Hi everyone, Fran here with your Tango Tip of the Week. If you’ve been following our latest group of Tango Tips, you know that for the past several weeks we’ve been talking about the leader’s responsibilities in social Tango.

So far, we’ve discussed the following elements:

•   Building a solid repertoire of figures and sequences

•   Acquiring and maintaining total mastery of lead/follow skills

•   Achieving expertise in navigating the dance floor

Today, we’re going to focus on yet another of the leader’s many responsibilities — that of moving himself and his partner in time with the music. In this regard, let me suggest three ideas for leaders to keep in mind:

1.      The leader’s response to the music is completely improvised rather than predetermined.

2.      It is NOT necessary to move to every beat.

3.      In any given sequence the follower’s comfort takes absolute precedence over the demands of the music.

Let’s address these issues one at a time.

Improvised response

In virtually all of our dances here in the U.SA., we use a predetermined foot pattern accompanied by a fixed rhythm. We refer to this as a “basic step.” As a student progresses, the pattern may vary slightly; however, even at advanced levels the timing is generally “set in stone.” With social Tango the leader improvises both the step pattern and the rhythm with which it is danced — right from the beginning of his studies. There is no “basic step,” and no set rhythm. As my Argentine teachers always told me, “There are no steps in Tango.” This often makes the initial learning process somewhat confusing for the leader who is accustomed to a more predictable step-by-step approach. However, once he gets past the need to rely on memorized timing and patterns (which can sometimes take quite a bit of time), the freedom of “real” dancing becomes quite satisfying.

Moving to every “beat”

Our next consideration is which beats the leader steps on in moving to the music. Some students are under the mistaken impression that it’s necessary to respond mechanically to every beat (what a musician would call the “half notes”). Whereas this way of addressing the music is relatively easy (after a great deal of practice), it just isn’t the way a skilled Argentine dancer functions. In Tango, rhythmic movement is based entirely on the leader’s choices in any given moment during the dance. He decides when to start or stop; he chooses whether the couple moves quickly or slowly; he creates a personal rhythmic response to every moment in the music. Moving in a predictable, robotic way might provide the beginning student with a preliminary introduction to rhythmic movement, but he soon has to learn the art of creative variation. In this regard, it goes without saying, of course, that since the follower plays no role in choosing when and where to step, the leader needs to employ great skill in motivating his partner to synchronize her movements with his during this improvisational process.

Comfort first

All too often, I hear the following complaint from certain leaders: “I just don’t know what’s the matter with her — I’m trying to move to the music, and she just can’t seem to keep up.” In other words, such leaders are rigidly adhering to the notion that the follower must at all costs respond instantly and accurately to their musical whims, or they’re somehow blameworthy for their ineptitude.

This is utter nonsense. Despite what many leaders believe — and despite what is all too often promoted by “teachers” who themselves ought to know better — a truly skilled leader invariably puts his follower’s comfort and balance first, and the perceived demands of the music second. If, at the end of any given step or figure, for example, the follower is not yet ready to proceed — perhaps she’s slightly off balance, or hasn’t quite completed her movement — the leader must (must, MUST) wait for her to get herself ready to continue before continuing his musical improvisation. If one is dancing choreographically, in which every moment is rehearsed by the partners over and over before taking the dance to the floor, precise moment-to-moment timing is, of course, essential. In social dance, however, this kind of behavior is at best unrealistic, and, at worst, potentially dangerous.

The bottom line here is that for the leader taking meticulous care of his partner is absolutely paramount. This is the crucial ingredient, which creates the intimate experience we call Tango.

Next week, Pat will offer her insights into the follower’s responsibilities in dancing social Tango.

The longest-running and friendliest practica in NYC! Come join our happy group of social tango dancers, whose sole purpose is to enjoy dancing and to practice what they’re learning. Everyone dances! Essential Tango Therapy! Pat and I will be on hand to answer any questions you may have, and help you with material you’re working on. Plus you get a new “must-have” move each week! No partner required, all levels. Dardo Galletto Studios, 151 West 46^th Street, 11^th floor, (bet. 6^th & 7^th Aves) www.franchesleigh.com

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.

• Elena Titova
• Lynn Gross
• Steve Turi
• Steve Maisch
• Nina
• Pearl
• ​​​​​​​Herb Kahn
• ​​​​​​​Barbara L.