.. I am a "lady who leads"....actually, most of the time now....I have only danced, with any success, with 2 men as followers. I have tried with others, but I have found that male followers have a tendency to settle back on their heels and "grow roots" into the floor with every step, and as suggested by Nina, it's really hard to talk them into 4" inch heels :)
Your description of following, as Nina points out, leaves a whole bunch of stuff out, but I am willing to assume that you were just trying to find the words to describe the experience. I know I am not always sure how to describe the difference, but there is a big one. As I said when someone asked me which I prefer, I genuinely enjoy both leading and following - for completely different reasons because they are very different experiences. I am surprised that you found women to be insensitive, too "fancy," etc. I learned as a follow, and repeatedly tell new leaders, no amount of fancy steps can substitute for a warm embrace and musicality. Not that I didn't try to learn some of the fancy steps as a new lead, but I don't worry about them very much when I am at a milonga....and certainly a lot less than some of the male leads I see/dance with. I would really love to hear from other women who lead... Have you joined the Buffalo Argentine Tango Society Yahoo! group yet? It's easy, and the best way to make sure you know what we're doing and what's going on with the Argentine tango in and around Buffalo......go to www.yahoo.com > select Groups > search for Buffalo Argentine Tango Society > follow the directions to join BATS_tango. Thanks! -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sat, 3 May 2008 9:07 pm Subject: [Tango-L] Ladies Leading The second Tuesday there starts here in L.A. a practica hosted by CasaDePractica.com for ladies who lead. I intend to go as a follower. When I first saw women leading (mostly) other women I was annoyed. It meant that TWO women were taken out of the pool of women dancers. I was also annoyed because most of the women had all the bad qualities of beginning leaders: insensitivity to their surroundings, trying movements too advanced for them, trying fast and big movements which endangered others, and so on. As time went by I noticed more women leading, but grew less annoyed. As their average skill level improved they became less dangerous. It also dawned on me that here was a chance to learn to be a follower. I'd heard that learning to follow made (most) leaders better. Also, in classes I'd had teachers who were really good leaders demonstrate a technique by leading me in it. It was fun. I didn't have to think or be responsible or anything but just float along and enjoy the music. It took me years to get to the point where I could experience this "Zen tango" while leading and it might have taken longer if I hadn't had some meditation training. So out of curiosity is this phenomenon, ladies leading, on the rise in other areas? And do they lead men a lot? Larry de Los Angeles _____________________________________________________________ Looking for insurance? Click to compare and save big. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2111/fc/Ioyw6iifSf08r7S7J1g5xO1uQ8fNnN5BiKtjXfZdaBr2hsiThnIx0m/?count=1234567890 _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
