What is Proper/Correct Dancing?

There are some dancers who always like to know that they are dancing ‘properly’ or ‘correctly’ but, what is ‘proper’ or ‘correct’ dancing?

Some dancers, who want to know that they are doing it right will gravitate toward DanceSport. 

It has an authority that lays down rules and directions on how each dance figure is to be performed and trained judges who evaluate dancers and rank them according to the quality of execution.

This certainly conveys a sense of what is proper and correct and, if it is proper and correct then it must be the highest class…surely only the classiest of dancers do things properly and correctly?

Or do they?

Other dancers would rather dance to their own rules and do not like the ‘elitist’ or ‘upper-class’ types laying down rules to be followed; because 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 choose to dance.

Or is it?

Take a moment to think about the origins of social dance…some of the earliest documentation of what we would call social dance go back over 1,000 years and 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 ‘commoners’ were 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 rapid shortage of dance judges!

People who were living such lives were probably more interested in politics, war or enjoying life; 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 (of whom 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.

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. 

Dance is a mix of subjectiveness, objectiveness and arbitrariness, which makes it hard to define what proper is and…much of it is all in our heads anyway!

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; some of us like to know that we have met a standard but, 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, 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!

Have you ever asked yourself that question?

Everyone has… unless they are already a dance teacher. 

If you're serious about getting better at dance and you want some techniques that you just can't find elsewhere so that you have a real edge, look here.

But before I answer this question, you need to appreciate something. 

Most dance instructors have been dancing and teaching for years and they dance and think about dance almost 24/7. 

Sometimes it's not the dance teacher that we care about, but the high-level student that we wish to emulate… in fact, no matter who it is, we all have that feeling at some time.

In fact, if you want to become really excellent at something, then you're looking at around 10 years practice.

Note that this is for excellence, not a good solid ability that many of us would be happy with because a number of people who drop out of dance after only a few weeks feel that they don’t dance as well as the people they see on TV.

So, you do need to practice, but you still want to make this practice as effective as possible to improve as quickly as possible.

Let's look at that now.

1. Be specific – The first step is to ensure that your practice is focused on improving something. Simply dancing a lot is not enough, in fact, it might just reinforce your bad habits so, pick an aspect of your dance hip movement, posture or ankle locks etc. and focus on whatever it is that you want/need to work on.

2. Get feedback - We can't be as objective as we need to be and it is also hard to see what we look like. Mirrors often come to mind: that's why dance studios have them, right? However, as good as they are, mirrors don't give the best view and you need to compromise posture to use them.

The camera never lies so, record yourself doing whatever it is that you need to work on. 

Then watch it. 

Look for what's actually happening (try to work out what it is that you're making you body do and what it should be doing). 

Even better is if you have a video of someone who does it the way you like. Pay attention to the differences. You will soon realize that they way things feel is not the way they look, especially if you're new to dance this movement.

3. Repeat - Make sure that you can do this again and again and again. You need to program your body. If you had troubles 99 times but it worked on the 100th, then you need to keep going otherwise, you've got most of your experience doing it wrong! You need to drill it the right way.

4. Focus - You need to really concentrate on what you're doing. That way, your conscious and unconscious will know that this is important to you and must be mastered. The time you spend on this is up to you, but you will fatigue after an hour so take a break then.

5. Don't expect too much pleasure - Dancing is fun, especially when you're good at it and happy with how you do it however, this practice might not be. You're working on something that will give you the results that you like; not doing something that you like. 

Try to think about how you're getting better… that's a good motivator! 

Dancing can be very frustrating at times, especially since we often feel like we’re running to stand still. 

Sure, beginners can measure themselves by the number of steps they know, but the more advanced you get, the longer it takes to reach the next benchmark so, how do you know that you’re improving?

1. Determine what your end goal is

Before we know how we’re progressing, we need to know what we’re progressing towards. 

Spending some serious time figuring out exactly where you want to be through dancing is probably the single most important thing you can do to motivate yourself therefore, when choosing your goal, pick something that excites and motivates you.

“I want to get better at dancing” is a bit vague and not likely to move you, but “I want to be good enough to never wait for a dance at a social” gives you a reward worth working towards.

