Re: [TANGO-L] "Like they mean it..."

[JC Dill <tango @VO.CNCHOST.COM>]

At 02:36 PM 01/02/2003 -0600, Stephen Brown wrote:
>To some extent, I think this discussion is confusing clarity of intent
>with firmness of embrace.  A wet noodle cannot lead because it has no
>intent.

Another problem aspect of the wet noodle syndrome is when the leader thinks
he is leading something, but due to his wet noodle frame he is giving
conflicting cues.  Part of his body (often the hand that he thinks is most
important to "lead" the follower with) says "Do A", but the collapsing
frame leaves the follower feeling many other cues saying "Do B".  This is
obviously no fun for the follower who  now resorts to guesses to try to
follow, and who will be late in any movement due to the thinking time
required to try to figure out what is being cued and led.  In order for the
lead to be clear, the frame has to be secure so that when the leader gives
a cue, all parts of his frame are giving a consistent message for the cue.

This problem is not unique to AT.  It crops up in many forms of partner
dance, including those with less intimate and less firm frames (by nature)
than AT.

jc