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Re: [TANGO-L] Teachers who lead and follow

Good question, Lois!  And I think this is one area
where sexism raises its little head.

If the instructors teach as a couple, I don't check
for dual-role dancing.

If the instructor is a man, I usually don't check if
he can dance the woman's role.  Partly because most
men simply cannot dance the role as well as a woman
can.  For me, it is more important that they respect
the woman and know their own limitations.

If the instructor is a woman, I do check that she can
also dance the man's role enough to be able to analyze
problems accurately.

I also get the same comments of surprise when I dance
the man's part at milongas (even from my own
students!).  I think the surprise comes because men
tend to focus on vocabulary a lot and can fall back on
using muscles (often inadvertently), whereas women who
dance the man's part focus more on musicality and/or
do not resort to using muscle as often.  So it's that
gentleness or musicality that they appreciate.

Trini de Pittsburgh


--- Lois Donnay <donnay@DONNAY.NET> wrote:

> This brought me to a question - when you pick a
> teacher do you verify that
> they can do both roles? Is it important to you?
>
> I am also constantly surprised by women who whisper
> to me after a dance
> "That was really good! Better than most of the men!"
> I think first of all
> that they don't need to whisper - are men's egos
> really that delicate? And
> also, shouldn't I, as a teacher, be expected to be
> one of the best leaders?
>



PATangoS - Pittsburgh Argentine Tango Society
Our Mission: To make Argentine Tango Pittsburgh's most popular social dance.
http://www.pitt.edu/~mcph/PATangoWeb.htm


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