I agree but someones ability to "follow" is somewhat based on their experiences so far.
e.g. If they've never encountered a copa move (which has a different basic step than Cubans are familiar with) then it may take a little trial and error or time to adapt.
I agree. I think that a basic understand of some of the differences between the styles goes a long way to solving the problems.
Since casino is based on a lot of tangling up and unraveling, the arms have to be much more relaxed than xbody salsa where fast spins and such require a "frame". Really the only time there is much arm tension in casino is during moves that have the same type of dynamic as a crossbody lead, i.e. dile que no and similar moves. Some linear salseros incorrectly interpret this as "spaghetti arms" or "sloppiness" on the part of the casinera. It is simply a different type of arm that is necessary for casino to work. An experienced xbody dancer will know this and be prepared. A casinero trying to lead a xbody salsera may find himself in a wrestling match to try to get her arms in the right position.
Also the rotational versus linear motion...I've heard linear dancers complain that casinera seem to be wandering all over the place, again this is because in casino you are almost constantly moving around an axis. But I'm sure it makes it hard for a leader who expects the follower to be in a specific place and move in more a less a straight line through the move.
So a leader who knows this is prepared to work with it. Same goes for the follower who knows that the guy is likely to try to put her into double turns and will be expecting a linear motion. I've taken a few workshops in LA and NY and that also gives a basic idea of what you can expect the leaders to do.
I don't think I will ever learn proper arm tension however. I danced with some guy in Athens once and he pushed so hard just in regular closed position my arm got tired after only a minute or two. I don't know if he was carried away with it or what, but my arms aren't strong enough to take that
It's happened plenty of times that the light bulb goes off in my head just a split second after it's too late to complete the move that the guy was trying to lead. Sometimes it just takes a minute to understand the lead. The main thing is that if a move doesn't go as planned that the couple keeps dancing and no one gets all upset about it. I danced with some guys in Chicago that were great (at dealing with me) and the dances all went smoothly and then with one guy who just couldn't accept that I couldn't do some move that he was leading so he kept trying it over and over. It's not a fun dance for me when it becomes more about the moves than about the interaction between the couple and the music.
