Well, that's an interesting question. Ballroom dancers, to my knowledge, rarely complain about difficulty "traveling" as they say. They do complain about stepping on toes and tangled feet.
Tangueros, on the other hand, do complain about walking, and it can be difficult. Contrasting the two forms, with A. tango, at least some styles of A. tango, walking is done without offset in a single track while with ballroom dance walking is performed with each partner offset in double tracks, quadruple tracks if you count the partner. So tango dancers in effect are dancing on a balance beam. What's more, they are dancing on a balance beam pushing on each other. On every step there is a compression and release felt in the chest. Ballroom dancers experience some compression and release, but it's coming through the frame (i.e. the arms). The arms can give a little to absorb the shock; the chest cannot. To make the distinction between ballroom and tango clearer, some of my most unpleasant experiences dancing A. tango have been with ballroom dancers who use ballroom posture and technique while dancing A. tango. On more than one occasion, I have come close to landing on top of my partner on the floor as she leans back pulling me over. Now that I'm older and wiser when I find myself with a ballroom dancer, I brace myself by getting my weight back. Bob San Francisco _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list Tango-L@mit.edu http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l