HOW TO BECOME A BETTER DANCER: SOCIAL DANCING

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…

1. “It looks like so much fun!”
2. “I love the music!”
3.  “I NEED to know how to do this and impress my friends”
4.  “If he can dance with so many hot girls, so can I!”
5. “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.

1. 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”. 


2. 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.  
   
   
3. 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!
   
   
4. 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).  
   
   
5. 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