In order to lead every step successfully, the leader must fully exert his Masculine tendencies. He must be Clear-minded and Unwavering in his Intention, he must lead with Sureness, with Conviction, with Authority. These are core masculine traits.

     In order to follow, a woman must be fully invested in her Femininity, her Receptiveness, her Patience. She must be Open to his lead. She must Trust and be willing to Let him have control. She must respond to his lead without thinking, without analysis, without judgment.

     So in order to dance tango, a polarity must develop. The man must become the epitome of Masculinity, and the woman in her turn must be the embodiment of Femininity.

     But then it gets more complicated. In the spirit of the Eternal Tao, where all things are composed of both halves of every polarity, so in Tango, just at the moment when the leader has exerted his masculine intention and signaled his lead, he must shift, he must become patient, he must wait, he must exert Feminine aspects of his own personality as he waits for his partner to respond. To do otherwise is an affront, a disrespect of his partner's autonomy and sovereignty, not to mention her balance. He must make this shift to avoid throwing her around or worse, stepping on her. And the follower, in her turn, after she has received the lead, must respond. She must step with Conviction and Confidence, stepping large and dramatic when asked. These forceful, dramatic steps, taking Action, are Masculine aspects of her personality.

     In sum, Tango requires both leader and follower to get in touch with, and to exercise, Both parts of their own personalities, both halves of the whole that they are. This exercise, this opportunity for both leader and follower to be Whole, is Healing and ultimately Joyful in a deep sense.

These concepts are beautifully expressed in the book "The Tao of Tango" by Johanna Siegmann http://www.taooftango.com/

     Gender is infinitely more sublte than biological difference & is never static....

     Generally our thinking moves directly from anatomical difference to psychological differentiation & we assume that there are 2 genders, just as there are 2 biological sexes. But a human being is never reducible to biology. To make that reduction is to enter the fallacy of physicallism--the idea that a human being can be defined & then treated as a material body. This fallacy overlooks a world of emotion, memory, fantasy, & meaning, all of which more directly define a human being than the body pictured on a drs. skeleton chart of bone & organs.

     Gender is a state of mind, a product of imagination. One man experiences masculinity in a way entirely different than another. The femininity of a particular woman is unique, an aspect of her personality or, even deeper, a manifestation of her soul. . Gender is archetypal & the liberation of women & feminine spirit could save our society from self-destructive violence.

     The variations of gender are infinite, & so it is absurd to reduce gender to 2 categories & insist that everyone fit into 1 or the other. Besides, all dualisms dooms us to division & conflict. They are simplistic descriptions of experience & tend toward easy literalism. Paradoxically, to become less certain about one's own gender may be the turning point at which one beings to discover the richness of one's M or F...

     I can see this leading to a lengthy, heated discussion, and I really hope that doesn't happen. I am so much in disagreement w/ Julian's post that it's difficult for me not to be insulting in replying to it, so let me just say that I think classifying traits into masculine and feminine in this way is a gross oversimplification. More importantly, I don't think it has much to do with tango.

    We've had arguments over this topic before, and I don't think they add much to

the content of the list. I hope we can just drop it.

Ricardo,

     Yes, you failed miserably ;-) And yes, if you really didn't want this discussion on tango-L, the best would have been to say nothing. But Julian started it, and the discussion was opened and probably unavoidable regardless of what you wanted.

     So just to continue the discussion you said you didn't want...Thank you for elaborating on your position. I agree almost completely with everything you've said about the roles gender has played in our culture, and the unfairness of many of the constraints and lack of  opportunities for both men and women that have resulted. And I can see too the hint of gender stereotyping in some of Julian's wording, whether he truly believes the slant he portrayed or whether it was the result of habits of thought and speech.  But regardless of the truth that such biases and assumptions and artificial constraints have had horrible consequences in the history of men and women, I won't back off on what I see as a valid-to-tango distinction between masculine and feminine "characteristics."

     As I said, my belief structure on the subject comes from Taoism, where it is accepted that both men and women inherently have both "masculine" and "feminine" natures. And in Taoism and martial arts, and I submit in tango, IMO it is productive to differentiate between, OK, let's call them "active" and "passive" behaviors. Leading (at least the initial markar, the intention, the impulse) is an active, yang endeavor whether done by a man or a woman. It's in the nature of the act. It has nothing to do with culture or gender or upbringing. The English language has found it convenient to translate "yang" as "masculine." That's fine, but really the core concept has to do with the nature of energy flows in the Universe and nothing to do with culture or gender. You said, "What I really disagree with is the classification of traits as 'masculine' or 'feminine' and all the baggage that goes with it." I agree completely with not liking all the "baggage," but if you want to talk about the concepts of conviction and confidence and intention, or conversely about patience and trust and receptivity, what words do you suggest to categorize those principles? I'm personally most comfortable with "yang" and "yin," but

those words seem too un-Argentine to be widely accepted in the tango world.

Hello, we, Tad and Claudyne just spent two and one-half weeks in Argentina. We took the International Tango week's classes http://www.worldtangofestival.com.ar/tangoweeks/tangoweeks.htm  and then we spent the next week taking private lessons and regular classes and dancing. I, Claudyne, decided I want to share some of the ideas we learned and connections with you. We believe it is our way of sharing with the Tango Community. Here are some of the people we learned from: Damian Esell and Nancy Louzan, Julio Balmaceda and Corina De La Rosa, Aurora Lubiz and Jorge Firpo, Carlos and Maria Rivarola, Demian and Carolina.

These are some of the approaches we learned and we know there are many approaches to learning tango which could be as equally as valid. You will hear many of these ideas as well as other ideas here in Boston when you take classes. Sometimes it takes many times of hearing something to actually register so that's why it is good to take classes. These points are just our personal experience. The ideas are not necessarily in any order.

