331  true meaning of pre-lead

Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2001 06:57:56 -0800
From: John Trimble <john.trimble@EXCITE.COM>
Subject: true meaning of pre-lead

Everyone has been overcomplicating the prelead. Preleading is the natural
complement to pre-following. In the effort to have a voice as a leader, it
is sometimes necessary to prelead by several steps. Some tangos are a
game of tic-tac-to with swift responses to each new impulse requiring no
prelead whatsoever. Others are a game of checkers which may require serious
preleading. But the real value of preleading is evident in dancing with the
follower whose tangos resemble chess who may be anticipating her steps as
many as a dozen in advance. With some such followers, I have occassionally
preled the last step of the dance before the music even begins. Of course,
that was the only step I actually led in that dance, and I have only been
able to do this to the music of D'Arienzo.





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Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2001 20:14:33 -0800
From: clayton beach <akumushi@ONEBOX.COM>
Subject: Re: true meaning of pre-lead

In his last e-mail, John Trimble wrote:

>But the real value of preleading is evident in dancing with the
>follower whose tangos resemble chess who may be anticipating her steps
>as many as a dozen in advance. With some such followers, I have >occassionally
>preled the last step of the dance before the music even begins.

I don't know if I'm being dense, or taking this too literally, but anticipating
an entire dance?
This sounds like my tango hell, rather than anything positive.
If anything, I strive to drive out thoughts of future steps, living in
that exact moment and savoring each step individually.
As soon as either partner starts thinking ahead, the other person is
left behind.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'anticipating,' but it has an enitrely
negative connotation in my understanding of the dance.
As soon as a follow expects a move, and assumes that the dance will move
in that direction, it becomes difficult to lead anything but that move.
On the other hand, problems arise when a lead assumes that the follow
will do exactly what he intended and so he begins the next move. If
he anticpates her reaction, and is already planning the next move, he
will make his partner uncomfortable and put her off balance.
Anticipation also inhibits floor craft, where the other couples may not
always do what you expect. A lead intent on whatever pattern he started
runs the risk of crashing into another couple, while a follow who anticipates
makes it difficult for the lead to change plans and get out of the way.

I would definitely like to hear a discussion of how a couple can anticipate
constructively, and how tango can become a game of chess.
It sounds very interesting, and is completely different from how I approach
the dance.
I've found that anticipation makes things nearly impossible when the
floor gets crowded, especially when dancing to live music.
That is when every second counts, and no movement is for certain until
it has passed.
--
Clayton Beach
akumushi@onebox.com