Dear list, Here's another terms-clarification attempt, submitted for your approval ;):
Clarification: LEAD WITH xxx (arms/frame/chest/other part of leader's anatomy) In our experience, by choosing to use the phrase "lead with (xxx)" in a teaching context, we have already made some assumptions, and reinforced a particular perspective on tango events, which has noticeable consequences for our connection to our partner, and for our tango experience in general. Because of this, it can be interesting and useful to re-examine those assumptions and consequences, and reconsider our use of the phrase. If we consider the idea "What does the leader lead with?", we see we're talking about the leader DOING something with part of HIS body. By framing the problem as "what does the leader DO to lead?", the answer would seem to be that the leader engages in a movement or series of movements using various leader body part(s). Of course, thinking of it this way can "work", and many people have trained themselves to think of the problem of leading this way. But like the previous clarification of "lead", I'd say this perspective is sufficient but not necessary for many tango ideas, and in many other cases, actually creates unnecessary obstacles in the way of the tango experience by diminishing the follower's sensation of the connection with her leader. One side-effect of this perspective is that the leader's attention is REMOVED from the follower's body and focused on the leader's body while this movement or movements of the leader's "leading code" is being executed. Once this attention-removal is practiced often enough, it becomes a habit of mind to remove attention from the follower's body into the leader's body in order to initiate ANYTHING in the lead/follow tango conversation. Followers tend to experience this attention-removal as a lessening of the sensation of tango connection. While this can be overcome by unlearning this habit of mind, many leaders never get that far in their tango careers. We found it is possible to bypass many problems in learning tango communication by reframing many tango communication situations in terms of the follower's body exclusively. We do this for many tango ideas by focusing on having the leader keep his/her attention relentlessly fixed on what the follower's body should do, rather than taking an "attention detour" back into the leader's body at all. The leader's body then actually follows along without much focused attention, as long as the follower's body is taken care of. As peculiar as this may sound, it works very well in practice. Beginners prove to each other in the first class that they are all possessed of bodies that are exquisitely sensitive perceiving devices, able to send and receive mysterious information flows in ways difficult to explain, but easy to experience. Based on our results, by training these "attention habits" into beginning leaders early on, the lead/follow communication is greatly improved compared to the "what does the leader do" or "what does the leader lead with" perspective. All the best, Brian Dunn Dance of the Heart 775 Pleasant Street Boulder, CO 80302 USA 303-938-0716 www.danceoftheheart.com "Building a Better World, One Tango at a Time" _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
