Category: Basics

HOW TO BECOME A BETTER DANCER: SOCIAL DANCING

1/25/2019

If you’re a Latin danceaholic, your first few experiences watching two people tear it up on the dance floor probably got you hooked. You might have been enticed by the sensuality, the rawness, the fun, the partner connection, the music, or simply how cool they looked…

“It looks like so much fun!”
“I love the music!”
“I NEED to know how to do this and impress my friends”
“If he can dance with so many hot girls, so can I!”
“Look at those awesome shoes! I want to dance in those shoes!”

So you started taking classes, picked up some moves from YouTube, tried club classes and left right after. But it wasn’t enough to get good. Why? Social dancing is simply an essential part of your dance training. Let’s say you’re not in it to be a professional dancer, so you’re not trying to “train”, you’re just in it for fun. Hopefully everyone is in it for the fun since most people don’t get paid to do it. HOWEVER, salsa, bachata and cha cha are primarily danced with a partner. Which means what YOU do affects someone else. If you’re off time, rough as a leader, lazy as a follower, YOU are affecting someone else’s experience. For that reason, it’s important to care about how YOU move. If you don’t want that kind of responsibility, then choose a partner-less dance genre where you can go buck wild and not hurt anyone else with your fabulous solo work 😜

While in many Latin countries, locals grow up with the music and culture, most any non-Latin Americans learned to dance outside their home, namely through formal classes. One of the biggest benefits of classes is feedback and practice with different people to prepare you for the social dance floor. Here’s the order of operation:

STEP #1 – Take group classes and/or privates to learn how to dance, and get feedback by trusted instructors.
STEP #2 – Go out to a social/practice session/club and put those moves into practice. Start to build a level of sensitivity to leading/following others. Adjust, revise, improve. Have fun and meet new people along the way.

REPEAT.

While Step #1 alone doesn’t typically build great dancers, taking the time to learn basics builds a foundation for great dancing. And getting feedback is extremely valuable if you hope to improve. You’ll find that all levels, even world champions and experienced social dancers have coaches to help them become smoother "movers", more musical, clearer as a lead/follow.

Step #2 is the next essential part of a dancer’s progress to greatness. What you learn, must be put into practice. Mistakes will be made, and that’s okay. It’s part of the journey and every dancer will go through it (pretty much forever). This isn’t like Calculus homework. There isn’t “one” right answer. It’s about discovering your voice as a dancer, which is just as unique as you are. First and foremost, remember that Latin dances meant to be danced SOCIALLY. That’s the best part! You'll meet people, create new friendships, laugh, connect and feel a sense of freedom that you’ve never felt before. It takes time and practice to feel the essence of each dance style and to find your voice. There will be bumps along the way but the results will be worth it!

Here are 5 ways social dancing can help you becoming a better dancer.

IT TESTS YOUR SKILLS
Like any new skill, mastering it required requires real practice time. One of the greatest things about dancing salsa, bachata, or cha cha is that practicing is FUN! I’ve had students that wanted to wait until they got really good before trying to social dance. Reality check... it's nog going to happen that way. Dancing with the same people who know all your moves/following people whose moves you know will limit you. Great dancers are skilled at dancing with anyone – remember it’s not about the “moves”. Musicality and connection can take a dance in many directions and the truly "free" will use their well-practiced technique to play and dance “outside the box”.

IT DEVELOPS YOUR MUSICALITY (IF YOU OPEN YOUR EARS)
Dancing is not just about "what you do" but "when" and "how" you do it. A common quality in great dancers is musicality (the "when"). Exposure to a variety of music will definitely help your musicality. It’s one thing to listen to a lot of music in the car or at home.It’s another to react to the music with your body. Take the time open your ears to hear and feel fit’s flavour, the instrumentation, it’s mood, it’s soul. Be an active listener of music, instead of just using music as a metronome. Then learning to move with the music can greatly improve your own musicality. And in dancing with others and watching others, you can absorb new ways of hearing music and expressing yourself musically.
IT PROVIDES AN OUTLET TO EXPRESS YOURSELF
Dance is an art form. And there’s endless ways to express yourself to music. Social dancing exposes you to the styles of others in partner work, foot work, styling or playfulness! On a day to day basis, many of us may feel constrained by "rules" whether at work or home. Dance gives us that chance to let your hair down (so to speak) and move to music that inspires us!
IT HELPS DEVELOP BETTER BODY MOVEMENT
The ironic thing about having "natural" Latin body movement is that does not come so "naturally" to everyone. Often it's a result of overthinking, trying to be "perfect" or simply lack of body awareness. Luckily technique can be learned. Street dances emerge in response to the "times", the culture and and innate need for humans to express themselves physically to rhythms and melodies. Learning about the music, instruments, the culture and history can help develop that "natural" Latin movement. Social dancing provides that opportunity to apply movement to music, and in doing so helps to develop your stylistic identity (which by the way, will continuously evolve as you grow as a dancer).
IT HELPS YOU DISCOVER YOURSELF
This one sounds kind of flakey, but.... like our fashion sense, our humour, how we talk, we all have our own dance style. We’ll be influenced by who taught us, what we see on a regular basis, our music and stylistic preferences. And it’s something that is usually discovered on the social dance floor from many hours of fun (practice) dancing. Enjoy the process. Be a sponge and learn from instructors whose style you admire, and who possess the skills to teach you.

