Monday 14 May 2012

Leader interaction

I asked Rob for permission to post this photo because I really like how you can see the two men interacting. They're sharing the space, playing in a friendly way, and dancing with each other as well as with their partners.

© Photo Copyright Rob Maskell - social dancing at Abrazos 2, Dartington Hall, Devon, 4-6 May 2012
The ability and desire to do this, is a thing that all my very favourite leaders like about each other. They don't really care about styles, or, when it comes down to it, any specific movements or rules, as such. What they care about is, is he fun to dance behind, near to, in front of? Is he really aware of where other people are? Does he interact with me, take his own space, and use the space in a fun, friendly way?

Richard (on the right), says:
“I remember the moment, I was taking a step forwards and Alan was moving towards me and we both backed out, caught each others eye and smiled about it. I was quite happy to share the floor with him. He's a dominant dancer but you've just got to have confidence in both your own dancing and his. I can see why some might be nervous around him on the floor but I liked him”
Alan (on the left) says:
“but of course you can publish the photo ... I like ...
for what concerns what I felt at that moment ...
pleasure ... only absolute pleasure ..”
And from an earlier post, a friend of mine:
“I really like dancing behind M, it's like he's dancing with me as well. He's quite cheeky, he sort of takes and gives space, with permission. I really enjoy it.”
You can do a lot more when the dancers have such confidence in each other, themselves, and the situation, that they don't need to see each other as obstacles (or indeed missiles) to be avoided. Humans just work better that way. But getting there takes a lot of work from a lot of people.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love it! Tango is a group dance, not just a couple dance.

Andrew Abrams aka Agent andy said...

It goes even further than that. I enjoy the same sort of contact with the musicians. All of those encounters however should not compete with attention to my partner. So, I mostly enjoy such party atmosphere when dancing a Milonga, but for the Vals and Tango my attention is solely on my partner. However, on a dance floor where the soul of tango is so far removed when guys are dancing in t-shirts and sneakers, it hardly matters what they do.

Diana from artbead.lv said...

Hmmm I am wondering what ladies are thinking about while their partners interact :)

msHedgehog said...

@Diana; having danced with both these guys I can assure you probably not much other than pure enjoyment. The ladies incidentally are Céline Deveze (left) and Carole Beauxis-Lagrave.

Diana from artbead.lv said...

Really? Love Celine. She is very elegant dancer.

Andreas said...

It's a total delight dancing behind or in front of Alan. He sure moves a lot, but he always knows you're there.
This post is spot-on. ;-)

msHedgehog said...

@Diana - yep, Céline is a total joy to watch, and by all accounts to dance with.

Melina Sedo said...

Ah! What a lovely post about a great photo taken on an enjoyable situation! (Forgive the hype!)

Well... here's my two cents:
I've danced with Richard and I've danced with Alan. They are very different but a joy to dance with. I can trust in both guys, that they will not bring me into a weird situation. They know what they are doing. So I can really enjoy the dance - as Celine and Carole surely do in that pic.

As for Alans "dominant" style: he dances very expressively, but adapts strongly to the ability and needs of his partner as well as the requirements of the dancefloor: I love dancing to rhythmical music with him as we share the same musicality. Yes, it can get quite nuevoesque and I will do Voleos and Ganchos and we'll turn like hell to the right and the left... But that's fine - HE knows, that he can also rely on ME not lifting my feet from the floor, if there are people around us... So, it's all about confidence in yourself and in your partner as reasonable people.

If there was a little more of that around, we would not need so many workshops on floorcraft and not so many rules.

As for Abrazos in general: Last year, I was sitting on the side of the dancefloor with my good friend Philippe, a passionate Milonguero and very critical person: we agreed that even the Milongueros in BA could not create a more perfect Ronda than the visitors of this event. It was OUTSTANDING. Same this year.

Milla said...

Alan dances like crazy and always knows exactly what's around. I trust him without any doubts. He is the best! At least for me! ;)