Hi everyone, Pat here with your Tango Tip of the Week. Those of you who have read Fran’s most recent Tango Tips are now familiar with the basic responsibilities of the leader, when dancing Tango.

It is now my pleasure to offer you what I consider to be the basic responsibilities of the follower in the dance. I think it’s important to point out right from the start that the Tango Tips Fran writes each week – and those that I occasionally write – relate solely to the social Tango dance. We are not talking about any type of performance routines or learned figures that have become so popular and prevalent in Tango today.

Social Tango is, frankly, becoming hard to find in today’s milongas. Just in case some of you are not quite sure what I’m talking about, social Tango is truly a lead/follow collaboration between the partners in a quiet, intimate, and very simple dance. That said, social Tango is danced with as much precision and technique as any other style of Tango. The focus is between the partners, and never to any type of audience.

With all this in mind, I would like to describe what I consider to be the follower’s three primary skills in the lead/follow social dance. They are used in every dance, and intertwined in various ways, depending on the leader. Without them, the follower has no dance.

Balance
This is surely one of the most important (if not the most important) skills of the follower. Without balance, it is pretty much impossible for a follower to follow leads in even the most basic movements. In Tango, balance is defined as standing on one foot with full weight, either in a pause or in movement, such as during a pivot. Balance is a skill that takes dedication and time to achieve. A follower who thinks there are shortcuts to balance will never become a credible Tango dancer. In fact, achieving good balance with any leader is something that a follower continues to work on throughout her Tango life! What makes balance so difficult is that you have to balance on one foot. Constant practice will gradually develop the muscles that will help your balance in the dance. However, the bad news is that you should plan to keep working on your balance for the duration of your Tango life…. seriously!

Waiting
Say what……? (you might exclaim)  Yes indeed, waiting is another of a follower’s most important duties. Tango is a dance of movement and of stillness, although you would never know it to watch most people dance today in any milonga you care to name. Stillness in Tango is a place where leader and follower can be close and communicating, even though there is no movement. It can be a time when the follower might feel like executing an adorno as an expression of the moment, and then continues to wait until the leader is ready to move forward. In fact, a good follower is prepared to wait after every single step, unless there is a lead. This may sound somewhat unreal, and, of course, it takes a long time to acquire this skill, but if a follower can achieve this level of connection she can confidently dance with any leader who asks her.

Technique
As a follower, you should start learning technique in your very first Tango lesson with your very first Tango steps – simple to begin with, but crucial to the dance that you will develop. Every movement has an appropriate technique that should be used in its execution, and practiced over and over again, so that your legs and feet get used to the feel of doing it correctly. At its highest level, appropriate and well-executed technique – in balance – will allow you to dance with confidence, no matter what is led. Again, you just have to put in the time and effort to get good at what you’re learning, and you have to practice.

The above three skills form the foundation of Tango for every follower, and we have only just scratched the surface (it would take pages to cover them in depth.)  They should be learned from the start, and practiced all the time. They do not require speed, they do not require special leads or special music. If a follower is really serious about becoming a Tango dancer, she must continue to practice these fundamental skills… FOREVER!!

There’s a lot more to talk about, and in subsequent Tango Tips for followers, I’ll discuss topics such as understanding and executing the lead/follow mechanism, including styling; knowing the conventions; some common bad habits; and some more useful tips to help make you a better follower!.

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
• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Herb Kahn
• Jesse Barton