Maestro Ive Simard emphasizes that you ” do not lead the girl, you lead you!”.
The leader, leads himself and not the follower. This is a concept I learned from Ive Simard. We often tend to lead with the arms because we have the mental image of trying to get someone else, i.e., the follower, to perform some step. Instead , perhaps if we focus on leading ourselves in the motion, the follower will sense that and follow effortlessly.
I have often led a boleo that felt contrived and forced and then I have led boleos that felt effortless to both me and the follower. The ones that were effortless felt great for everyone: light rhythmic and on time with no strain on anyone’s physiology.
Once you feel how it feels to lead yourself and how the follower then “magically” and effortlessly follows, with precision and intent, you will strive to sustain that nectar of feeling as if it is magic.
This blog entry first appeared in 2014. I am transferring it to this blog.
TangoDynamo 