3407 Choosing a partner
Date: Mon, 9 May 2005 15:43:13 -0700
From: Razor Girl <dilettante666@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Choosing a partner
Hi,
The recent posts regarding invitations to dance
reminded me of the question I asked a couple of my
girl friends last week.
Followers: What do you look for in a leader when you
watch the floor trying to determine who you want to
dance with? When you are in a new place or in your own
town what physical clues tell you that you might enjoy
dancing with him?
A couple of answers I received were:
I look at their embrace, whether he holds his hand
high or low and where he places his hand on his
partners back.
I look at his butt, looking to see if he moves in sort
of a "wave".
I look at his posture
I look at his feet and his partners feet and whether
he moves with the music
I look at his partner's face, to see if she is
enjoying dancing with him
I look to see who the women I consider good dancers
are dancing with
What about you?
The same question could go for leaders too. What are
you looking for when you physically watch people dance
that indicates to you that they might be a good
potential partner?
Regards,
Rose
Portland, OR
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 13:44:42 -0400
From: Miguel Canals <elpibemc1961@YAHOO.CA>
Subject: Re: Choosing a partner
--- Razor Girl wrote:
> The same question could go for leaders too. What
> are you looking for ....
It has been a while since I went somewhere where I
don't know anyone, but this is what I look at.
First I look for the good leaders. They usually have
the pick of the best dancers, so whoever they dance
with are usually good picks. For the female dancers,
I also look to see if they dance with more than one
partner.
As for identifying good dancers, both male and female,
posture, musicality, and ease of movement is what I
look for. This last one, ease of movement, lets me
know if the dancer is relaxed, and indicates partly
how advanced his or her dancing is.
One of the responses from females:
> I look at their embrace, whether he holds his hand
> high or low and where he places his hand on his
> partners back.
Can whoever gave that response elaborate? I don't see
how this may indicate a good dancer or not (assuming
that the position of the embrace is within the range
where the embrace will be comfortable for both
partners).
Unless, of course, the observer is looking to see if
the leader is caressing his partner' hand, arm, back,
etc., which I have been known to do when the moment is
right and my partner encourages it. ;-)
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 13:06:11 -0500
From: Lois Donnay <donnay@DONNAY.NET>
Subject: Re: Choosing a partner
I'll elaborate. As a teacher, my reputation has been built by turning out
good leaders, and my guys are in high demand on the dancefloor. The embrace
is the key. Getting that arm all the way around your follower is sometimes
difficult for leaders who can't relax. Their hand ends up in the middle of
her back. There's no connection to her side. They start pulling her in,
interrupting her balance. They push her with their arm, instead of leading
with their torso. The embrace tells the follower "Here is where you belong
in my arms. I'll take care of everything" Hmmmm.
Lois
Minneapolis
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Miguel Canals [mailto:elpibemc1961@YAHOO.CA]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 12:45 PM
> To: TANGO-L@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject: Re: [TANGO-L] Choosing a partner
>
>
> --- Razor Girl wrote:
> > The same question could go for leaders too. What
> > are you looking for ....
>
> It has been a while since I went somewhere where I
> don't know anyone, but this is what I look at.
>
> First I look for the good leaders. They usually have
> the pick of the best dancers, so whoever they dance
> with are usually good picks. For the female dancers,
> I also look to see if they dance with more than one
> partner.
>
> As for identifying good dancers, both male and female,
> posture, musicality, and ease of movement is what I
> look for. This last one, ease of movement, lets me
> know if the dancer is relaxed, and indicates partly
> how advanced his or her dancing is.
>
>
> One of the responses from females:
>
> > I look at their embrace, whether he holds his hand
> > high or low and where he places his hand on his
> > partners back.
>
> Can whoever gave that response elaborate? I don't see
> how this may indicate a good dancer or not (assuming
> that the position of the embrace is within the range
> where the embrace will be comfortable for both
> partners).
>
> Unless, of course, the observer is looking to see if
> the leader is caressing his partner' hand, arm, back,
> etc., which I have been known to do when the moment is
> right and my partner encourages it. ;-)
>
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 15:23:57 -0300
From: Alberto Gesualdi <clambat2001@YAHOO.COM.AR>
Subject: Choosing a partner
Dear friends from Tango list
I would like to quote some excerpts from a great chilean poet , Pablo Neruda . This is part of his aceptance speech of the Nobel Prize
Warm regards
Alberto Gesualdi
Buenos Aires
"Great forests cover like a tunnel the regions beyond reach, and , since our journey was of a hidden nature and forbidden, we acepted only the weakest signals for orientation. There were no footsteps, no trails and with my four partners , horseback , we search in a sloped riding - taking apart the mighty trees, impossible rivers , overwhelming rockbeds, desertic snows , guessing maybe the bearing of my own freedom ."
