Some Females Who Taxi As Men Tough To Lead

[DavidY]

Just a thought from a different perspective which may relate to the original question.

I reckon that when I've finished taxi duty, my lead probably isn't that good either (certainly not in the first few dances anyway). I think it gets better the more I dance with better followers.

I try to lead Beginners as gently as I can, but with more experienced followers it becomes a lot smoother and easier. It takes time for me to get back into this though.

[Lynn]

Does my following get worse when I taxi (as leader or follower)?

Yes.

[Minnie M]

A lot of ladies I have 'lead' and 'followed' the tension is usually the same, however, I have to say quite a lot of female leads are quite strong.

[David Bailey]

And also because, no matter how many times the teacher says "This is a male-led dance", saying "Leaders do X" rather than "Guys do X" would not necessarily reach everyone it needed to - whereas girls that lead know that they are in the same role as most of the guys in the room.

I disagree. Most of the AT classes I've been to have very definitely said "leader" and "follower", not "man / lady". And AT classes are very comfortable with man-man or woman-woman dancing, at least in a class environment. (Never seen man-man dancing socially in AT, but have seen woman-woman a few times).

And I think by emphasizing the task rather than the gender, it reinforces the message that both partners have a job to do. The leader leads, the follower follows.

So apart from any PC sexism nonsense, I think "leader" and "follower" are more useful terms than "man" and "woman", because that emphasises the roles and tasks.

[LMC]

A lot of ladies I have 'lead' and 'followed' the tension is usually the same, however, I have to say quite a lot of female leads are quite strong.

Think this might be related to what DavidY said - I've also noticed that male taxis can have a stronger lead than is sometimes comfortable.

If female taxis are mainly dancing with beginners, then they literally might not realise their own strength! - even as a beginner lead, I've noticed the difference between dancing with experienced and non-experienced followers and have occasionally "led too much" with a more experienced follower. And after dancing with a whole run of beginners as a follower, I know that I have to "adjust" to a better leader.

I find I do have to be "stronger" with a beginner follower - it's not so much physical strength always as emphasis - for example, drawing an experienced follower in for a first move is more like a "collection" - you lead them forward and they step forward - their weight is moving forward as your hand is leading them into your side. Whereas you have to bring some beginners "all the way" by taking your hand *right* back before they react to the lead. Not sure if I've made that very clear...

[bigdjiver]

Just a thought from a different perspective which may relate to the original question.

I reckon that when I've finished taxi duty, my lead probably isn't that good either (certainly not in the first few dances anyway). I think it gets better the more I dance with better followers.

I try to lead Beginners as gently as I can, but with more experienced followers it becomes a lot smoother and easier. It takes time for me to get back into this though.

I dance a lot with beginners, and I don't think I adapt well enough to satisfy the better dancers. I try to do better, but have accepted that that is the way it is.