993 Leaning/Hanging; Calesita
Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 12:03:20 -0700
From: Dave Schmitz <dschmitz@MAGELLAN.TEQ.STORTEK.COM>
Subject: Leaning/Hanging; Calesita
Tom wrote:
> But the word LEAN
> is dangerous. It implies hanging, or "giving your weight to" your
> partner.
I'm in total agreement with Tom on this.
In a recent workshop with partner rotation, my partner-of-the-moment
was very "heavy". I couldn't do anything with her. I also don't
like to teach partners when it's not my class, so I kept my mouth shut.
The teacher noticed the problem, came over, and said to my partner
to not "hang on him".
It made a WORLD of difference!
She became much "lighter" and easier to dance with.
When the woman supports her own weight,
it saves a lot of money on the guys' ibuprofen bills!
> Then there is that danged Calesita with the lady at 45 degrees! I
> call it the "Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima move".
Cute terminology.
I happen to like it, when the lady has a strong back.
Perhaps even more than 45 degrees from vertical!
It's far easier on my back than a partner who HANGS!
Deejay Dave,
Denver, Colorado
- Who likes various embraces depending on the lady,
the music, the mood, the crowd, and prior intake
of chocolate.
Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 11:24:42 -0800
From: Barbara Garvey <barbara@TANGOBAR-PRODUCTIONS.COM>
Subject: Re: Leaning/Hanging; Calesita
This reminds me of the time I took a class with Tete and Maria, and asked
Maria if the woman actually 'leaned', put her weight on, the leader. She
said 'No importa'.
Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2003 13:49:34 -0700
From: Brian Dunn <Brian@DANCEOFTHEHEART.COM>
Subject: Re: Leaning/Hanging; Calesita
Tom wrote:
> But the word LEAN
> is dangerous. It implies hanging, or "giving your weight to" your
> partner....
> Then there is that danged Calesita with the lady at 45 degrees! I
> call it the "Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima move".
Then Dave wrote:
>...The teacher noticed the problem, came over, and said to my partner
>to not "hang on him"...It made a WORLD of difference!
>She became much "lighter" and easier to dance with....
>When the woman supports her own weight,
>it saves a lot of money on the guys' ibuprofen bills!
re the "danged Calesita":
>I happen to like it, when the lady has a strong back.
>Perhaps even more than 45 degrees from vertical!
Seems to me that two different things are inadvertently getting lumped here:
1) What a follower does by habit, regardless of what I lead ("hanging" on me
all the time - aarrgh).The good news is that it responds to training, and
should be self-correcting. This follower will probably notice good dancers
avoiding her, and high-tail it to class.
2) What some other leader leads his follower to do, perhaps successfully,
which I don't like (the "danged calesita"): danged or not, the lean in the
calesita is clearly a led move. Paraphrasing what the doctor said: "If it
hurts, don't lead it". ;)
In my experience, lots of women like a well-led leaning calesita, which
provides her with good support and no strain on her back. But I have seen
the leaning version led poorly, for example from an open embrace or with
only minimal support. You see the sweat beading on her forehead and her
eyes popping from the strain, and marvel again at what women put up with
sometimes...he doesn't look that comfortable either. Again, the fix is
clear - off to lessons (for him, this time).
Another led leaning move gaining increasing favor locally, which
superficially resembles a leaning calesita, involves turning a follower's
cross or a back ocho into a leaning step by drawing the follower against
one's chest while the leader brings the follower off-axis. Some term this
move the "volcada." This vocabulary was first introduced here by Luciana
Valle and Alex Krebs last summer; I've also seen Florencia Taccetti use this
in performance in Portland last October. It creates a flowing
in-between-partners space for the woman to adorn with her free leg in slow
circular sweeps. The follower feels a stretched-out moment of suspension,
like the crashing and receding of a wave. It's especially nice to lead when
the music pauses - she can fill the pause with her leg sweeps. While it can
look spectacular in performance, it's very socially considerate and
adaptable, since you can lead different amounts of follower's lean to fit
different crowd conditions. In addition, the move is "inwardly active,"
avoiding the risks of more outwardly active moves like high back boleos or
outward ganchos whose dynamic can more readily affect other dancers.
Most interestingly, for those who like naming styles, the move fits some
recently floated definitions of "apilado," even when the lean is 45 degrees
or more, because the partner's sternums, shoulders and hips can remain in
contact the whole time.
All the best,
Brian Dunn
Dance of the Heart
Boulder, Colorado USA
1(303)938-0716
https://www.danceoftheheart.com