2. Set tangible "mini-goals"

Once you’ve set the major goals, start thinking about the steps needed to get there. 

Your teacher can help you with this as well and, where the major goal can be based around a feeling or just an image of yourself, the mini-goals should be more specific and measurable.

For example, with the major goal above, you might aim to:

• Master the footwork for ten patterns.
• Stay on time for an entire song while dancing.
• Dance with a partner without stepping on them more than twice in a song.
• Attend a social dance.
• Dance 5, 10, or 20 dances in one night.

3. Ask for objective feedback

When we get frustrated, our mind tends to over-react with thoughts of futility; ‘I must be your worst student!’ or ‘I haven’t been getting even a bit better!’ are common examples. 

If we let these thoughts run riot, they can leave us feeling like we just aren’t cut out for dancing.

This is why honest feedback from someone we trust is so important – on both our strengths and our challenges…they can give us an objective opinion on our performance when we can’t give it ourselves.

4. Film yourself

Speaking of objectivity, most of us are out of touch with how we actually look to other people – we think we know, but that thinking is coloured by all the negative and positive biases we carry about ourselves. 

Filming yourself, and then watching that film, shows you how your dancing looks to the outside world and also makes it easier to spot the smaller improvements that we may not feel, as we gradually develop and take on the ‘look’ of a dance. 

Remember that the body learns steps and technique before the mind does; meaning there will be a period where your dancing looks better, but it might not feel better, yet.

5. Be aware of the reaction to your dancing

Although the criticism or pandering of others can distort our view of our dancing, they can also provide a measurable tool we can use to gauge our progress. 

Higher judges scores, more social dance partners and praise from people who usually reserve it for when they mean it – like your instructor – are all very good signs.

Ultimately, the enjoyment of learning to dance comes not from spotting where we need to improve but seeing how far we’ve come and allowing ourselves to be proud of that. 

The tips above will help you plan solid goals to show you that step by step, you are becoming the dancer you always dreamed you would be.

When it comes to learning figures, sometime breaking them down can help, however, at other times, it will do the opposite.

What makes the difference is the points where you break a figure.

We sometimes break figures up based on the number of movements or where there is a change in direction. 

This often works well but be mindful that sometimes a section of a figure can involve a large number of movements or use movement in one direction to wind the body up for movement in another direction. 

You can be tempted to learn part of a figure up to the point where there is a change in direction – this seems sensible.

However, when you do not know you are winding up for a change in direction, the earlier moves can seem unnatural. 

You can dance assuming a continuous movement, which is not consistent with the figure, then, once you understand the change in direction, and the need to wind up, you can do the earlier moves of the figure correctly.  

Take a look at this video of the Ocho Cortado – The Argentine Tango often has good examples of figures where misplaced break points can hamper learning.

Think about points that might at first seem like ideal ones to pause as you learn the figure by breaking it up. 

Now consider if maybe they would not be ideal for the sake of ensuring that actions are well executed to prepare for future actions.

Consider how you should break up figures – in your head or for practice to make learning and execution easier.

Your dance journey will always have three things:  Peaks, Valleys, and Advice.

There are times when advice is sound, well informed, and occurs at just the right time... and then there are all those other times when it just confuses things.  

Take a close look at these people, deliveries, and situations so you don't act on something that could be damaging to your dance hobby. 

Dance Advice from your Dancing “Family”

The Positives - This type of advice is very positive.  After all, they have seen your transformation firsthand.  Those days before you were a dancer, through your first dance lesson, all leading up to the magnificent dancer practicing moves in their kitchen.  Due to this, you can expect plenty of support, encouragement, and, most importantly, perspective when you need it most. 

Potential damage

There can be fans of dancing, and fans of you, that can deliver feedback that you should not be a fan of:

• "You should spin more."
• "You need to tell your teacher to spin you more."
• "When are you going to do the splits?"
• "Why can't you do this move from Dancing with the Stars?"

They mean well, but they don't know what their advice really means in regards to the process of learning.  

Fans of Dancing with the Stars only see a 3-minute summary of 30-60 hours of rehearsal time on a single routine and for some people, that could be six months to a year's worth of lessons.  

