• Dance Discussions

    The Dark Side of Dance Addiction

    October 25, 2016 - By 

    Sidenote: I’m glad people are finding this article useful. But, if you are reposting or resharing, please link and credit the original article. We love to joke about being ‘dance addicts’. We’re even proud of it. We glorify flying to other continents to pursue our hobby. We see world-famous dancers with 2 or 3 full Facebook accounts full of fabulous people. We laugh about spending more time on dance-related activities than our day jobs. I’m one of them – and I’m happy to be. It has given me an international network of great friends. It has challenged me physically and mentally. It…

  • Dance Discussions

    Why 10 Years of Experience Won’t Make You a Great Dancer

    October 3, 2016 - By 

    When someone tells you they’ve been dancing for 10 years, do you automatically expect that they’ll be a great dancer? I used to. But, I’ve realized that there can be a massive difference in skill level between people who have been dancing the same length of time. That difference is primarily due to the difference between passive ‘experience’ and active ‘training’. Dancers Under 1 Year Before the first year mark, there’s not as much variation in levels. There are some who are stronger, and there are others who struggle more – but they generally have a similarly shallow pool of knowledge.…

  • Dance Discussions - Health & Safety - Social Dancing

    If Body Rolls are Hurting, Something’s Wrong

    September 26, 2016 - By 

    This is inspired by a conversation I recently had with a Dominican Bachata instructor, who has been relatively uninterested in the ‘Sensual Bachata’ trend. She had decided to come out and give Brazilian Zouk a try, partially to incorporate Zouk-like movements into routines. For example, off-axis turns. Or head movement. Or body rolls and upper body isolations. Like any true professional, she wanted to understand how to do the movements safely and properly before adding it to her work. After a while, she remarked that she wasn’t expecting the waves, head movement, and isolations to be so relaxing. She explained that…

  • Dance Discussions - Etiquette - Following - Social Dancing

    In Defence of the ‘Hot Girl that Can’t Dance’

    September 19, 2016 - By 

    Have you ever gone to an event, and seen that girl? She’s hot. She’s dressed sexy. Her make-up is all done up. To top it all off, she gets asked to dance by all the desirable leads… all night long. There’s only one issue: She can’t dance. Instead of dancing, what she’s doing is flirting with all those leads and using her looks to get dances. She can’t dance; she just looks sexy. She doesn’t even bother to take classes! If only leads weren’t so shallow in their dance choices, they’d be dancing with a real dancer instead. *** Snap out of it. *** Most people I know who attend events…

  • Congresses & Travel - Dance Discussions

    Is everyone really having sex at festivals?

    September 12, 2016 - By 

    There’s a note circulating online about the ‘sexual’ nature of festivals. Specifically, it’s about how three women got pregnant at a recent festival in Europe. The note also touches on the power dynamics between professionals and attendees, as well as how many events are marketing the ‘sexy’ slant. While all of these things do happen at some events, I think the conversation requires some clarification. Part of this is in service of beginners who are entering the festival circuit for the first time. I know I wouldn’t go to congresses if I though it was all sex – I just want to dance! 1. Not…

  • Dance Discussions

    Dancing through Disasters

    July 15, 2016 - By 

    “Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love” – Martin Luther King Jr. By this time, I’m sure that most of the dance world has already heard about the terror attack in Nice. It’s not the first, and it’s very likely not the last.

  • Dance Discussions

    Sensual Bachata: Appreciation or Appropriation?

    July 12, 2016 - By 

    There has been a storm recently about the ‘legitimacy’ of Sensual Bachata as a type of Bachata dance. It started with a video, which called out Daniel and Desiree and other notable Sensual Bachata dancers for their use of ‘LambaZouk’ (though I’d personally say they take more from Traditional style). It then escalated to a defense of ‘Sensual Bachata’ by its creators Korke and Judith.

  • Beginner-Friendly - Dance Discussions - Inspirational

    “I wish I started dance when I was 5”

    June 3, 2016 - By 

    Did you grow up dancing, or with a deep desire to dance? If you didn’t, do you ever have that distinct, deep wish that your parents had made you take dance when you were a kid? I mean, seriously. If you were classically trained, everything would be SO much easier. It really would. But… would it really have been the right decision? Would you still be dancing?

  • Dance Discussions - Etiquette - Social Dancing

    Does our ‘Look’ Impact Social Dancing?

    April 25, 2016 - By 

    Each dance has its own style and ‘standard’ look. Lindy Hoppers love their retro gear, while WCS dancers favour slacks and pants. Brazilian Zouk loves its body suits, and Tango is all about emphasizing the legs. Beyond how we dress our bodies, there are usually ‘standard’ body highlights present in styles. For example, Kizomba showcases the derriere, and Zouk the hair. WCS emphasizes lines, and (once again) Tango emphasizes the legs.

  • Dance Discussions

    Can Two Women (or Men) ‘Dance’ Together?

    April 13, 2016 - By 

    I’ve written some articles about my belief that you should always treat your partner well – whether male or female. I’ve also written about how ‘taking care of a follow‘ shouldn’t mean ‘protecting’ the ‘weaker sex’. Every time the topic of same-gendered dancing comes up, there’s a consistent response: “Some things can only be expressed between a man and a woman” This also generally comes with the assumption that this man-woman relationship consists of male LEAD and female FOLLOW (not reversed).

  • Dance Discussions - Social Dancing

    Are “Basic” Social Dancers a Liability or an Asset?

    April 6, 2016 - By 

    “Social Dancer” can mean many things in dance-lingo. It can mean someone who is serious about learning improvised lead-follow dancing. It can means someone who is welcoming to beginners. It also sometimes gets used to describe non-serious dancers who view the dancefloor as a ‘social’ activity to have fun. These are the people who know a couple basic moves, and don’t really have any desire to learn more or take more classes (sometimes, even any at all!)

  • Dance Discussions

    “Liquid Lead Dancing”: A Conversation on Fluid Lead/Follow Gender Roles

    January 8, 2016 - By 

    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…