Dance Goals

[NeoDevin]

pygmalion's thread about not improving got me thinking about goals in dancing. What are everyone here's goals? To compete? Social Dancing? Show dancing? Teaching?

[ballroomboilergirl]

Great topic, Devin...I guess I'm still not QUITE sure where I want my dancing to lead. I started dancing as an activity besides school to keep me busy and have fun and stay in shape, but it has turned into MUCH more than that for me...it's definitely my main (if not ONLY) hobby now. :lol: It's definitely kept me "out of trouble" in college...whereas most kids my age go out and get hammered on the weekends, I either spend my Friday and Saturday nights practicing with my partner, going out dancing with the rest of the team, or out of town at competitions :lol:

I'm a competitor, which is good for me because it pushes me to focus more and do my absolute best, so I have set a long-term goal for myself to be dancing and winning at the Championship level (the highest collegiate level you can compete at) by the time I graduate college. I haven't yet determined whether or not this will be by the time I finish my bachelor's or the time I finish my master's or Ph.D (I'm still deciding about my degree, too :? ), I guess it will depend on how fast I pick up on things and how much time I can devote to dancing.

Lately I've been thinking (semi-seriously) about trying to compete in the National Open Amateur Under-21 Championship a few years down the road. I'm the youngest person on my team (I'm 18, and at the moment I believe I am the only person on the team who is eligible to compete in the under-21 division...most people who join the team don't start until they're in graduate school), and its definitely something that sets me apart from everyone else, so I figure I may as well do something productive with my youth :D Has anyone here ever competed in the under-21's?

[Sagitta]

I like that new signature line of your NeoDevin! :)

I'm a social dancer for now. I started dancing just to have fun, but there are limited opportunities here. So, I'm considering joing the Cornell dance team this coming semester!

[NeoDevin]

I like that new signature line of your NeoDevin! :)

Thanks.

I started dancing with mainly the idea of social dancing. Didn't give much thought beyond that at the time. Since then I've seen a few show dances, and I would really like to be able to do that sort of thing. I also really like social dancing.

So... Any suggestions on how one might learn to/get started doing show dancing?

[Sagitta]

Join your university dance sport team if it has one?

[NeoDevin]

Good thought, I'll look into that. Thanks

[Swing Kitten]

Dancing for me is about the joy of it... always has been. I feel that it's good for my soul as well as my body. I'm a social dancer... I do it for fun. I practice and don't mind working to improve. The reason I want to impove, however, ties back to my goal of having fun and being fun to dance with... the larger and more articulate my dance vocabulary the more I can communicate and express-- and that's really fun! It's something worth working for.

[MadamSamba]

Great, great topic, NeoDevin!

I've been asking myself the same thing. Like SwingKitten, I dance for the sheer joy of it, but lately I've been questioning whether that is enough.

In theory I could stop doing lessons now. I know all the new vogue dances. I know the basic modern dances and latin dances and can hold my own in street latin.

For social dancing, I'm set, so why bother moving on to a higher level? Why pay loads of moolah for private lessons that are just going to make me a better social dancer? I'm horridly competitive, so I always participate in inter-school events, but I'm not quite sure if real comps are for me. It's all very confusing and I'm hoping to answer these questions this year, but who knows?

Having said that, I did have a dream the other day that I was a "champion" dancer. :) he he he

[SwinginBoo]

Oh the incredible joy!! It's the kind of joy that brings a look on my face similar to a dog with it's head stuck out the window of a car speeding through the streets. :tongue:

Soon it will also be performance as the new year brings many rehearsals and new dances to choreograph. I'm really looking forward to that as well. :D

[youngsta]

I'm a social dancer through and through. It would take a lot to get me to compete.

[SDsalsaguy]

I'm both... I compete in ballroom and, honestly speaking, don't always enjoy it's social manifestations, but am a through-and-through social salsero – I totally abhor the idea of salsa as competitive!

[pygmalion]

Great, great topic, NeoDevin!

I've been asking myself the same thing. Like SwingKitten, I dance for the sheer joy of it, but lately I've been questioning whether that is enough.

In theory I could stop doing lessons now. I know all the new vogue dances. I know the basic modern dances and latin dances and can hold my own in street latin.

For social dancing, I'm set, so why bother moving on to a higher level? Why pay loads of moolah for private lessons that are just going to make me a better social dancer? I'm horridly competitive, so I always participate in inter-school events, but I'm not quite sure if real comps are for me. It's all very confusing and I'm hoping to answer these questions this year, but who knows?

