Jack Dylan said: < I was also told that one reason why milongueros always dance in the outer < ronda is because of this 'blindness' on their right side, i.e. they know < that there are no dancers there to disturb him or his partner.
In theory, that is sound reasoning. In practice, the way some people enter the floor (mid-dance), removes any supposed advantage - bum first, and with complete disregard for those already dancing. In many cases, then taking all the time in the world to finish their conversation and start moving in the line of dance (or more likely back-stepping). There has been prior discussion of those demonstrating their figures prowess on the spot, blocking those behind, with an ever growing space to their front. There are also those who consider that the floor is the perfect place for a leisurely conversation - ignoring the existence of chairs and tables provided, one would think, for that purpose. It seems "dance floor" is a misnomer. centre across the floor into the ronda. While that /manoeuvre /seems to be gaining in popularity it is being supplanted by an even more lunatic approach of disappearing from the ronda in a south-west/7 o'clock direction and later returning suddenly from that blind-spot back into the ronda, regardless of whether there is space or not. This possibly stems from the teaching of figures which generate angled or inappropriate exits, without mention of the need to work out how to fit/modify them for social dancing. No mention of "you need to enter this from here, so that you exit, that way". But - some teachers demonstrate downright lousy floorcraft themselves, possibly due to spending their working day as the sole occupant of the floor. So - perhaps it is a foreign concept anyway. Back steps can be a problem. However, (surprise, surprise) back-back-back steps are worse. If you must do most of your dancing backwards, could it not be done in the line of dance, at least? It will still involve dancing into a blind void, but at least travelling in the same direction. One out of two is an advance. It is very true that the leaders are not dancing only with their partner, but with everyone else in the room. However, relying on the follower as a second set of eyes is a dodgey proposition, given how many followers dance eyes-closed. Better to dance with an awareness of what is happening around you, and avoid the need for someone to look after you while you are looking after them. It's your job. (The down-side, of course, is that every collision you avoid, leaves someone with shoddy floorcraft oblivious, and free to carry on as before.) _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