Get yourself social dancing as soon as possible to gain inspiration of what’s to come. Being in an environment where there are others who enjoy dancing too can keep the fuelling your fire for dancing. Feel the vibe of the Latin dance culture and take full advantage of the social nature inherent in Latin dances. Watch, admire, absorb, and enjoy! Watching can be fun, but it’s even more fun to dance! #LetYourBodySpeak

Comments

HOW TO BE A BETTER DANCER: Master your Basics

1/6/2017

Comments

(repost from 2014)

We live in the era of instant gratification.
We want to see results ASAP, right now… yesterday even.
We like challenge, but don't let your ego get in the way of your own growth. When it comes to dancing, it’s a bad idea to skip or rush through learning the fundamentals.

If you want to know why, READ ON. While the reasons can apply to dances in general, we’ll focus on the Latin street dances – salsa, bachata, cha cha.

5 REASONS WHY INVESTING TIME IN LEARNING THE BASICS IS A GOOD IDEA
The basic steps, timing, and technique in dance provide a foundation for EVERYTHING that you’re going to learn going forward. With great fundamentals, you’ll acquire knowledge and skills that can serve as “short cuts” to learning new things. You’ll ALREADY understand and can execute the most elementary skills like timing, lead and following technique, weight transfer so you can focus on what’s NEW.

SKIPPING LEVELS AND FAILING TO ACQUIRE SOLID TECHNIQUE = A HOT MESS
It’s so refreshing to meet students who say “I’m interested in learning to dance properly and don’t mind starting from the beginning”. That is someone who understands the value of great fundamentals :) Unfortunately, this is more an exception than the rule. Most people like to be challenged. Being bored doing the same thing is no fun. However, if your goal is to be a better dancer, your time and money are better spent taking a progressive route, building on skills that you learn and put into practice on the dance floor as soon as possible.
RUSHING INTO STYLING WITHOUT SOLID TECHNIQUE = A HOT, AWKWARD MESS
Most ladies can't wait to start learning how to "style", but often it's too early. And leaders are so eager to add flare (speed, complexity) to their dancing without knowing how lead a clear basic or cross body lead in salsa, or hold frame in bachata. Imagine a house built on an uneven foundation – if you try to add new levels, the house is probably so shaky that it's bound to collapse. Similarly, styling without body awareness, timing, coordination, or contra body movement can turn into an awkward situation for both the dancer and anyone watching. We all seek challenge, but take the opportunities to learn and practice great techniques from people who know. There is ample challenge in gaining solid foundations.
LESS IS MORE
While we all crave to learn the latest and greatest, experienced dancers know that intricate moves are built on top of great technique. In the Latin dances there are basic steps, basic timing, and essential partnering techniques required to communicate with each other on the dance floor. Forget styling or fancy moves if you aren’t even dancing together. Step 1 – connect with your partner! And interestingly, many experienced dancers enjoy dancing less “busy”, appreciating great connection and musicality over complexity.
YOU CAN FEEL MESSY BASICS – NO ES BUENO
Most dancers are attracted to the fun and connection they see in Latin dancers – the magic, the sensuality, the way that two complete strangers can move as one on the dance floor. It feels amazing when you have a great connection with someone and can actually feel their lead or follow. It’s heaven on earth. Things like being off time, bouncing, being too strong or invisible can be distracting, not to mention prevent some playful or intricate partner work from being executed well.
IF EXPERIENCED DANCERS VALUE & PRACTICE THEIR BASICS, IT’S NOT TOO BASIC FOR BEGINNERS
It seems that the more experience a dancer has, the more he/she understands that you need to practice to master their basics. In other classical dance styles like ballet or modern, you’ll find dancers with years of experience in the beginner level classes so they can continue to master those elementary skills that they use in more advanced dance moves. In salsa and bachata, it’s not uncommon to see students with less little dance experience trying to ace an advanced class. We all need challenge to keep us interested and motivated, but if you want to be a better dancer, master the basics.

Stay focused on the goal..."To be a better dancer". Be patient. LEARN YOUR BASICS. Practice your basics. Enjoy the rewards in the long term :) You and your partner will thank you for it!

Author

Caryl Cuizon, iFreeStyle.ca co-founder.

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iFreeStyle.ca Dance Blog

HOW TO BECOME A BETTER DANCER: SOCIAL DANCING

HOW TO BE A BETTER DANCER: Master your Basics

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