Solution

They are your family.  They love you.  You love them, even if you don't love their feedback.  Understanding that, you should smile, thank them, and avoid trying to re-educate them on the Curve of Learning or the difference between Social and Competitive dancing.  

Dance Advice from Dance Students

The Positives - This is a great source of feedback.  After all, a fellow dance student doesn't really have a vested interest in your progress.  

Even to sceptics, this can seem like the purest form of feedback.  

The Potential Danger

Unfortunately, unsolicited encouragement is the gateway to unsolicited advice.  

Dance students understand the process of learning how to dance, but there's only one limitation:  It's their process.  

It's a classic example of having the best intentions ("I want to help you get better"), but the wrong delivery ("here's what works for me"). 

The tools and tips that work for one student may not be the designed path for another.

Solution

Thank them.   

Consider them an ally, friend and someone who generally cares about you. 

Even if you don't take their advice, try to implement it and augment your current trajectory.

After all, they could have said something far worse, or nothing at all.  

Dance Advice from a Dance Judge, Coach or Specialist

Advice from Judges, other Coaches and Specialists is some of the best there is.  

It's tested and proven in their travels around the globe and what you are hearing isn't some spontaneous Eureka moment of a dance tip, it's a composite of every student they've worked with who has struggled with the same problem.  

Potential Damage

Process is everything.  

Unlike your family, your teacher, or your friends, their advice is based on the present tense and creating a future goal. What they are missing is the past.  

If they are watching you dance a Foxtrot, they may have no idea that it's your first Foxtrot, that you absolutely hate the dance and the fact that you are on the floor doing it with a smile on your face is making your teacher shed tears of joy.  

On a coaching lesson they will deliver a metre of information and it's up to you and your teacher to fill in the centimetres.  

If you lose sight of that, try to consume, or hold yourself accountable to the "metre" then, you've abandoned your process, skewed your trajectory and the advice intended for good is working against you. 

Solution

A Judge, Coach or Specialist is like a relative that you see on birthdays and holidays.  

They bring you sweets, tell you to clean your room, fix your posture and then leave for 6 months.  

This interaction is incredibly valuable, and every student should try working with world class consultants, but their feedback in the present could be designed for your future. So:

• Some feedback will make sense to your brain and your body immediately.  Great! 
• Some feedback will make sense to your brain, but your body needs time to download it. 
• Some feedback will make sense to your body, but your brain is sounding the alarm.
• Some feedback will only make sense to your teacher. 

No matter what, the advice will be uploaded to your dance program when the time is right.  

So, if there's one bit of dance advice that we encourage you to follow, it's this:

Tune into your teacher. You are the product of their profession and how you dance says plenty about their ability. They can make sense of the feedback confusion, put it into a hierarchy of dance needs and give you the antidote to damaging advice.

Learning to dance, especially partnered dancing, can feel incredibly daunting at first…each new skill you master just seems to reveal three more dance techniques that take twice as long to develop so, how do you know what to focus on first?

Fortunately, there is a fairly specific order to building your expertise and when learned in the correct order, each of the dance techniques you learn prepares you for the next one.

(In reality, you’ll sometimes find you still need to work on several techniques at once and really, that’s a good thing; who wants to spend hours perfecting their footwork before they even touch a partner’s hand?)

The thing to remember is that until you can do it without thought…focus on the simplest techniques first! This gives your dancing reliability and consistency.

The following content is great if you are making a practice plan for your dancing or want to make the most of your time (and money) spent on lessons or are even thinking about teaching yourself but before we start, it helps to know that you can group everything you learn in ballroom dancing under these (very) general headers:

• Footwork
• Timing
• Leading/Following
• Musical Expression

It’s easier to see here, how each group of dance techniques makes future groups easier to learn…after all, you obviously can't develop your musicality if you haven't learned to step on time; or lead your partner without knowing your footwork.

Now that you have a general understanding of how all ballroom dancers progress so it’s time to get specific! 

What are the common dance techniques we learn and, why should we learn them in this order?

1. Foot positions

Why it’s first: Like the bottom layer of a wedding cake, we need to build our technique from the ground up. That means learning the basic patterns of where you place your feet, so you can eventually create cool combinations with your partner.

