I want to learn to lead, but I think I need to focus on following first.
TangoForge encourages dancers to learn both leading and following. There are several reasons for this.
- It’s nice to have compassion for the challenges of the other role.
- If a teacher is working directly with you and wants to show you something, you need to be able to change roles to learn experientially.
- Some people may find themselves surprised to enjoy a different role than the one they expected to do.
At first I thought learning to follow would mean twice as much work. Then I realized that it makes learning to lead easier, because I understand the whole movement, not just half of it. Instead of being mystified by the outcome of my lead, I understand how it works.
Nick Young
