• Dance Discussions - Workshops & Classes

    The Overeducation of Social Dancers

    I love how many dance communities have a strong emphasis on technical foundations. It’s something that advanced dancers always loved, but social media made the importance of technical education more prominent. Dance scenes are growing and expanding. Some students take many classes a week, or invest thousands of dollars in privates. But, are we overeducating our social dancers? Defining Overeducation For the purposes of this article, overeducation has less to do with ‘taking too many classes’ than with an overemphasis on one facet of dancing at the expense of other equally-important components. For example: if you take 200 hours worth of dance training and 199…

  • Social Dancing - Workshops & Classes

    The Truth Behind “Just Feel It”

    “Just feel it.” It’s a phrase meant to be a catch-all for expression in dance. It’s supposed to speak to an intrinsically natural sensation of being ‘in-tune’ with the music and dance. But, what exactly are we supposed to ‘feel’, and how do we use our ‘feelings’ in dance? More than a ‘Feeling’ Most of the time, the word ‘feeling’ gets conflated with the idea of ’emotion’. You feel happy, sad or angry. But, a ‘feeling’ isn’t limited to an emotion. It can also encompass a state of being, or a texture. For example, being tired is a ‘state’ of being – as…