3789  Dancing in close embrace

Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 11:14:31 -0500
From: Michael Ditkoff <tangomaniac@CAVTEL.NET>
Subject: Dancing in close embrace

There has been some writing about changing between close and
open embrace during a dance because it gives variety. I only
dance close embrace unless I make a mistake and dance with a
woman who only dances open. If I know in advance she only
dances open, I won't ask her to dance.

Making a stretch, think of a couple as two batteries in a
flashlight. When the batteries are pointed in the correct
direction, the flashlight comes on. When either or both
batteries are dead, the flashlight won't come on. If the
batteries are facing the wrong way (negative to negative
instead of negative to positive), the light won't come on.
(I'm not discussing which partner is the 'positive' node and
which one is 'negative.')

Last Saturday, I danced multiple dances and tandas with ONE
woman. She was more than a battery, more like a nuclear
power plant!! Now, for what good reason would I want to open
the embrace and break the connection? I'm going to be blunt:
There is NO figure that requires open embrace that could
possibly be better than the connection we had.

Somebody wrote about a woman who felt suffocated. I'm not
sure that's a criticism of close embrace. That could be a
complaint about the man's frame. Another woman complained
she doesn't have a chance to play. That's a problem with the
leader, not with the embrace.

I FINALLY learned that because I know a lot of figures
DOESN'T mean I have to execute ALL of them. I used to think
I had to cram EVERYTHING into 3.5 minutes UNTIL the day I
realized my teacher, who knew exponentially more than me
didn't try to cram everything he knew into 3.5 minutes. A
friend (who doesn't dance) told me that the greatest form of
statement is understatement. Translated into tango: Not
trying to impress your partner with flashy figures can mean
more than leading them.

Michael Ditkoff
Washington, DC
Took on so much energy from dancing with a nuclear power
plant
I can light flashlights MYSELF



I'd rather be dancing Argentine Tango