Misconception: I have to think about stepping back with my leg. (As a follower)

Idea: Don't think about the leg you are going to, think about the leg you are on and be on that leg. Example: This means when I step back on my right leg I keep my weight forward on my left foot. For me as the follower I stay connected to my leader's chest, stay on my balance and have much more control over my step. For the leader this means the follower is not going away from the leader and the leader does not have the feeling of being pulled forward.

I was told not to think about the foot that is stepping. I was told these pointers: Keep your weight on the foot you are on. And Think "up."  For both follower and leader: stay on the foot you are on, don't instantly shift your weight to the foot you will be on next.  When you ground yourself, your free leg automatically moves.

Every one has their own idea about how to connect­some say only the chest, some say the chest and stomach depending on the dance, some say you move in and out between the chest and more of the body connected. You'll find what works for you and what you like.

Misconception: I thought it was my job as a follower to put my chest and stomach against the leader. When I got that idea I do not know. Sometimes I get an idea and it may not have been exactly what the instructor meant.

Idea: Only put my chest against the leader and keep my stomach away. This allows the leader to more easily move the legs and take longer steps. This way you give each other space to dance. I was told in most of my private classes to keep my stomach off the leader's stomach. Stomach is up always.

Feet and Torsion: The feet lead the way you intend to go. More torsion before step and then go. If the follower torsions the back step then it is smooth for both the follower and leader. Caress the floor with steps.

Misconception: People sometimes think that they need to keep their feet moving steadily step, step, step.

One Rhythm Idea: When dancing as you collect and/or go through your center, slow a bit. At this point there is time for torsion for the next step and time for the follower to do adornments. This gives the dance a sensuous feeling. Some ideas from different teachers for you to experiment with:

Ocho Cortado: Leader stays on both feet or loses the music. Don't change all weight to one leg.

Cross: Leader grounds self before moves.

Ocho: Keep ribs over hips when do ocho.

Milonga: Mark the milonga with the right foot as the leader and the left foot as the follower. All milonga time the same.

Standing and walking: Try this: Stand up and notice where you weight is in your foot. Notice how your chest feels. Now push your heels into the floor while keeping some weight on the front of your foot. When I do push my heels into the floor, I engage the back of my legs, my pelvis comes underneath me, my shoulders straighten and my stomach muscles engage. This is amazingly simple. She also said, "When you do this, it is hard to feel nervous or anxious. Your body is up. Your chest is up." This is certainly what presenters need!

I had some of the most marvelous tango dances...more and more connection, expression. Love this dance community up in Brattleboro! Tango is a process that is like learning to love, listen, be sensitive, be responsive, be flowing, be present, feel passion, feel romance, feel peace, feel the music, connect to the earth and the spirit.

When the connection is there it is a nonverbal connection close to being like lovers..

only not overtly sexual, sometimes erotic, sometimes romantic, sometimes just playful. Love in motion to music. Very intimate and special moments, little plays bring smiles ,and are like shared secrets, unique to the moment and the two. Even when witnessed it can bring joy, to the onlookers, and those who are brought into the magic of those moments. The growing trust, safety, and self/other knowledge in these ongoing dance relationships builds into something increasingly beautiful and touching.

A painter in search of NYC gallery representation, in Manhattan's Chelsea section on a long day of gallery visits, portfolio in hand and a couple of paintings under my arm, I emerged exhausted from my last interview of the day and, stepping out onto the street, looked up to see a billboard on the overpass displaying this quote: "Art...it is too complicated. I prefer tango." Coincidentally(?), lost in the subway system on the way home the same day, I passed a couple just as the woman dropped her jacket. I retrieved it and handed it back...to Carolina and Diego!

At Eric's workshop a woman I didn't know but seemed to know me, came up to me

and said she had seen me at Layfayette Grill and had tried to get a guy named Louis to dance with me but was unsuccessful...I didn't know this guy and we went on to chat about other things. Early evening, Sunday, on our way home from the city, tired and on our last legs,  we went to the South St. Seaport just to check it out. It was chilly and

we wondered how long we could bear to stay. It is of course by the water, big stretches of boardwalk, tourist boats, street vendors, shops...20 or so tangueros showed up bit by bit.

I heard someone way - "Louis, master of close embrace" - I looked up to see an older man, skinny, white haired, nice teeth. As he danced by us I said in my demure way - Hey! come dance with us! Moments later he returned, hand out to me. As I settled into his embrace, I closed my eyes and heard the music increasing as he danced us closer to the music box. And just then a light breeze brushed my hair across my face and I could smell the sea air and feel my hair floating around our faces and the music and our dance and the air, the sea and our dance and my hair floating around our faces... and the world was perfect.

When I was still fairly new to tango and enjoying the excitement of being able to lead a cruzada,  front or back ocho and the frustration of not being able to do more, I was invited to meet with a young woman for an evening of dancing, her last before returning to Spain the following day. We spoke and danced  ( latin) until the club closed.It was an unusually warm late spring evening, so afterwards we decided to take a drive from Northampton into the surounding rural area.

The moon was full, and cast lovely light upon the fields and surrounding forests. I had put in a tango c.d. to listen to and was of course expounding the newfound merits of tango. My friend then asked me if I would be willing to "show her how", It almost seemed like time stood still at 3 am in the morning, a light mist and full moon. I stopped my car in the road and opened the doors so we could hear the music.I held her  with my hand light across her back and lead her thru the most memorable and delightful cruzada, forward and back ochos of my life.

Those moments that we danced Tango together are cherished as magical memories.