, Barbara

Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. The other day, I was pointing out to one of my student leaders that I thought he was trying to move his follower much too quickly through her molinete (You remember, don't you? That's the grapevine-like sequence often used in Tango, when the follower moves around the leader).

His response was: "I had to lead her that fast so she'd keep up with the music."

"Do you think that at her current level of skill she actually has the ability to move that fast?"

"I don't know. I never thought about it. Everyone tells me that it's the music that counts. She's just supposed to make it work, right?"

Wrong.

Or at least it's wrong in my opinion. I've been studying Argentine Tango since 1986, and teaching it for 21 years. One thing that virtually all my teachers from Argentina would do (I'm sure most of them still do this right now) is that when they'd walk into a room to teach a class or a private lesson, they would invariably turn on the music immediately.

"There is no Tango without the music," they would say.

"Moving to the music is the most important thing."

Hmm. I agree completely -- once you've been dancing Tango for, let's say, thirty years or so. But if you can't walk, can't balance, can't lead, can't follow, and generally don't know which way is up ... moving to the music in Tango can be a bit of a problem.

So when I walk into a room to teach a class or private lesson, I do not automatically turn on the music -- especially when I'm working with beginners (these are people who've been dancing Tango for less than maybe 10 years). For people like this, moving to the music --  as important as it will become in the future -- is, generally speaking, impossible.

Rather than bore you with the details of my personal pedagogical approach to teaching Tango, I'm now going to hope that some of you agree with my assessment of the situation, and I'll quickly segue back to my student leader who was racing his partner around in a molinete she couldn't possibly handle.

"Martin (that's not his real name)," I said, "when leading her in molinete, what's important right now is her level of comfort, not the music.

"But --"

"Her level of comfort, Martin (still not his real name). Moving to the music comes later."

Heresy, right?

Okay, so Martin humored me, and reluctantly tried to lead Melissa (not her real name either) more slowly -- without the music playing. At first, she couldn't stop herself from racing. Then, when she calmed down a little, her molinete started to feel comfortable and balanced.

"Gee, that feels good," she exclaimed.

"Yeah," countered Martin, "but the music goes faster!"

"Give it another few years, Martin," I suggested. "It'll get better."

Grumble, grumble ... (That's Martin, waiting for me to leave the room so he can start racing her around again).

I'm here, leaders; I'm on my knees: I'm begging you to slow those molinetes down. Give it a shot. Try one whole day without whirlwind grapevines. I guarantee you that everybody will be happier.

Especially me.

Every Saturday, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Dance Manhattan, Fran and Pat host a special beginner/intermediate practice, geared toward helping you bring your skills up to speed. The cost for the practice is $10 per person. (Bringing a partner isn't necessary.) Fran and Pat are always on hand to answer any questions you may have about your dancing, and to help you with material you're working on. If you'd like a private lesson, call Fran directly at 212-662-7692, or email him at franchesleigh@mac.com. For the practice, all you have to do is arrive with $10 and your dance shoes in hand.

The following folks helped set up, break down and clean up before and after the milonga. Without them, there would be no Firehouse Tango.