Important Leaders need to dance Tango 283

So I decided today that I am going to be sharing something FUN. So this is really for those who haven't danced partner dances before. So some partner dances include salsa, ballroom dance, waltz, and ... tango. So I have experience dancing tango for some years, on and off. I can say my teacher was very cool and he had perhaps the best approach you can take with Tango, so I felt very well prepared, and understood the principles of the dance well, and applied them well. So his name is Alex Krebs and he resides in Portland Oregon for those who are lucky enough to have access to his classes. But what I can do here is to share the principles of the dance. The principles themselves, you will see, are principles that you can apply in your daily life. So its really quite interesting. Keep reading to see.

So while I cannot substitute for Alex's or even just a tango teacher's instruction, I can share what I have learned from tango and what parallels it has with life. So the structure of the dance involves 2 people. One person is the Lead and the other is the Follow. So from the words you can probably tell what the Lead and Follow does. So traditionally males were Leads and females were follows. And while I have learned to lead, in Alex's class we would learn both parts, Lead and Following, and while I enjoy Leading, I also enjoy following. One thing I have learned about this is that both leading and following are important integral parts. If you have a good lead, it doesn't mean you will have a good follower. What happens when you are dancing is that there is a constant communication between the two persons. The lead is reading the follower, and the follower is reading the leader's signals. So I say signals because whereas the follower does not need to send signals per se, the lead's job is to send signals. He would do this with his entire body. It is really quite interesting how it works, and words alone won't be the same as a demonstration or seeing it for yourself. But let's say for now that it involves your entire body, presence, being, where your posture is quite important, as well as your embrace that you form with your arms, and in addition how you walk and step, which themselves require to be clear, confident signals. In a way the lead's job is "more important," but speaking as a lead, having a good follower makes all the difference. Because when a person is in sync with you, and responding instantly, clearly, damn its quite a beautiful thing I must say.

So perhaps you can already see how this dynamic of leader and follower, and the principle thereof can apply to everyday life. No? Well, let's take a closer look, shall we? So we can start with positions of authority or leadership. This can include teachers, managers, superintendents, presidents, politicians, team leaders, project managers, parents etc... So what do these people have in common with a dance called tango? Well, I found that to be a good leader you need to know what the follower is doing, to be able to clearly assist and support them with clear directions to take. In a way it is like holding a new born babe in your arms, you want to be careful, gently, and clear, and if the moment calls for it, you may need to move decisively, clearly, with strength, conviction, precision and speed. As a leader you do have a responsibility of being the starting point, the initiator,  that provides a base and platform, which, interestingly enough, completely depends on your connection, interaction, and so communication with your partner. How is that so? Well, let me tell you that if your embrace and so relationship with your partner in physical space, is not properly set up and structured, and if do not send clear signals to your partner, as well as read her signals that she is sending to you as her feedback, a little bit of a fumbling will result. I wanted to say disaster, which in only in extreme cases, meaning when you first learn to dance, will it occur. But that is also how you learn. I don't want to be too hard here.

Perhaps now you can see why they say it takes Two to Tango. And while on a very surface level, meaning with a causal glance, it appears so because that Tango is a two partner dance, it actually runs deeper than that. Two create a clear communication, and so symbiotic movement, it requires Two. This two, can be you with yourself, which is another entirely interesting dimension, where the first person you will learn to dance with is your body. That is one cool thing that I observe happened when I was first learning to dance, which I only see now. That I did have to learn to move my body, with posture, grace, precision, and clarity. This required as well learning to listen to the music and move with it. So I would say that this is what one really learns and masters within these partners dance, and that is how to move with your physical body, which would allow for the two bodies to dance together, in what we call Tango. So that is another dimension to consider when you go out and learn to dance tango, another partner dance, or even if you are just dancing in your house alone. The same principles apply. But let me say, that there is something different when you are dancing with another, than when you are dancing with your own body alone. There are two bodies here, so you bet your dollar it would be different. So just while dancing with yourself can be quite nice and fun, so can dancing with another. I would recommend everyone to learn a partner dance. And if you don't have access to a Tango Teacher, you might be able to learn online. BUT, you are going to need to go out there and dance with some real bodies. For Tango I can say it is very popular to have Milongas, which are social dances, and can probably be found in Major cities across the United States for sure, as well as Europe. So get out there and have fun, maybe I will see you on the dance floor!