember the social dance is all about attending and dancing in the milonga and not  the endless taking of classes. Finding a practice partner and/or some other way to dance at least a few times a week, is very effective.