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Molinete/grapevine help?

This may not be something that can be addressed in words, honestly. I'm planning to take a private soon, and will certainly address it there. But as I've found that many followers in my classes have been corrected on this also, I thought I'd ask for any advice.

I am weak on my molinete/grapevines, not because I can't do them, but because I often get ahead of my leader. When I wait for the explicit lead, leaders have gotten impatient because I "missed" their lead. If I'm unsure that it was led (in other words, I'm guessing) - then I of course get ahead. When I am told to express my steps to the music, then I sometimes end up ahead of my leader again. Conversely, when I slow down and wait again for the explicit lead, I end up behind the music. Any advice out there for a confused newbie tanguera?
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Comments

Triman Beaumont said…
hello Mari, I think that the leader just starts the molinete/contramolinete (or let's say giro technique to the left/right) and finishes it. All steps "inside" are up to you, how fast, what rhytmisation, what interpretation, everything is up to you.

may be what can be helpful is the fact that leader can (in general) end the sequence either when you are doing step forward (he usually leads to closed position) or when you are doing step backward (continuing with ocho atrás)......
August 17, 2009 at 12:41 PM
Anonymous said…
there are multiple views on the "automatic" versus "led" timing for the ladies molinete.

i think if you have a good understanding of musical timing and can read the leads torso, things work out ok either way.

I put great emphasis on ladies understanding timing and music and not just leaving it to the leader but also participating.

Other advice- is someone pressuring you to learn molinetes after only dancing for a few months? They'll come when they come and certainly not all at once and you'll probably need multiple teachers for them. I know I did.
August 18, 2009 at 6:15 AM
Mari said…
bastetsbeads - I've been dancing (in classes/milongas/practicas) about 6 months and it's been taught in class for about the last 3 months, I think. Mainly my concern on doing it correctly stems from slightly conflicting instruction on the matter. One teacher was concerned that by not waiting for the lead explicitly, I was "helping" the leader too much and not making him lead it correctly. But in another instance was told to simply keep doing the molinete until my leader stopped me and led something different. It seems the best advice lies somewhere in between?
August 18, 2009 at 1:34 PM
Anonymous said…
there's always going to be conflicting opinions from different teaching perspective.

I can think of half a dozen things that may be going on that even telling you one way or the other wouldn't solve, including communication gap between you and your teachers.
August 19, 2009 at 2:30 PM
Unknown said…
My comment is a little late, but I hope a little simplicity will help...

You have to think of the leader the same way you think of music. You cant dance out of time with the music and you cant dance out of step with the leader. The same principle applies to the leader.

Its all about awareness...
June 5, 2015 at 3:42 PM
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