Bailemos, if both partners can learn to maintain their own frame within the dance hold (and, of course that's just one of a million things we all work on) you should ALWAYS maintain connection...even when bodies aren't in contact, connection is maintained through the hands connecting to the core connecting to the feet...right side connecting left side...lead and follow. If you are bumping, one or both of you are too "wibbly wobbly".

DanceDive, The best dancers dance only with their cloths touching, any closer than this is to restrictive for the Lady and does not give her the freedom to move over her own feet.

In the International style dancing socially it is possible to dance very slightly apart. I woudn't try it that way in the V.Waltz. In the Tango socially or otherwise it won't work. We must have close contact in that dance otherwise a becomes a fiasco.For those who doubt this i would ask. how do you intend to get the palm of the right hand on the ladies spine in an open hold.

This subject never seems to go away.

Have been teaching both Amer. and Intern styles for over fifty yrs .

The non contact approach, is very typical of the Amer. chain school, particularly at Bronze social level .

most teachers new to their system. are trained in this manner . They, in many cases, never evolve beyond that approach. The 2 camps ( closed and open ) seldom seem to agree on a fundamental technique.

Yes, it is possible to lead with space between the partners-- that has never been denied. What is more the crux of the discussion, is the result one can get from a closed or open position, resulting from body rotation in closed, as opposed to an apart position.The frame, to my mind, when a non contact approach is used, tends to become a tad more rigid .The transmission of lead , tends to be more arm lead than body .

There is a reason why the apart system was incorporated into the Amer. system. One has to go back to the inception of partnership dancing as taught in the 20s 30s and40,s ( and still today in most schools ) .
The majority of single ladies ( much the same today ) were of an older generation, and close contact, as in dance , would be an invasion of their privacy .
If you have a level of competancy to the silver standard in Intern., you would find it extremely difficult to acquire a satisfactory result , with distance between the partnership ( pivots being a prime e.g. )
We know all the theories about leading with one hand, but lets talk practicality. When I move in a given direction, my body ( hopefully ) transmits a signal that will give a positive response .

By the way-- the hips should not touch in Tango-- the corect body positioning near prevents this, als o, the word " chest " gives a bad connotation . Core or centre would be more appropriate .

Bottom line--dance that which makes you comfortable. You may evolve, given time, as all dancers do, for better or for worse .Its really up to you !

"The non contact approach, is very typical of the Amer. chain school, particularly at Bronze social level ."

But by no means unique to that school.

In fact, I have personally mostly heard the argument for it's initial use from British teachers with a few world titles to their names, and of course former students of their who were also trained in this manner.

There's a lot to be said for establishing sound personal posture before trying to intimately contact a partner. Some students will never move beyond such a stage, others will.

And some students of other teachers will simply skip that stage, trying to learn alignment and contact at the same time.

There are varied methods of learning, and varied CONSEQUENCES of using each method.

I have a question. I am in Intermediate Bronze and when my instructor and I do the tango, my right hip is supposed to be in contact with his left hip. Occasionally, I end up kneeing him in the groin. I am a little embarassed but want to do it correctly. Any suggestions?

excuse me. I meant right hip to right hip.

Simple answer -- the hips do not touch in tango ( T/ argentino has different principles )

For a competitive dancer, the hips would have to be in contact for tango. The position is a little more offset than in, say, foxtrot.
And a knee in the groin will hapen if there is a significant height difference.
But my understanding is that the 'body contact' thing should not be taken to extremes, in the sense that occasionally, even the best dancers separate slightly.

As I stated -- absolutely incorrect !! . If the bodies are aligned ( RIGHT AND LEFT SIDE LEAD ) as they should be , it would be physically impossible .!!