A GLIMPSE INSIDE A BEGINNER LEADER’S BRAIN

“Ok, that’s a giro, and two back ochos, now what? A sandwich, yes, a sandwich - that’ll give me time to think. Now another ocho? no, I’ve just done ochos, what was that thing we did in the workshop with the foot and the slidy bit?,  which foot should I be on for that? Never mind we’re coming up to a corner - oh, god she must be getting bored by now, quick, think of something, another Sandwich - No, no no, not again! - ok Sandwich…”  

Sound familiar? This kind of inner monologue plagued my early career as a leader.  But it turned out there was a cure. The trick was to find the door in my brain that would let all this stuff fall out. And then let the empty space fill up with the music. The lesson here was that before I could get the tango out of my head and into my feet I needed to learn to listen.