tangophilia blog

Regardless of tradition, stereotypes, and a preponderance of examples of Man-Leader and Woman-Follower relationships, the roles of Leader and Follower are not the same as being a Man or Woman, Male or Female. Leader and Followers are roles that are adopted during the dance to provide a structure for interaction. They are not necessarily connected to who you are in life, what you do to earn an income, or how you interact with people off the dance floor. Otherwise quiet and unassuming people can dance as good leaders, and take charge, type-A personalities can be good followers during a dance, then revert to type afterward. Exploring the role of leader and follower, unencumbered by gender roles and stereotypes can give everybody a better appreciation of the roles in the dance, and provide insight on how to enhance the communication and interaction of leader/follower roles outside of the dance.

Even if you’re normally a leader in day-to-day affairs, if you choose to follow in tango, you must learn to follow. If you’re normally a follower at your place of employment, assuming the role of leader requires donning a different attitude and outlook on doing things. When you develop a more complete understanding of the roles, you’ll find that switching between them is not as difficult as you thought, and the roles are not as confining as commonly believed. Choosing to lead or choosing to follow is just another choice that we make as people interacting with other people, and they are not necessarily permanent parts of our identity.