Dance Better Now

How to maximise the time between classes for better dance

Do you ever feel that you are just spinning your wheels between classes? You have worked out what the issue is, but you are worried:

1. You are not able to practice properly without a partner
2. You might practice incorrectly, due to not knowing enough, and develop bad habits

The effect is that the motivation and nascent insights you gain in one lesson cannot be taken advantage of. Because of this, you need to repeat aspects in the next lesson. It’s like 2 steps forward with 1 step back.

The solution is to halt the lesson about 5-10 minutes before the scheduled end.

You know what it is that you need to work on: Maybe timing, maybe foot placement, maybe balance, maybe remembering to place your hand somewhere. However, what you need is simpler exercises that you can drill confidently. Exercises that will help develop the attribute that you need to solve the challenges you face at that time.

Just before the lesson ends talk to your teacher about what you can do between classes to help the issue. Ensure that you make the following clear:

1. You do not know what it is you are working on well enough to practice that
2. You need something you can do alone
3. You need something simple enough so that you will not get it wrong
4. It needs to be something that will help you overcome the immediate challenge you have

This seems a serious task; however, I have found that most teachers are capable of drawing on their experience to come up with something. Not only that, but they seem to enjoy the challenge: more engaging than the typical passive student.

You might need practice asking for the right kind of exercises and your teacher might need practice too; don’t be disheartened if you don’t get perfect exercises first time you try this. Keep at it, and it will eventually become a standard learning technique you use to become a better dancer.

Mistakes about learning dance

At a recent dance studio social/comp night, I was talking to a group of fellow dancers about the way people learn (and sometimes do not learn) dance. This resulted in a number of the common mistakes that people can make when learning dance being identified. Let’s go over these now to see if you might be making some of these mistakes and what can be done about it if you are.

Thinking it’s all about the figures

Much teaching of dance focuses upon teaching a figure. Thus, is it no surprise if you think to be a better dance, you must know more figures and harder figures. If you have trouble dancing and you decide to get a DVD of dance figures (or go to a dance workshop to learn more figures or something like that), then first check that the issue you have is indeed no knowing enough figures. Sometimes that is an issue – especially for leads. However, it is only sometimes!

Forgetting attributes

Often the issue is not what we know about dance, but the way we dance. We know what we are meant to do, but it just doesn’t happen. You might be told to dance on the beat, but that does not mean you will. You might be told to move smoothly, but that does not mean you can. You might be told to relax, but being told to relax can be stressful for many.

In cases like this, you need to think about not the dance, but about YOU.

• Do you need more flexibility?
• Do you need to work on understanding music?
• Do you need to work on confidence?

These are just examples, but they are the type of questions you can ask yourself. Try to work out what it is about you that stops you from dancing as well as you could. Think about coming up with a list of things you think might hold you back. Then think about what you can do for each of these listed items.

Not trying a different mind set

One thing that often holds people back is the way they approach learning. If you are used to learning a certain way, one that might have worked well in other contexts, then it might not be ideal for learning some aspects of dance (yet you keep using it). Some examples:

• You might be good at remembering lots of facts for exams, but that will not help you learn to lead and follow different people.
• You might have focused on understanding basic principles and then applying them in different cases, but that will not help you respond quickly when dancing socially on a crowded floor and you need to be intuitive.
• You might have used methods of remembering a series of events, but you can’t go through your mnemonic technique at your owns pace when dancing a routine to music.

If you are having troubles learning some aspect of dance, then take the time to consider your learning approach. It might be that using a different approach will yield improved results.

Thinking it stops

Dance is not like riding a bike. Things can fall out of your head (and your body memory). Do not make the mistake of thinking that once you have learned a step or passed a certain level, that you will always have those skills and figures in your head. Instead, if you notice you lose something, then work on getting it back.

Don’t get annoyed by this. The fact that dance needs this effort is what makes it so good for your brain. Each time you are relearning, think about how you will not be mentally slow as you age.

Thinking you should learn from good dancers as opposed to good teachers

Just because someone dances well does not mean they know how to teach. In fact, if someone dances really well, then they probably do not understand what you are going through, and they are not able to help you. Don’t look only for a good dancer; try to find a good teacher.

