Dear Maleva
1. Should a follower always follow the leader although there were times where she felt that the dance could have been danced in a different style or the music could have been interpreted in a different way? Can a follower tell the leader how she felt?
2. I have observed that advanced dancers (follower) sometimes begins the dance in close embrace and midway thru the dance it became open. Did lots of fancy stuff than return to close embrace. Is this due to the floorcraft or the figures that requires her to change the embrace throughout the dance?
Thank you,
Not Following

Dear Not Following,

For the first part of your question about whether the woman must always follow the leader even when she has a different interpretation is a pretty sticky one. Basically I have 2 answers for this:

a. The Response for A Beginner or Intermediate Level Follower: Your job is to follow whatever the leader does, even if he is off the music or not dancing the style you would want him to. Exerting this kind of control over the dance is called BACK LEADING.

b. The Response for An Advanced Follower: Exerting this kind of control over the dance when you are experienced enough to know what you are doing and when you have a sensitive leader is called FOLLOWER'S VOICE . This is not the same as ‘stealing the lead’ (which you can also do if you know how to lead). The trick is that you do it in a way that the leader doesn't even know what you've done. You see, if you're going to manipulate a man, he cannot be aware of it for it to work.

Just a few examples of how you can express your "Follower's Voice":

-Slowing His Steps Down: Quite often leaders get over-excited and will start to rush around the dance floor. If it's too much for you, you can put some extra resistance in your steps to literally slow his movements down. This has to be done gently though. My partner calls this the 'Matrix Move'. He says when women do this it's like time itself slows down and he's still doing the movement he was planning to do, but somehow it comes out in slow motion. Cool, eh?

-Asking for a Longer Pause: If you want a little more time during a pause, then you can 'hold' the leader in place for an extra beat or two. This is effectively done by 'grounding' him with your embrace. Think about pressing down slightly with your left arm and not letting him start to step just yet. If he steps anyway, then obviously you must go with it.

-Adding Energy: You can add a little more oomph to your steps if he is dancing like a wet fish, especially in turns.

-Adding or Subtracting Steps: Also realize that once you become familiar enough with tango vocabulary that it is second nature to you, there are times that you can take an extra step, or leave a step out, and still wind up in the same place the leader was sending you.

And of course what you can get away with also depends on the level of the leader. You will find some brutish guys are totally oblivious to or totally ignore anything you try to add, and then you must just dance at their mercy.

For the second part of your question: A change in embrace is led by the man most always (though the follower could suggest that she wants to open up or close the embrace). And yes, some figures are better for close embrace, some are better for open. The figures, the floorcraft, the feeling will dictate the embrace.