Practica and Roles

We have been practicing the weight change: The leader changes the weight of the follower, without changing his own weight....going from parallel to crossed system without the rigmarole of going to the cross via the dreaded eight count basico. It is so simple, so elegant, can be reversed back to parallel ( e.g. he moves by stepping on his left as I move on my right) by easy and sweet turns etc. Well it just further proves that much of the teaching going on is way too arcane and complicated. Last night I was awake trying to remember if sometimes the leader shifts his weight and causes her not to, or vice versa....basically I think all these things happen while I am just enjoying myself.

When leaders and followers all learn together, going to class partnered up, figures are typically taught, and the follower then has a poisoned mind...knowing what the step is and sort of doing the step even when it is not being led, by poor Mr. beginner who is just trying to figure it out, and would be better off if she weren't there at all! Of course the instructors might be reluctant to lose half of the students this way, so it isn't happening, except in a few cases of Men's Technique classes....) Have you watched these beginner classes? It is really enlightening, and I was the student/victim for a long time. You can see her foot going first! To my teachers credit, they understood that the women were thinking, and talking too much, and would make gentle or nor so gentle reminders for us to cut it out.

A better world would be this: We go somewhere else, say, shopping, or having lunch, or getting our pedicures, or hanging out in a women's techniques class which would make us feel like we were doing something about our wonky feet and our slow response or whatever, and then later when we are all worn out, we could partner up, and just be quiet, and let the leaders lead, and then offer them our best selves. There is plenty for us to express...we just can't do it until we are invited. We cannot be invited until he works it out in his own way, and in his own time. God, I wish I had all the money I've spent on classes to buy shoes with, or nice dresses, while my husband does all the work....Oh gosh that sounds a lot like what I do anyway.

Girls, if you just have to learn a lot of figures and variations and this and that, which I totally understand, then learn to lead. If you absolutely need to chase down the guys for dances and you are willing to use all sorts of means to do the inviting, and the dancing, yourself, then learn to lead. Just do it so the ladies can have the space they need, you can have yours. I don't care what gender the leader is, or the follower, or if they are the same gender, or whatever, I just like to know, since I hear that tango is an invitation...