Note also, that there is no such thing as a good teacher. There is only such thing as a good student teacher relationship. You might need to change teachers simply to get the match. And sometimes what you needed at an earlier stage of learning is not what you need now. Do not be afraid to change teachers if you need it or to even engage another for special needs at the same time.

Not really knowing what you are learning for

Do you know why you are learning to dance? Sometimes people are just there and do not really know why they are dancing. Without that focus/motivation, it’s hard to learn to dance well.

On top of that, if you know what you are dancing (for social dancing, sport, exhibition, to meet people of the opposite sex, to take on a challenge etc.), then you can better tailor your learning strategy to you needs.

Think about why you are learning dance, then use that for motivation and aligning your learning efforts with what you need to learn.

The woman everyone wants to either dance like or dance with

I have been writing about how to be a better partner dancer for some years now. In that time I have:

1. done a lot of research into how to dance better,
2. tried a lot of techniques to see if they improve dance ability,
3. had friends try techniques to see if they improve dance ability,
4. spoken to many women about the things they find difficult, and
5. spoken to a lot of men about what they like in dance partners.

From all of this, I have found essence of what makes for the best women dancers*.

And I am going to share this with you now.

In short, you need to be a graceful dancer. You need to not only dance well, obviously, but you need to be a lady that has poise and affability on the dance floor.

It’s more than simply knowing figures.

The best female dancers:

• have an affability that makes it easy to ask them to dance and connect with
• can feel emotion in the music
• notice how others express the feelings in the music
• move with grace in response to leads that they can feel

When you have these qualities, you become that woman that you have seen on the dance floor who looks at home there. You glide along the floor and turn expressing the character of the music and catch everyone’s eye as you have the kind of experience that we all want from dance. Think about those women you see dancing like that – it can be you.

If you want to be one of the best women dancers, then you need to master the following:

1. Physicality – for good feminine movement
2. Musicality – not just dancing in time with the music, but WITH the music
3. Learning dance – so you know that you are dancing as you should
4. Sensing – so you can pick up on all aspects of dance to follow and express yourself
5. Affability – so your partner connects, and creates that unique dance experience

You probably already have some these, but there is likely to be something you feel you lack or have perhaps never thought about.

Imagine if you had all of them, and you were like those other dancers you see and envy. You CAN master these 5 attributes of the best female dancers. And I will show you how so that dance can be what you want it to be.

If you do want me to tell you how to master these attributes, and you should, then you can read more via a report that I have written on this topic. Fill out the form below, and I will send you the report now.

 

 

 

*I know that it need not be a woman following. This is just the context that this article is written in. Much of what is written here is valid for leads in general. By all means, if you are a man, then you can still learn about following from the report.

Overcoming pain in dance

Sometime before writing this I was emailed by a dancer who had bought part 2 of Dance Better Now. She said that she was finding the book good, but that she had to modify the exercises due to pain from arthritis.

This got me thinking about how often pain holds us back from dancing as well as we could.

I have had issues with my Achilles’ tendon, my back and my knee at various times in the past. None of these issues were caused by dance. It was usually after exercising too hard or sleeping in the wrong position.

I also know people who have been unable to dance as they would like because of aches and pains from old injuries or just being old. I reckon that if you went to a random dance studio (as long there are not too many kids’ classes), then you would find that 10% to 20% of the people there could point to some source of pain that limited their dance ability or enjoyment.

If you have a serious injury, then you should not be dancing at 100% effort (or maybe not at all – depending).

However, what options do you have for aches and pains that just tax your enjoyment and ability?

One of the best tools that I have come across is a Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (T.E.N.S) machine.

These machines provide light electrical current to the area that causes pain. The science is out on how it works and how well it works for different applications. The basic theory at the moment is that the stimulation of the nerves causes them to transmit fewer pain signals.

I have used these and thought they were good. If you ever have troubles with aches and pains, then they are worth a go. The one in the ad below is a well-regarded one by many.

However, if you’re like me, and you want to test it first, then you can do so at a physiotherapist or a health festival. That’s where I first tried one and experienced how good they can be.

