Don’t follow me
I said to a young woman, whom had danced only six months but seemed to be a natural tanguera with warm embrace, at a practica.
“I don’t follow you?” She was surprised, not surprisingly from anyone whom had been taught to follow the “leader”/men from the first class.
“Follow the music and your own body.” I smiled, hoping that she would somehow catch the idea, not turning into one of the many women whom just try to follow the movements of the men. I then showed her what I meant, briefly.
It could be overwhelming, this information. It took me almost two years, from Javier’s lesson of “being selfish” to my turning point discovery of “the most important dance...”, to start dancing without first thinking about how to lead.
Tango is not about leading and following.
If you think of tango as a conversation between the two, then leading and following is like reading from the script. If you think of tango as a dance of improvisation, then leading and following is like choreographed. If you think of tango as man showing the beauty of the woman, then the woman has to know how to shine when the opportunity arises.
The experience of dancing with a woman whom just follow, regardless how impeccable her technique is, is utterly uninspiring. And vice versa (Marite’s response at the end of the post).
