All about the "Social" part of Dancing
Being a social dancer is a fantastic thing. It means that you feel, deep in your core, a desire to connect with other human beings. It means you have a desire to be empathetic, caring, and in tune with the energy around you. We desire to create, channeling our energy into a beautiful experience that is always present and never replicated in any other place. And, unlike many things, we choose to create these magical experiences with a partner.
You know the person. Magically, they seem to find a continuous flow of new dancers for the scene… and many of those people actually stick around. They are what I like to call a ‘Dance Evangelist’. I self-identify as a Dance Evangelist. Since I started dance, I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten at least 50 people into various forms of dance – and that’s probably on the conservative end. Salsa, West Coast, Zouk. Even Lindy and Blues at a time. So, I feel pretty well qualified to write this, but I am always open to new ways to improve my own Dance Evangelism.
“I dance because dancing is life” – ‘T’ – New York, NY – USA Why do we dance? I dance because there is nothing else that engages me the same way physically, emotionally and socially all at once. It is a journey of perpetual growth alongside people I adore and cherish. But, I’m not the only dancer out there. In a quest to find what drives us dancers in our crazy, colorful, passionate pursuit of dance, I decided to reach out to the community. From solo artists to stage performers and social dancers, some themes seemed consistent across genre and…
I have met very few dancers who feel they dance “Well Enough”. Most of the people who do feel that way are individuals who either: Think they know it all (if you’re this person, go read about DES); or, Really don’t love with a burning passion this thing we call dance, and see it more as a casual pastime.
My dance heart is something very precious to me, and only a select few partners every get to keep a part of it. Those dancers I remember forever; the moments danced with them are permanently blazed in my memory. So, how did they do it?