I still always try physical therapy first - I prefer my body works well - but sometimes ther is that nagging pain that you just need to deal with now. Or maybe it is something like arthrities, and all you can do is kill the pain.

Please note, I will likely get a financial compensation if you make a purchase via the links on my blog. 

What is proper dancing?

I know of some people who always like to know that they are dancing “properly”.

But what is “proper” dance?

Some people I know who want to know that they are doing it right will gravitate toward dance sport. It has a world authority that lays down rules and directions on how each dance figure is to be performed. Then there are trained judges who evaluate dancers and rank them according to the quality of execution.

This certainly conveys a sense of what is proper.

If it is proper, then it must be the highest class. Surely the classiest of dancers do things properly.

Or do they?

Other dancers can’t stand the notion of doing things properly. They would rather dance to their own rules. They do not like the “elites” or “upper class” types laying down rules to be followed. It is more fun to shake things up with raw talent and innovation than to try to adhere to stuffy old rules. That’s how the working class people choose to dance.

Or is it?

If you want to learn more about how different elements of society have viewed social dance throughout history, then take a look at Waltzing: A Manual for Dancing and Living by Richard Powers and Nick Enge. It is a rare book in that it covers a lot about the history of social dance. It’s good for all dancers to know this, but there is little out there about it.

  

If you’re like me, and you have trouble giving people gift ideas, then this is an ideal one.

One of the interesting aspect is how each class viewed dance.

Before I talk too much about this, I want you to take a moment to think about the origins of social dance.

Some of the earlier recordings of what we would call social dance go back 1000 years. It has been with us for a long time. Recordings of how they differed between the classes typically went along the lines of the nobles dancing in a more dignified manner while the farmers and such were a lot more boisterous.

They were different styles, but each was focused on simply dancing.

So where did the notion of laying down rules and judging dance so formally come from?

Can you imagine someone trying to judge a European aristocrat?

“YOU, a servant who teaches dance, wishes to judge ME, a nobleman?

“Off with his head!”

There would probably be a quick shortage of dance judges.

People who were living such lives were probably more interested in politics, war or hedonism. They were unlikely to have any interest in someone judging them on how well they danced. Certainly there would have been those who wanted to be the one that others wanted to dance with, but the notion of formulating and regulating dance did not really fit their lifestyle.

However, for the working class in Victorian England many were tradesmen. They knew that they were qualified, that they were talented and who they were (if trade was part of one’s identity), because they had been assessed.

And they had passed the test!

In this environment, when social dancing was popular, it was only a matter of time until the notion of codifying dance and then judging it would develop.

And this, according to Richard Powers and Nick Enge, is the origin of modern dance sport. Tradesmen laying down solid rules on how to dance so that all could “know” that they danced well and how well compared to others.

So what do we make of this?

It’s just something to ponder if we ever want to know that we dance “properly”.

There are some aspects of dance that are based on something objective: The efficiency of movement for example. However, it is arbitrary that we think it should be efficient. Why not set a challenge and see if people can still do it inefficiently?

Thus, dance is a mix of subjectiveness, objectiveness and arbitrariness. Which makes it hard to define what proper is.

Much of it is all in our heads.

However, the same still goes for those who think that they can shake things up by not dancing to those rules laid down by others. Really, you’re just dancing to a different set of standards: standards that you likely just made up.

This is the paradox of dance – there probably really isn’t a proper dance class.

However, some of us just like to know that we have met a standard. And dance is a way of achieving that.

Others don’t care for this so much.

Still, you can’t dance anyway you like. You do have a partner to dance with. And no matter what happens, people like what they like, and thus there will be some dancers that more people like than others.

Standards are mostly arbitrary in dance, but there will always be some standard that you will be judged by in some way by someone when you do dance.

If you want to learn more about this side if dance, and I think you should because historical context can help so much when thinking about what you want from dance, then I can happily recommend Waltzing: A Manual for Dancing and Living by Richard Powers and Nick Enge. Just click the image below.

 

  

If you’re like me, and you have trouble giving people gift ideas, then this is an ideal one.

If you do by this book, then there is a good chance that I will get a commission. Just so you know.

Why learn tap?

