Hi everybody, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. During the last two Tango Tips, we've been talking about making the transition from being what I call a "Level 1" Tango dancer (having the courage to get up on the dance floor and move around to the music with a partner) to the all-important "Level 2" -- in which you make a serious commitment to incorporating real skill into your social dance. By "real skill" I'm referring to three very specific skill sets, which work together. They are the following:

1.     Balance

2.     Lead/follow collaboration

3.     Single-step movement

Last week, we discussed balance. Today, I'd like to talk about the lead/follow collaboration. During previous Tango Tips, I have defined and discussed this subject in great detail. For this reason, I'm not going to repeat myself here. My goal today is to stress the importance of lead/follow as a crucial component of the broader matrix of skill sets you need in order to become what I've been calling a "Level 2" Tango dancer.

By the way, whenever I address the issue of building a foundation, I find myself drawn irresistibly into a rant. (You may know by this time that I love to engage in rants.)

Anyway, sorry about that, but here goes. (Deep breath, please.)

As I have often remarked in the past, I find it curious (appalling, to be more precise) that students are not introduced to the mechanics of leading and following right from the start, when they study Tango with a teacher. To be sure, there is often some attempt made to advance the notion of "moving together," usually through the use of perhaps well-intended -- but in my opinion singularly ineffective -- fun and games activities. But from what I've observed, many Tango teachers don't really seem to care about or understand lead/follow themselves, and are, therefore, ill-prepared to instruct students appropriately.

Another obstacle to focusing on lead/follow right from the beginning is that the overwhelming majority of male students (you'll be shocked to learn) would much rather accumulate dance figures. Once they've mustered up the courage to finally get themselves out on the dance floor, what they really want is for someone to "show them the steps." If a well-meaning teacher now tries to steer them toward building a solid foundation for movement first, they almost invariably reject this learning trajectory out of hand, and make a beeline for the honeyed blandishments of YouTube.

Personally, I enjoy the unique luxury of teaching at the Argentine Consulate every week, where -- because the lessons are free -- I can insist that my students actually focus on learning to dance -- rather than blindly accumulating dance figures. "If you don't like it, you can leave," I find myself wanting to say (but don't).

The reality is that insisting on a mandatory foundational learning process would be difficult at best to get away with at a dance school, where the emphasis is on giving students what they want in order to keep their wallets in the active mode. In fact, I've often been advised by employers that the trick is to sneak the actual learning process in between the cracks. "Just try giving them the glitz they want, Fran, while infusing the lessons with real learning in the most painless way possible." Unfortunately, this approach just doesn't work. If at some point the student isn't exposed to real learning, they simply never learn.

Getting back now to the real (actually I mean ideal) world: If we put our three interacting skill sets into practical terms --

·      Our ultimate goal is to produce a single step.

·      We begin the process with the lead/follow collaboration.

·      We end the process with balance.

If you can find yourself a teacher who values these elements, who knows how to teach these elements, and who will work with you to get these skill sets securely into your system, you will become a skilled social Tango dancer. If you don't, folks, trust me: you won't.

Okay, my rant for today is over. I can't tell you how much better I feel. Next week, we'll talk about the third of our foundational skill sets: single-step movement.

Please join us for our Saturday Practica at Dardo Galletto Studios, 151 West 46^th Street (between 6^th and 7^th Avenues), 11^th floor; 2-4pm, $10 per person. (Bringing a partner isn't necessary.) Pat and I will both be on hand to answer any questions you may have about your dancing, and to help you with material you're working on. Plus you get a new “must-have” tango move each week! If you’d like a private lesson, you can visit our website at www.franchesleigh.com, call Fran directly at 212-662-7692, or email him at franchesleigh@mac.com Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/franchesleighllc

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

• Tsypoyra Sartan
• Elena Syrett
• Elena Titova
• ​​​​​​​Jesse Barton
• ​​​​​​​Mike Porro