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If you’re like many, you love seeing those tangible indications that your dancing is noticeably better than it was before.
The concept of improving or advancing your dance skills is satisfying, shows how far you’ve come, and gives you something to brag about but, what criteria might we use to separate the different ‘levels’ of a dancer?
What makes you a dancer?
1. What you do: You enjoy music and moving to it. That’s it!
Don’t listen to those cynics that say you need to take lessons to be a ‘real’ dancer.
Of course, you may want to refine your abilities if you want others to dance anywhere near you…
2. How it shows in your dancing: It might be messy on the outside but you don’t care, because it just feels good to move and groove to what you hear.
You leave silly things like ‘structure’ and ‘cohesion’ to the pros on Dancing with the Stars!
What makes you a DECENT dancer?
1. What you do: You’ve decided to take some group lessons from a dance professional…maybe you practice sometimes or social dance once and a while but, it’s all pretty relaxed and just for fun.
You know you’d like to get better but so far, it’s not as important as other life priorities.
2. How it shows in your dancing: You know the basics…well enough so that people watching can actually tell what dance you’re doing.
You can connect with your partner and, more or less push each other across the floor. You’re still a novice in the eyes of the wider dance community but at least you score some points for trying.
What makes you a GOOD dancer?
1. What you do: You’ve recognized that you have a long way to go to really stand out and now you want it bad enough to start pulling for it.
You’ve moved from group classes increasingly into private lessons and pay much more attention to those boring technical tips then you did in previous levels.
If you go out social dancing, you are now considered a ‘regular’ and you may have started to dabble in the competitive scene.
2. How it shows in your dancing: You’ve started to catch the eye of other dancers.
Your movements feel a lot more fluid and controlled, balance is no longer a problem and maintaining connection is second nature.
You’ve probably started to play with arm styling and other embellishments.
It’s increasingly fun to dance with you and you start to receive smiles and compliments from your partners.
What makes you a GREAT dancer?
1. What you do: You might not be the best but, you’re good and you know it.
How many steps you know is now less important than how you dance them.
You may be in the competitive circuit by now…not because you can’t be a better dancer without it but simply because it’s the only place you can dance full-out anymore.
You are king or queen of the social dance floor and may find yourself looking around for partners talented enough to challenge you.
2. How it shows in your dancing: You are what lower-level dancers look at when they say to themselves ‘I want to move like that.’
Guiding/responding to different combinations is so easy now that you start to improvise some movements…like you used to, only now you know how much you can get away with! You don’t lack dance partners at a social but are happiest when dancing with your regular partner, because they can connect with you on a whole new level.
On every level there are many who decided they are satisfied where they are so, if you decide to move past that, remember not to look down on them.
Each level requires sacrificing time and money to move forward…the only difference between you and them is that for you, it’s worth it!
We have some rather strange names for figures in our Ballroom and Latin dance syllabi.
How did these names originate?
Here are three examples, the origin of which are, I think, fairly well known.
The “Telemark”: British dancers, skiing in Norway in the 1920’s, saw the “Telemark Turn” used in skiing to quickly change direction.
They named the dance figure “Telemark” as the manoeuvre reminded them of the skiing turn.
The “Double Reverse Spin”: Why double? It is only one full turn or less, however, the originator; Maxwell Stewart, always danced two consecutively, hence “double”.
The (Waltz) “Wing”: I have always wondered how the Wing got its name and references by Josephine Bradley (renowned dancer, teacher, competitor and examiner and creator of the heel turn) provided the answer.
She explained that the figure was so named because the followers part resembled a large bird (e.g., seagull) folding it’s wing into its body…and instilling this mental picture into the student’s mind may achieve results.
The description below is more in keeping with the original style of the movement which can be seen on this old film record (at approximately 3.15 into the clip) and not how it has developed to its current execution.
Starting in P.P. with the lady’s head turned right, ask the lady to turn their head and torso strongly to the left between 2 and 3, thus creating the bird’s folding wing effect.
This strong body turn should ensure that the lady does the desired foot swivel on the R.F. between 2 & 3. Remember to use the earlier Rise and Fall, viz “Commence to rise e/o 1; Continue to rise on 2; Up. Lower at e/o 3”.
You should then see the executed “wing” effect.
When the figure was created in the 1920’s, I’m quite sure that like many other figures, it occurred quite by chance.
Most likely, a couple found themselves in promenade position, blocked by another couple and the man led his partner around to his left side to avoid a collision.
Doubtless, they would think “that was nice” and then set about refining it.
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