2918  Cable Car Tango

Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 13:35:11 -0400
From: Michael <tangomaniac@CAVTEL.NET>
Subject: Cable Car Tango

Cable Car Tango
Yogi Berra, the former New York Yankees catcher, (who is probably crying
this morning over last night's game)is renown for his pithy expressions.
One of them is "You can observe a lot just by watching." Well, you can
learn a lot about dancing tango just by watching how other people move. It
doesn't even have to be at a milonga. Just watching how people walk down
the street or stand while they are talking to someone can be instructive.

I arrived in San Francisco last August, four days prior to my 18 day
cruise to New York via the Panama Canal. Besides dancing tango, I did what
can't be done in any other American city -- ride a cable car.

For those unfamiliar with this national landmark (the only one on
wheels!!), the car runs on tracks with a grip attached to the underground
cable that moves at a constant 9 mph. For those who haven't been to San
Francisco, the "city by the bay" is built on hills. One hill has a slope
of 21 percent. You get a spectacular view of the Bay as you crest Russian
Hill on the Powell-Hyde line, IMHO, the most scenic and exciting of the
three lines.

Cable cars have a two person crew, a gripman (who pulls on the levers to
make the car stop and go) and the conductor (who works the rear brakes and
collects fares.) I observed how they operate the cranks and levers. It
confirmed how tango should be danced.

Below are my observations of cable car operation followed by the
application to tango.

Cable Car: To get the car moving along a flat street or uphill, the
gripman pulls back on the "grip." The grip reaches into a slot in the
street to grip the cable. The grip looks like a vise. The more the gripman
pulls back on the grip, the tighter the grip grasps the cable. He doesn't
use his back to pull but leans back onto his support foot and pulls with
his muscles.

Tango Application: When moving backwards, the foot moves first, then the
body moves backward and the foot supports the body.

Cable Car: The gripman firmly holds the grip handle but doesn't suffocate
it. If he did, his muscles would grip themselves and he wouldn't be able
to move.

Tango Application: The man should have a firm frame without suffocating
the woman. There should be NO resistance nor tension in the man's left arm
and the woman's right arm. Otherwise, the dancer's muscles will grip
making it difficult to move them.

Cable Car: The conductor pulls twice on the communicating bell to indicate
"OK to go" to the gripman and once on the communicating bell to indicate
"stop at the next stop."

Tango Application: Leaders has to clearly communicate IN ADVANCE the next
step for the woman to take BEFORE the woman takes the next step.

For those who have never seen a cable car, I suggest you check out of your
public library the children's story "Maybelle, the Cable Car" by Virginia
Lee Burton. Ms. Burton was an illustrator who drew beautiful pictures. The
book includes pictures of a cable car showing front and wheel brakes, the
track brakes, and the dreaded emergency brake which jams a piece of metal
into the slot when the other brakes can't stop the car.

The book is based on a real story. In 1947, the mayor of San Francisco,
claiming massive deficits from cable car operation, got the city council
to vote to terminate cable car operations and replace the cars with,UGH,
buses. But one woman, a senior citizen, led the fight against the city.
She organized a citizens group called the Citizens Group to Save the Cable
Cars. She collected signatures on a petition and forced the city to let
the citizens vote on whether or not to save the cars. The vote was 3 to 1
to save the cars. On a historical note, the California Street cable car
celebrated its 125th anniversary last year.

Michael Ditkoff
Enjoying my NEW email address

Wish I was back in San Francisco

Washington, DC



--
I'd rather be dancing Argentine Tango!!