We're coming into a tricky business. The laws of tango say that leader leads and follower follows. Surely, in (proper) tango, at any time, the leader should be the one that ultimately decides what to do with the movement. Not only the embrace is structured in a way that the leader has that power (the right arm below the follower's left axilla, to ensure the most efficient energy transfer) but also the leader has an angle of vision that the follower doesn't. These and other make the role of leading very clear.
But like many civil laws, there is a loophole in the law of leading. Nothing stops the follower to suggest the leader a certain movement, provided that (1) the follower can actually be subtle enough to do so, (2) the leader has the receptivity to it and (3) that the follower has strong navigational cues and knows where the movement is going.
This has been taught to me since I became a post-intermediate by my teachers in Edinburgh, Ricardo Oria and Jenny Frances (they did teach me this since the beginning, but they waited until I matured enough to actively make me do it). But the moment when it clicked was when I had my first workshop with the great Rodolfo y Gloria Dinzel. Rodolfo has an incredible charisma and Gloria has an aura of glow that you will attract you like a magnet. What they say sticks to your mind, whether you like them or not (I learnt that they elicit as much passion as hate). The idea is that if tango wants to be a true communication between partners, then the message should go both ways. The connection between the follower and the leader should be the one that, provided that the three criteria above mentioned are fullfiled, it allows both partners to have an active role.
Let's imagine a simple situation illustrated by mshedgehog that tells us about the simplest form of passive leading. The guy is going to step back, the lady sees somebody stepping into the place he is going to step and exerts a small pressure on his back. This should tell the leader that he should not take that step. But if the follower is quite good at passive leading, she might even lead him to do another step, maybe a giro or a walk forwards, avoiding the disruption of the sudden change of movement. From here onwards, the concept of passive leading can extend to the point that the whole dance is a constant flow and backflow of leading and following. Both partners become leaders and both become followers... Instead of the unilateral dialogue with the pauses so that the other partner can finish the sentence, a dialogue in which the words travel smoothly from mouth to mouth.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Passive leading
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5 comments:
Hmm, let me be the one to write on this blank canvas. Personally, I don't have a one or the other opinion. I adapt, depending on the leader, and also, I do either just following or passive leading depending on my mood. I appreciate, admire and devour the traditional values ingrained in tango. That was what attracted me to the dance in the first place. But when things don't work out properly, or when I have a better idea about how to interpret the music as a couple, and if the leader allows time and space (or if the leader hesistates!!), I will take the opportunity to initiate something. This may be due to the fact that I am an impatient individual and like to dance precisely to the beat, and that I know when the leader is intentionally taking a pause or is just hesitant because he doesn't know what to do. I don't think that a wee suggestion by a follower from time to time does any harm to the harmony of the pair. I love my follower's role too much to be a guerrillaesque passive leader.
Nice topic KoolRic! I must say that I enjoy the interaction between the couple too much to not interfere with the leading :)
I personally often feel that the terms "follower" and "leader" are misleading and even problematic, when it comes to teaching. Numerous times in classes I felt that the focus was in the leader's part, as if followers will "get it" if leaders lead it well. (Interesting anectode: Somebody told me recently that Gavito used to teach more weekly classes on the follower's role than on the leader's.HA!)
I never thought of the follower's role as passive, I consider any kind of dancing as an active activity. And that is why, even with the dancers that don't allow much intervention in their tango-decision-making, I am more than glad to dance actively responding to their understanding of the music and how they translate it into movement.
Well, dear Eleni and Supantheress, we are in agreement on this matter (quite a feat, given the volatile subject).
Let me add (it might not have been clear in my original post) that after productive discussions with Johanna , that I do not think of the role of the follower as lesser in any way when compared to the leader. After following, I have found that the notion that following is easy is that told by an ignorant.
I should also underline that I do not want to bring harmonisation of power to leader and follower, far away from it. Instead, I want sometimes to know what the other half of the tango universe (let's so call to the couple dancing) thinks and what that part can add to the dance. Needless to say that I love to take the decision as much as I love to observe the other part taking a decision. Some may call it PC-isation of tango. I don't go that way. I just want to have a dance in which I consider what my partner wants to tell me, whether it is by following on from what I lead or by suggesting me other options. That's everything!
The yin cannot exist without the yang, and vice versa.
I appreciate a little help from a "fully surrendered nymphette" to avoid collisions, but I don't dance with back leaders.
Hi Alex:
Neither do I. I refuse to dance with followers that push or pull me without me wnating to. Just be aware that backleading is not the same as passive leading. They are very different things. Backleading implies that the follower actually leads regardless of what the leader does. Passive leading means that the follower interacts with the leader suggesting moves, which ultimately are going to be decided by the leader to do.
In a hypothetical situation, the good passive leader does not influence the dance of the leader per se, it's the receptivity of the leader to the follower suggestions that puts the passive leader thoughts into action.
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