tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370884568160752646.post3311657566654978539..comments2024-02-23T08:34:49.655-08:00Comments on My Tango Diaries: Tell me who you are . . .Marihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08960763038363579526noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370884568160752646.post-44235339903771467632010-10-20T13:53:13.378-07:002010-10-20T13:53:13.378-07:00I have always struggled a bit with forward steps, ...I have always struggled a bit with forward steps, and I think this may be a big part of it. Thank you, Mari! I imagine how wonderful it must feel for the leader when he gets this from the follower (I'm guessing it's a place of uncertainty for many ladies). I know how good it feels to get his energy when I am stepping back, so it must be a similar sensation for him. <br /><br />Our weekly milonga is tonight, and Rebecca Shulman is teaching class as well as workshops all weekend. Can't wait to experiment with this!Joy in Motionhttp://www.joy-in-motion.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370884568160752646.post-11522637008384658902010-10-20T13:23:46.629-07:002010-10-20T13:23:46.629-07:00@eylem - yes, exactly. Another teacher told me tha...@eylem - yes, exactly. Another teacher told me that if I don't have any of myself, my own energy, my own feeling for music and the movement in the dance, "then I'm being pushed around like furniture." lol It can be a very misunderstood term I think, active following.Marikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14195873941515232734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5370884568160752646.post-66842963873374370482010-10-20T12:42:30.681-07:002010-10-20T12:42:30.681-07:00Thank you for taking my attention to this post. Ac...Thank you for taking my attention to this post. Active following seems at first as doing something which you are not led. This is partly because "active" here looks like a modification of "following", as if being active is a kind of following and not the essence of it. The difference which is nicely put in the anecdote is helpful to disperse this first impression: being pulled into the space made for you versus taking that space which is meant for you. Here by taking the space, I am being active in the sense being autonomous, being the agent not the patient of the step. Although the step is lead, I am the one who is taking it so I am the agent and in that sense active. This sense of being active is the essence of being the follower. By being active in this sense, I become the follower of this very step, not an arbitrary body which is pulled into it. So being active is not an extra thing which is done while taking the step but taking the very step in a way making it yours. <br /><br />I find it helpful to think through concepts to improve my dancing. But understanding what dancing is through concepts brings me back to one theme: self. But that is a topic of a longer discussion.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13294748509905906189noreply@blogger.com