Lead and Follow
Traditionally the man set the pace, established the length of stride, and decided when to change step, and the woman followed. A woman having more dance skills sometimes provided a tactful guiding push or pull, as long as it wasn't obvious. As soon as the man learns the routine, he takes the lead by combining firm, but gentle (never obvious) pushes and pulls. The leader should move assertively, and the follower should duplicate the countermovements, or perform her part of the dance. A photograph from one early "stag" dance shows a "closed" dance position, with the "man's" right arm around the back of the "woman".
In frontier days men danced with each other when women were not available. According to an early settler in Texas, "The gentle sex were few in number at the dance... Two men had to dance together to make a set." Another account states that "due to the scarcity of young women, a number of young bachelors who were either smooth shaven or wore polished shoes were designated as ladies." There were also "stag" dances with no women. "Heifer branded" men, those dancing the woman's role, wore handkerchiefs tied around one arm. At other times men dancing the role of the woman wore aprons. Miners in the California Gold Rush danced with one another if ladies were not available.
Read more about this topic: Country-western Dance
Famous quotes containing the words lead and/or follow:
“Were you to converse with a king, you ought to be as easy and unembarrassed as with your own valet-de chambre; but yet every look, word, and action should imply the utmost respect.... You must wait till you are spoken to; you must receive, not give, the subject of conversation, and you must even take care that the given subject of such conversation do not lead you into any impropriety.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“School success is not predicted by a child’s fund of facts or a precocious ability to read as much as by emotional and social measures; being self-assured and interested: knowing what kind of behavior is expected and how to rein in the impulse to misbehave; being able to wait, to follow directions, and to turn to teachers for help; and expressing needs while getting along with other children.”
—Daniel Goleman (20th century)