2. Moving to the beat

Why it’s next: Once you know where to place our feet, it’s time to think about when you place them. This is when dancers first learn about quicks and slows and stepping on the beat.

3. Partner connection

Why it’s next: At this point, you’re starting to develop more confidence in your own ability to travel through some patterns to music. 

Like the old saying about loving yourself first, only now are you ready to connect with your partner. This is means delving into the concepts of frame and pressure, which is how your arms are positioned in relation to your partner; as well as where and how much you ‘push’ against your partner’s frame.

In everyday terms, frame and pressure create ‘room’ for you to dance without stepping on each other.

4. Floorcraft

Why it’s next: You could actually go out dancing at this point but without ‘floorcraft’ you might find it frustrating and you wouldn’t be the only one! 

Floorcraft, simply put, is the ability to progress safely around the floor while avoiding other dancers.

For instance, you might practice avoiding chairs placed in your way while practicing or increasing pressure on your partner’s back to prevent a collision. 

Leaders learn to plan ahead so they can dance for longer periods without getting confused.

5. Posture

Why it’s next: You may be functional on the dance floor, but it’s hardly a compliment to be called ‘functional’, is it? 

Correct posture means your body is well balanced, which allows you to handle more challenging patterns…and you’ll look better too.

At this stage, you also learn how to tighten up your body, so it moves like a single unit. Imagine trying to lift a wooden board vs a bag of sand of equal weight…which is easier? 

The board, because it doesn’t change shape when it’s moved so, be like a board!

6. Moving from the centre

Why it’s next: As your posture improves, you become more able to connect your centre of gravity, located around the solar plexus, to your partner. 

Most dancers initially connect through their arms and chest, causing them to lean forward and sometimes lose balance.

Putting emphasis on leading and following through the centre will do wonders for your balance because it will make your body move like a wall; upright and balanced with every step.

7. Turning

Why it’s next: Sure, you’ve probably done a few turns by now but if you want to get into more advanced and multi-turns, you’ll need that core connection you just learned! 

That ‘upright and balanced’ movement is your ticket to spinning without falling over.

8. Smoother movement

Why it’s next: This is interchangeable with turning but smoother footwork marks the point where you finally start to advance into more musical dancing. 

Smoother movement can mean footwork, like heel or ball leads, or body movement, like Latin hip action, or rise and fall and at this point, you can drill further into any of the dance techniques we’ve looked at, so prioritizing becomes less important. 

Knowing these building blocks of ballroom dance technique will help you accelerate your learning with any dance you choose.

There’s a lot of them around, people who have been teaching and dancing for more than half their lives, probably been dancing for more than 80% of their lives. 

They started at a young age, and they are around 55-60+ now. 

These are people who have danced many dances, seen different scenes and fashions in dance come and go and have picked up on the essence of it.

I don’t just mean people who have danced for a long time and done basically the same thing.

I mean people who have been in the thick of it; they have probably done it in a number of styles and been so captivated by dance that they read up on it too.

If you ever get a chance to talk to one of these people, then ask them some questions like these (along with ‘and why?’) then, just sit back and listen:

• Which dance do you think is the hardest?
• Do you think all teachers dance the same?
• Do you think people dance better now than in the past?

If you can do this as part of a normal conversation, then this person will simply let their ideas flow. They will start telling you things that they would not think to tell you if they really had to stop and think about it. 

They will probably get animated too and start demonstrating things – most dancers (especially experienced ones) can’t help but move when thinking about dance.

As long as you’re relaxed and just going with the flow and are engaged, then you will automatically pick up the important points. 

They may say something like the ‘The hardest thing about dance X is that you need to…’, and you will then have the insight that you needed. 

There may have been something about a certain dance going on in the back of your mind and once it hears talking about that dance, that part of your mind will pull that piece of information in. 

All of a sudden you will understand something that has until now been troubling you and that part of your dance will then make sense. 

You will see it everywhere and you will understand dance at new and deeper level.

I can’t say it will be the aspect of dance that is troubling you the most or the one that you are thinking about, but I can say, that as long as the conversation is simply flowing, then you will get something that you need – whether you knew you needed it or not!