Ampster
Active Member
You are absolutely right. There are a few milongueros who take exception. I (even) know follows who dislike dancing with him. Anyway, Tete does what he does, and he was good at it.
My Incompetence
- Thread starter tangomonkey
- Start date
You are absolutely right. There are a few milongueros who take exception. I (even) know follows who dislike dancing with him. Anyway, Tete does what he does, and he was good at it.
I've heard/read Tete's armless lead called the aeroplane for the obvious
visual reason. Tete of course was very good and, while there's no doubt about
his lead from the chest, such a connection required his partner to positively follow
his chest absolutely and to have the most wonderful balance and sensitivity
to make it work. It is amazingly good practice to dance without using arms
for both leaders and followers.
I'm not going to get into the many possible and varied reasons why some ladies
might not have liked dancing with Tete. Just let's not forget the remarkable
contribution from Sylvia who clearly did enjoy dancing with Tete.
That's pretty much what I learned from Tete and Sylvia as well. In demos he would remove his arms more than when social dancing. Although one shouldn't need the arms to lead, I have to admit from a follower's point of view, it's a little weird dancing more than a few measures with a leader who doesn't touch you with any part of his arms. Psychologically, it feels rather like you are glommed on to a resistant man who wishes you'd let go of him. (unless you are doing it as an exercise)
On the older Bridge to the Tango videos, he would allow his right arm to come away from the follower, but continue to hold the other hand. And he would replace his right arm soon after. There would be continuous movement of the arm... slowly come away, float back, float forward, and replace. It was to show that there was no tension in his arm and that it was not necessary for leading.
opendoor
Forum Master
Indeed JohnEm, this is one of the best exercises for beginners, and should frequently be repeated in advanced classes, too. The next level is, to do it openly (con luce). I know some of you believe this to be less difficult, but I think, this would be the more advanced exercise.
That's pretty much the instruction I got very early on... first I had to follow with no arms touching, only chest contact, with a small pillow between us (woe to those who let the pillow fall!) Then we practiced without touching at all.. following the chest by sight. It gave me a much deeper understanding as a follower of what the leader's movements were and what they indicated to me. (and certainly taught the leaders that their chest lead had to be very purposeful and clear.) Great exercises.
tangomonkey
Active Member
Our teacher used a coin. The follow placed it on her chest and we made contact then walked forward, back, to the side. Haven't done it in class for a while though...I think too many people were hesitant to get so close to strangers.
Boy, that's tough... a coin gives you no leeway at all. And depending on how, ahem (cough cough) endowed the woman is, it could be impossible.. (might need 2 coins)
(doing my best to keep this family friendly but the obvious physical issue is there)
tangomonkey
Active Member
It was very hard to do and I found myself concentrating on the coin more than trying to walk/lead with good technique. A small cushion or folded towel is a probably a better choice. It was amusing, though, hearing the coins falling to the ground as people lost contact. And ya, size mattered...
Ampster
Active Member
A piece of 8.5x11 bond paper works much better. It made you concentrate on the proper posture while moving. I think (as you said) using a coin would force you to concentrate on the coin more than anything else.
True. But, if you're doing close embrace tango (a.k.a. Milonguero), you need to be able to do that connected together (i.e. chest-to-chest). Try using the piece of bond paper and practice your giros (turns)
An old CD works pretty well. It's big enough and also somewhat slippery.
tangomonkey
Active Member
Looks like its time to wrap up this thread - at least the theme of the OP. (Although if anyone has more to add, I'm all ears, so to speak).
Many thanks to everyone. Your advice and comments have been extremely helpful. I've read the posts many times and there is a wealth of good stuff there. Thanks!
Many thanks to everyone. Your advice and comments have been extremely helpful. I've read the posts many times and there is a wealth of good stuff there. Thanks!