..........
" In such a way we crossed. And just arriving to the other side , the local guides, the peasants that came with me asked with a certain kind of smile :
Was you afraid ?
A lot - I said. I thought my last hour was arrived ."
...........
" Close to the bonfire, arranged like bags, there were lying some men. We perceive within the silence , the strings of a guitar and the words of a song that, being born from hot ashes and darkness, brought to us the first human voice found in our jopurney . It was a song of love and distance, a nostalgic lieder of love addressed to the far away springtime, to the cities from whom we were come, to the infinite extension of life ."
Abrm tu cuenta aqum
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 21:11:42 +0200
From: Fulano Detal <campanero@SHINYFEET.COM>
Subject: Re: Choosing a partner
Lois Donnay said:
> I'll elaborate. As a teacher, my reputation has been built by turning out
> good leaders, and my guys are in high demand on the dancefloor. The
> embrace
> is the key. Getting that arm all the way around your follower is sometimes
> difficult for leaders who can't relax. Their hand ends up in the middle of
> her back. There's no connection to her side. They start pulling her in,
> interrupting her balance. They push her with their arm, instead of leading
> with their torso. The embrace tells the follower "Here is where you belong
> in my arms. I'll take care of everything" Hmmmm.
>
> Lois
> Minneapolis
Getting one's arm around a woman is the easiest thing to do ;).... A warm
embrace is very nice and a good connection is important, but that alone is
nothing if the guy doesn't know when, where or how to move is feet and
lead his partner.
All kidding aside, the embrace is of course very important. However,
judging the quality of a dancer (leader or follower) only by the
appearance of their embrace would be IMHO, a big mistake. I look at the
musicality of the dancers. How well they move to the music and how light
on their feet they move. This does not mean they are un-grounded or on
their tiptoes, leaning forward and falling all the time :P.
The embrace is good to evaluate, but it's definitely not the main or the
only component of the dance. You can have a wonderful embrace and be a
total klutz on the dance floor, but if you have good skills of dance, your
embrace will of necesity be good..... There can be no good dancer with a
poor embrace but there can definitely be great embracers with poor dance
skills ;-)
Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 14:21:21 -0500
From: Leonardo Kunkayo <leonardok@MAC.COM>
Subject: Re: Choosing a partner
Very nice Alberto,
Often times it is the journey itself rather than the destination that
brings the most enduring memories, enhancing the satisfaction of
accomplishment. Else what good would foreplay be, verdad mujers?
May your tango prosper,
Leonardo K.
On May 10, 2005, at 1:23 PM, Alberto Gesualdi wrote:
> Dear friends from Tango list
> I would like to quote some excerpts from a great chilean poet , Pablo
> Neruda . This is part of his aceptance speech of the Nobel Prize
> Warm regards
> Alberto Gesualdi
> Buenos Aires
>
>
>
> "Great forests cover like a tunnel the regions beyond reach, and ,
> since our journey was of a hidden nature and forbidden, we acepted
> only the weakest signals for orientation. There were no footsteps, no
> trails and with my four partners , horseback , we search in a sloped
> riding - taking apart the mighty trees, impossible rivers ,
> overwhelming rockbeds, desertic snows , guessing maybe the bearing of
> my own freedom ."
>
> ..........
>
> " In such a way we crossed. And just arriving to the other side , the
> local guides, the peasants that came with me asked with a certain kind
> of smile :
>
> Was you afraid ?
>
> A lot - I said. I thought my last hour was arrived ."
>
> ...........
>
> " Close to the bonfire, arranged like bags, there were lying some men.
> We perceive within the silence , the strings of a guitar and the words
> of a song that, being born from hot ashes and darkness, brought to us
> the first human voice found in our jopurney . It was a song of love
> and distance, a nostalgic lieder of love addressed to the far away
> springtime, to the cities from whom we were come, to the infinite
> extension of life ."
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Abrm tu cuenta aqum
>
