The long-term solution is dual-role dancing?

I patiently watched this interview with Melina Sedó. I'm not a fan of hers, but I respect her professional approach.
Two statements struck me as noteworthy:
1) The percentage of men increased from 20% at her first double-role encuentro to 33% at her second.
2) The female double-roler there now prefer to lead more than to follow.
3) In general she notices much more lading ladies at encuentros then at marathons.

Well, I'll continue to wait "patiently" with following until my SO seriously considers to learn to lead. But I expect that to happen sometime this year.


 
TTanguero said:
Meaning ... ?
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This may or may not be it, but while I respect Melina's experience in dancing and teaching and have actually watched her performances to learn a thing or two, she gives me the feeling that she'd prefer tango to conform to a narrower range of styles than what currently exists. Whether that's actually true or not, I have absolutely no idea.

Maybe I'm intuiting this solely from the way her blog posts are written (again, opinion-based) and her greater age, but those aren't clear indicators.
 
TTanguero said:
Why not a fan, as a matter of interest?
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In the video, she made a faux pas, in my opinion, when she said that single-rolers have developed a rigid, narrow-minded perspective over time; but just a few minutes later, she reported that she has insisted on an orderly ronda, mirada/cabeceo, and, of course, traditional music all time.

I don't know her personally, but I find her presentation too strict; after watching the videos, and also because of the location, I prefer other events.
 
itwillhappen said:
an orderly ronda, mirada/cabeceo, and, of course, traditional music all time.

I don't know her personally, but I find her presentation too strict; after watching the videos, and also because of the location, I prefer other events.
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I don't know, honestly, her definitions are definitely stricter than what mine would, I'm more laissez-faire. I'm generally in favour of an orderly ronda — but if we're going to nitpick over semantics, orderly does not imply perfect lines or regular moving lines of dances without crossover, at least not for me. I maintain an orderly ronda need only have approximately the following:

1. Dancers are conscious and respectful of each other and careful not to intrude into each other's personal space (however large or small it may be) except for brief moments.
2. The ronda is generally flowing, not static.
3. Nature abhors a vacuum; so too does denseness long for release. Space on the pista demands to be filled, and when filled, is emptied. That process is organic and natural. Why take tiny steps if you have a nearly empty dancefloor in front of you and the music tells you to take a long, enjoyable walk?

I don't care about crossing between lanes as long as the movement isn't unpredictable and doesn't cause a leader to frantically redirect their walk elsewhere.

Mirada and cabeceo — I've said it here and will continue to say it elsewhere, but while I prefer them, I don't stand against verbal invitations. They are fine as long as they aren't disturbing the invitee, and that the inviter can gracefully accept verbal rejection.

Traditional music all the time — What, we're going to ignore and not support the likes of La Juan D'Arienzo or Orquesta Típica Sans Souci???

All I've read and watched about Melina points to a relative inflexibility on matters of tango that, while I consider it a reasonable perspective to have, does not mesh with my own.

I straddle the boundaries and constantly dive in and out of the conservative and liberal sides of all things tango whenever it pleases me. I've DJed for milongas that were very much diametric opposites. I go crazy and try to catch every beat of Milonga para as missões, and I walk languidly and bask in the embrace when Dios Momo is playing. I'd still happily DJ for Thames Valley tango events and central London milongas if I were still there.

I'm not saying that greater or lesser flexibility is good or bad; merely that it arises from one's innate traits, and it is what it is.
 
pianistamediano said:
I maintain an orderly ronda need only have approximately the following:

1. Dancers are conscious and respectful of each other and careful not to intrude into each other's personal space (however large or small it may be) except for brief moments.
2. The ronda is generally flowing, not static.
3. Nature abhors a vacuum; so too does denseness long for release. Space on the pista demands to be filled, and when filled, is emptied. That process is organic and natural. Why take tiny steps if you have a nearly empty dancefloor in front of you and the music tells you to take a long, enjoyable walk?

I don't care about crossing between lanes as long as the movement isn't unpredictable and doesn't cause a leader to frantically redirect their walk elsewhere.

Mirada and cabeceo — I've said it here and will continue to say it elsewhere, but while I prefer them, I don't stand against verbal invitations. They are fine as long as they aren't disturbing the invitee, and that the inviter can gracefully accept verbal rejection.
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Actually, in relaxed milongas in Buenos Aires, this was exactly how it was. I think it would be a waste of time to argue whether they're any more or less "authentic" than the strict ones.
 
Here is another recent interview with men that follow in tango.


I’m trying to learn to follow and personally I get a lot of comments around navigation from men and women. I am a bit taller and fatter than the average follow so there is always a lot of comments from whoever is leading that they can’t see or that it is much harder to navigate me in class. It’s subtle but pretty discouraging. Feels the women who want to lead have an easier time.
 
brujo said:
..a lot of comments.. that it is much harder to navigate me..
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I can understand that. As a leader, I also prefer a certain height in my followers. While everyone says that height doesn't matter, that's not true. My joints notice it immediately. And vice versa. When I still was able to following, I also preferred men who were a bit taller.
 
Most of the short guys - and short ladies - I dance with (people who can’t look over my shoulder), have lots and lots of turns and pivots so they know what’s behind me. It’s the guys the same height as me who are not used to it.

There’s s tall (maybe 2m) and broad shouldered guy I often run into in different cities, he loves following, and I love watching him. He doesn’t try stylistically do cliché feminine moves (which some do), he’s just being himself. What I like to watch is how he deals with active following without doing too much or too little or being too ‘heavy’, as well as what types of ornamentation he does. Because he’s primarily a leader, he knows what types of ornamentation gets in the way.
The opposite, watching female leaders, doesn’t always give me cues of which moves they like to be on the reviving end of.
 
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