Try Not to Focus on the Lead

If the lead is lousy, which it often is ( not you Mike), work on my own movement.
If "la marca" is nonexistant, feel what I can and GO.
If the man forgets about my axis, put myself on my axis and wait. Make my own dancing the best it can be step by step. A long leg reaching back from my upper torso would be an improvement and will give me something to work on at this weeks Sunday milonga. The traditional birthday waltz video in NY looks stilted and like my body is in a cast. Mike gets the brunt of my aggravation when the dance goes poorly. This has officially stopped. Now I pledge to improve my walk and balance through my own hard work. When we decide to work together on the dance we'll discuss it and hone our steps -practice hold first.
Changing the subject, the new dance floor in our dance room looks so much better than the old literally floating floor. Signature Floor expedited the delivery and we carried it down and laid it in about 2 hours after my birthday trip to NYC. When Andy and Svetlana come on Sunday they have another, cooler, choice of places to work for their maybe private lessons.

Grand plan!

Filter all dancers into the local studios that want to promote tango. Give the beginners, experienced dancers and every other walking human a place to tango on Sundays 5:30-8:30 for no charge. (This may not work out for the months we are in Argentina.) Make it special each week with videos, good food and drink and a quiet lovely setting. Let the tango happen and wash over this little community. Be the driving, binding, force behind the dancing, but accommodate all ideas. Work HARD to coordinate dates, times and instruction. Just work HARD!
Give up, and this dissolves back to a strictly ballroom community. Oh yeah! Work on my own dancing -more grace, flow and resistance in each step. Maybe a few less pounds would help make all this happen?

Ganchos

I don't understand this step at all. Someone needs to help me with the standing foot. Every woman I see doing ganchos has the feet in ugly knots. Mine are no better so I won't do them. Help please!

Last Part Added by Mike Lucey

After First Night in Scranton at Farley's I'm curious if all the couples we helped to start their tango walk around the tiled floor will grasp the beauty of the dance and come back for more. This perfect space may turn out to be our "winter tent", but tonight it seemed a little like a tango factory- men tilting their chests up- proudly, like they'd won a prize- weight up and forward. I showed them how to walk as if they were walking on top of cross country skis. This tip came from an excellent instructor in Portland on our first day of vacation in Oregon 2 years ago. Mike walked the women with his constant, steady, horizontal PUSH and then we threw them back together. Cathie walked with many with her ability to lead and follow. Many others pitched in to make this whirlwind evening a 100% success though another waitress would have helped. The Youngs are so gracious. Mike has this to add:

Argentine tango is asymmetrical, (BALLROOM IS SYMMETRICAL- PARTNERS MIRROR EACH OTHER) the man does different foot work from the one the woman executes. It is improvised, it is done primarily for feeling. The woman does not know what the man has in mind. She remains extremely attentive. The leader steps as he wishes, faster, slower, simple or double timing, pausing, etc. Tango is different each time, it is different with every partner therefore one can dance only tango all night long.

So it's not a factory, but there are tango dancers in the making in NE PA.

Frank answers a prayer

Frank calls with the almost too-good-to-be-true news that he's bringing an instructor here every week to a place in Pittston to teach private and group Argentine Tango lessons- not too far from us. If this works out it will be a huge boon to our struggling tango community. TANGO!! Now we'll dance the DANCE!