[TANGO-L] Inside a beginner man's mind

[luda_r1 <luda_r1 @YAHOO.COM>]

Michael wrote:

"What do beginner men see? They see 100 pounds of
woman, 125 pounds of
woman,
that have to be MOVED, NOT LEAD. Beginner men DON'T
understand that a
lead is
an invitation for the woman to step. The woman has to
MOVE HERSELF
AFTER she knows where she is to move. The man thinks
he's moving
furniture
which requires an OOMPH!!

I don't know how many teachers teach this next point.
Even though the man
leads,
the woman STEPS FIRST and the man moves a split second

later. As Carlos
Gavito
once said "I lead but I follow." The man matches the
size of the woman's
step. If the man
steps first (let's say for Salida) and if his step is
larger than the
woman's, HE is now out
of alignment with his partner. If the man steps first,

it's probably with
his foot, not his chest."

The answer, Michael, is that NO, not many people seem
to teach this. This is only the SECOND time I've ever
heard it. And I've had lots of teachers. The first
time was from my technique specialist I've already
mentioned. Of course that's how it works. The man
waits for the woman. It's a mystery to me why more
people don't realize this.  And that may be part of
the problem so many men have with the lead.

This particular instructor also has another
interesting philosophy about leading: "No leading by
mouth". If you can't lead it, you can't dance it.
Period. No lectures to the follower about all her
faults. At least not in his class. The only person
allowed to teach in his classes is him.

I had a wonderful experience this weekend. I danced
with a 17-year old high school student, who led
beautifully. He had only been dancing about a year,
had a punk hairdo and braces on his teeth. And he was
crazy about tango. His enthusiasm blew me away. It was
one of my more memorable tango moments. ;-)

Luda

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