1188  hijacking the lead and the first & last steps

Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 23:06:46 -0300
From: Janis Kenyon <jantango@FEEDBACK.NET.AR>
Subject: hijacking the lead and the first & last steps

>Rick from PDX wrote:

>>Tango is almost totally led, no? ... West Coast is the
>>only dance I know that isn't totally led. ... [S]he [the
>>follower] can hijack the lead, pause in very places &
>>"say something" thru her dancing.

Last week, I heard a milonguera explain how she changes directions or pauses
when she wants to. I lead her to demonstrate how she pauses; I felt it.
Amanda
Lucero, who has been dancing tango for 50 years, shared these secrets with
an American woman during a private lesson. The men who dance with Amanda
know this about her dancing.

And that first step to the side when one begins a tango . . . does it have
to be on the beat of the music?

No. It has been my experience dancing in the milongas of BsAs that every
milonguero begins with a step to the side, but it has nothing to do with the
music. It's a preparation to dance. After this preparation step, when the
he feels ready to move, he moves with rhythm of the music.

And the last step of the tango . . . does it have to end with the last beat
of the music?

No. Often after the final notes, the tango ends with a slow step to the
side. It's the final resolution of the tango. I have become accustomed to
the fact that the first step and last step of the tango are apart from the
dance.


A tango ends and it begins--with the feet together.

Pichi de Buenos Aires