A week before writing this I was at a dance event. It was one of those dance school events where there are students dancing all different sorts of styles and at different levels. One thing that I noticed was that despite the level, the tap dancers always seemed to have better timing then the other dancers.

I started thinking why this might be the case.

I posed the question on a LinkedIn group dedicated to teachers and coaches of dance. A few people responded, but the basic theme of the responses was the same. Tap dancers do have better timing. And this is why:

Tap dancing has both auditory and physical feedback. You can hear the sound as you step. This makes it easier to tell when you are out of time.

Tap dancers are more like musicians. Sometimes the tap dancer needs to actually add to the music when they dance. Think of the magenta tap in the time ward scene from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. See at 3:10 on the video below

Watch Time Warp - The Rocky Horror Picture Show in Music | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

 

If you’re struggling with timing or just want better musicality, then maybe a tap class or a course is what you need. Some other instructors said that they were sure that tap had made them much better able to dance with and express music. It's probably never occured to you, until then it had never occured to me, but it's still worth a try. If I do try it, then I will tell you more.

 

How can surfing make you a better dancer?

Just before writing this post I was at a conference on engineering education at the Gold Coast in Australia. Before the actual conference started in earnest, I went for a surfing lesson. It had been a while since I had last been surfing so I thought it would be good to start with a lesson.

While I was surfing I was struck by the similarities between dance and surfing.

It also occurred to me that surfing could be a good hobby for developing attributes that would make you a good dancer. In this post I will explain why I think this and how you could use surfing to improve your dance.

There are obviously differences between dance and surfing, but there were two major similarities that I noticed:

• The use of small balancing muscles
• Extended awareness beyond my body

Balancing muscles

As time progressed while surfing, I noticed that my balance was starting to drop off along with my ability to move smoothly from one position to another. I looked like I was tired, but I felt fine. The reason for this was that my large muscles were fine, but the smaller muscles that were now being worked harder had fatigued. Because they were small, they did not make me feel tired. Even though I didn’t feel I needed it, a short rest before paddling out to try catching another wave helped a lot. I stood with better posture, I was better balanced and I was able to move more smoothly from laying on the board to standing on it.

The first lesson here is that when practicing dance it might be worth taking a break even if you do not feel tired. This need not be a break where you do nothing. You could try another dance or even just another figure so that different muscles are used. Then when you go back to the first dance or figure, you will be physically recovered. This will then help you put appropriate effort into working on mastering whatever you are working on – you will not be held back by fatigued muscles.

The second lesson for me was that there is another activity that can help develop good dance attributes. I frequently talk about how important it is to develop attributes for dance by engaging in other activities. I have spoken about yoga, martial arts and aerobics, but until now I had never thought of surfing. If you want to improve the strength in your feet and ankles so that you have better balance, then I can easily recommend surfing.

Awareness

When you’re surfing, you need to feel the wave through the board. By feeling the wave through the board, you are able to determine how hard you need to paddle, when you can stop paddling, when you can lift yourself up and when you’re ready to stand. This kind of awareness is much like following a lead or feeling a follow respond to a lead.

However, it is a little different and this is where the benefit comes from.

If you have trouble extending you awareness to your partner’s body, then you might find that surfing shows how you to do this. The reason is that while not feeling your partner really is of little practical consequence, it’s just not great dancing. Surfing is very different. When you can’t feel the wave, you fall and often find yourself underwater. This is good motivation to start paying attention to the kinaesthetic signals as opposed to visual or auditory signals – motivation you will not have when dancing.

However, the signals form a wave are also more significant and there is no doubt in your mind what it is (you do not ever try to guess what the wave is thinking). This can make it easier to simply focus on the signals, and increase your ability to extend your awareness. Once you know what it’s like to feel these kinds of signals, you will be better able to feel them when dancing. This will make you a better lead and a better follow.

What to do now

If you don’t surf and thought about it, then you now have another reason to give it a go. If you are ever on holiday by the beach and there are surf lessons, then take one. Notice what it’s like to feel the wave so that you can expand you awareness. Notice also how you feel extra muscles working around your ankles and feet. Noticing these two things will help you identify the muscles that you need to work on for better balanced dancing and what it is like to be fully aware of something (or someone) that you’re physically connected to.