All about the "Social" part of Dancing
Everyone has their favourite social dance partners – which is awesome. Sometimes we just get those oh-so-sweet, buttery smooth dances that make us feel amazing all over. However, it is important to remember that (almost) every partner you encounter has something very, very valuable to teach you on the dance floor. This can either be from a habit they have, or the level they are dancing at. Today, we endeavor to discern what you stand to gain from every social dance partner.
A Note from Laura Riva: I don’t normally post guest articles on my blog, but for Trevor Copp I make an exception. For those who don’t know, Trevor is one of the people behind the Liquid Lead Dancing Tedx Talk that took place a short time ago. He is also one of the people I met in my early dance days – before I even knew what Zouk was! So, when he said he wanted to write an article for TDG, how could I refuse…
Mindful Practice: the art of practicing while consistently mentally present. In the context of mindfully practicing your dance, it means practicing every movement with mental presence. Mindful practice is a skill that is both critical to becoming a great dancer, and yet one of the most under-used processes.
Probably every person on this planet has, at one time or another, reacted a little too strongly to something. Usually, it stems from a perfect storm of stress and other factors which just happen to hit that spot where it’s almost impossible for things to go right – and really easy for things to go wrong. The dance floor is not exempt from this – and that’s OK.
The Ten Commandments
I wrote an article a few days ago on being a generous dancer, and there was a question that came out of that post from several people: does being a generous dancer mean I have to dance with everyone? No, it doesn’t.
A generous dancer is one who shares their love of dancing with the world – whatever that world may be. The Performer does this through tireless dedication to their craft, resulting in breathtaking performances of (near) perfection. The Teacher does this through thinking about how they will better communicate their craft to their students every single time they teach. The Mentor does this by guiding their mentees through all the stages of dance development.
Can women lead as well as men? Can men follow as well as women? If you haven’t seen this Ted Talk floating around your dance circuits by now, I’d invite you to watch before reading on. Writer’s Note: Trevor used to work as a professor in my university’s drama program. He was positively legendary among the students as one of the best acting professors out there. For years, I was in that program and never met him (my bad luck)… until we met accidentally one night at a Salsa club. Awesome person, and the fact that he is a professional…
We have a lot of inspirations in the dance scene. Inspirational performers, social dancers, and personalities. People we admire for their dancing, and people we admire for who they are. With the new year approaching, many of us are making new years resolutions. Some we will keep, some we will try to keep, and some are over before they even start. I would put forward one easy new years resolution for every dancer:
Floorcraft: being aware of your surroundings while dancing to maintain safety and comfort for you, your partner, and couples around you. It can include watching for potential collisions, respecting the flow, direction, or slot on the floor, and troubleshooting out of dangerous situations. The general rule preached in many dance communities is that it is the lead’s job to watch the floor during a dance. I would argue that it is actually a shared responsibility: the follow has a great deal of control in managing floorcraft, as does the lead.
So… about 5 minutes ago I saw a video. It was supposedly ‘Bachata’. What it really was consisted of an out-of-control diamond, a badly executed lateral, a rough chicote, and a couple other things. Basically, it was horridly executed Brazilian Zouk. It was not Bachata in the *slightest*. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a video like this.
We know how awesome it feels to dance with a great lead or follow. We know that it’s important to be able to assess your partner during the dance to maximize your positive experience. We know that attitude plays an important part, and that there are some things you just shouldn’t do.
At around 4 a.m. after a Saturday full of dancing, I had quite a memorable conversation with a dancer who had experienced a dance that they were hoping would go very right, but ended up leaving a negatively-tinged aftertaste because they and their partner weren’t on the same mental wavelength. It could have been one person not particularly being into the dance. It could also have been mental distress from a crowded floor, fatigue, or some sort of discomfort with the partner’s style.
I love social dancing. I love the variety, I love the musicality, I love the connection. I love being challenged by new movements. Usually. Every once in a while, it seems there arises some sort of new move that has managed to crawl its way out of the list-of-things-that-should-never-be-done onto the list of things-some-leads-absolutely-love. The good intentions are certainly there, but oh-my-gawd some of these moves just…
So, you have a favourite dance. You probably have a favourite style of said dance. But, what happens when certain styles are deemed ‘illegitimate’ because they’re not the ‘original’? I’ve seen this in almost every genre. Kizomba, WCS, Salsa, Zouk…The question is, why is it that certain styles of the same dance are ‘illegitimate’ vs. ‘legitimate’?