451  Tandas (and Attracting and keeping men)

Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002 18:22:57 -0500
From: Tanguero Chino <tanguerochino@NETSCAPE.NET>
Subject: Re: Tandas (and Attracting and keeping men)

Carol Shepherd <shepherd@ARBORLAW.COM> wrote:

(For keeping beginning men around)

>I think it helps to discourage dancing tandas with the same
>partner. I love dancing tandas as much as anyone, it's a great
>tradition that makes tango different and unique, but it should be
>discouraged if there are a lot of beginners. The beginner leaders get
>overwhelmed trying to lead an entire tanda ...

>... And for the followers it's a big commitment to be expected to
>want to dance not one but 3 dances with a beginner.

I prefer milongas that play music in tandas to those that don't.

Where I go, the tandas are usually set up in groups of 4. If I want to dance a particular tanda, but not all the songs, I just sit out the first song, and sometimes even the second one. I sometimes do this when I dance with someone that I have not met before, and have not had a chance to observe her dancing. This is an alternative for the ladies as well.

Back to attracting men:

Having the opportunity to dance with someone with experience is an excellent way of helping someone improve their dancing. This is true for both women and men, but it is more so for the beginning men, and I am speaking from my own experience.

One thing that can definitely help the beginning man is the embrace. Most beginners have trouble with this, especially in close embrace. This problem is worse in north America where personal space is big, and bodily contact (between strangers) is avoided for its sexual implications. As experienced dancers, the ladies can help with "giving in to the embrace" (both open and close), making sure both partners are comfortable. This will help put the man more at ease. Since all dances start with the embrace, it goes a long way to ease the beginner into the rest of the dancing.

Also from my own experience, dancing with relatively new-comers has improved my leading, in that I have to be precise about my leading. Expanding from this, I wonder if dancing with beginners will improve an experienced follower's technique. I am not talking about "sensing" the lead, walking, balance, etc. Rather, I am thinking about giving non-verbal feedback to the leader, like slowing down the pace, dancing to the music, etc. Any experiences or opinions?

A good weekend of tangos to all.

TC

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