Two Left Feet

Ladies I have a question for you; have you ever danced with a male partner and really allowed him to lead? This would mean that you did not lead and that you simply trusted him to guide you to the correct position- or any position really.

Four years ago I attended and event where learning the tango was a process we had to do. I stood on the 'single' said of the room, which was dominated by females and learned the steps to the best of my ability. Then we had to practice with a partner. Sometimes I would have a male partner to dance with and other times I would be dancing with a female and we would take turns leading. During this process I learned two things, 1. I am not very good at leading and 2. I am not very good at following, which actually brings me to a third learning, 3. I am not very good at the tango!

Two years ago we had another tango session at another event. This time I was working the event and therefore did not have much opportunity to dance. However towards the end I joined the floor as well. I had the privilege of dancing with a trained ballroom dancer and I had no problem following him- he effortlessly guided me to where I needed to go. Then I danced with a friend who was perfectly capable of moving me in the direction he wanted even if we were not doing ANYTHING remotely resembling the tango. I discovered that it is one thing to follow someone you trust and another to follow someone simply because they are leading you.

This year I was at an event... no tango lessons this time however there is a reason I brought dancing up in the first place- I promise! My friend Ben grabbed my hand and began dancing with me. He held me close, pushed me away, turned me around, did all the things you normally would in a partner dance. Normally I would be anticipating the next move and where I would need to go. This time, however, I allowed myself to be guided by one of the most masculine men in my life, whom I completely trust. I did not always feel this way about Ben, I had some reservations about him for some time and yet this dance somehow showed me a part of Ben I had not seen before.

In the end the point of this blog is to answer my original question. I am very thankful that I can answer YES to the question. It was an incredible feeling to really just allow my body to be moved and guided for me, all I had to do was get out of the way!