Having said that, I did have a dream the other day that I was a "champion" dancer. :) he he he

Warning: You caught me on a down day(read: questioning the whole dance thing day), but I'll still try to give my impartial opinion.

Obviously, your goals are your goals. But, having just made the transition from social to competitive myself, I'd say a couple things. Okay, several things LOL.

1. It's a whole different world. Unless you've had pretty stringent competitive style training from the beginning (I'm talking ballroom and Latin here), it will probably be very surprising to you how much is required of a competitive dancer. Physical stamina and mental discipline, and lots of other things.

2. It's expensive. WAY expensive. The comp fees. The clothes. The shoes, makeup, extra training time. You name it. It adds up quickly.

3. I highly recommend it. Ha! You didn't expect that, did you? Making that transition, I think, has done more for my dancing than anything else. Back when I was social dancing exclusively, there was SO much less focus. And the training wasn't really training in dance fundamentals, so much as in dance patterns. Competitive training will change all that. And preparing for an actual competition raises the bar even higher. I highly recommend trying it at least once. You may not like it or ever do it again, but what the heck? You may love it. A lot of people from all backgrounds, ages and walks of life do.

4. Oh yeah, and to focus on winning, at least for me, would suck every bit of the joy out of the process. Just enjoy.

[danceguy]

Hmm, my goals are to become a good dancer, as a form of self expression and to learn the culture that created the various dance forms I study. As a very shy person, learning the sensual and social side of dance is a great way for me to come out of my shell and express myself. I'm also looking to heal some of the physical issues that I have in my body, and so far dance has been great for that.

But competitive dancing...I know its something I will never do. I'd say its mostly due to my very untraditional upbringing, but more so my spiritual beliefs and way of life. Don't get me wrong, I'm an extremely competitive person...but I'm also a total non-conformist and contests, trophies and such don't mean anything to me.

At the few competitive events I've done in my life with various actitivies, I usually let people win or make mistakes on purpose... :wink:

[pygmalion]

Wow. I respect your world view, SG.

And I don't care about all the winning, or the trappings of competitive success. Not at all. But there are lots of benefits from competitive style training. I started the training almost a year before I decided to make the transition to actual competition. And I started feeling the benefits then. Actually, the competition itself was sort of anti-climactic for me. The preparation is where I saw all the benefit.

Just another view, SG. You're absolotely right to do what you know is right, and that fits your conscience. :D

[Adwiz]

4. Oh yeah, and to focus on winning, at least for me, would suck every bit of the joy out of the process. Just enjoy.

That's a really great point about competing, and learning to compete for the enjoyment of it rather than winning is something that I'm working on more this year. It burns you out if you try to focus on winning because the process is so intense already. I find that when I compete to have fun, with a goal of maybe just making it to the finals, then I dance better, enjoy myself more, and don't stress over the whole experience.

My dance goals this year are to enter at least six competitions, but not with the specific goal of winning. I want to enjoy the audience during competitive events and learn to develop showmanship, which is what it's really all about anyway. If you've given the audience something enjoyable then it doesn't matter how the judges placed you during the event.

As I edge closer to 50 (yeah, that's a recent photo in my avatar, but most people say I don't look my age), I'm also setting some new goals to compete with the younger dancers in terms of physical fitness. I've always been fit, but find that staying fit gets progressively harder each year after turning 40. With disciplined effort, I can continue to have the same energy in Latin dances as some of the 20-somethings I'm competing with. It means getting to the gym more often and working harder than ever on both dance and physical conditioning.

[MadamSamba]

Jenn, you're spot on about the merits of competing and it's exactly why I do medals and inter-school comps, to improve and keep my eye on a higher goal, but I can say that at present I honestly don't know where I want to go from here.

I do know I want to get better, MUCH better and want to dance like the people I admire most and that level of dancing can't be attained merely through social dancing, but through striving in the competition ranks...I know I'm going to have to move to competition, but it's all still very new to me and frankly, it's still a little scary. Especially when I still consider myself a beginner and people around me, people I respect, are already pushing for me to do comps and help in floorshows and ditch my current crop of teachers for "better, comp-minded ones". Stuff like that.

It's not so much that I don't know what I want to do, it's more that I don't feel ready for what other people seem to think I am ready for. I'm sure 12 months from now, someone will post a message similar to mine and I'll jump in and say just what you did!

Besides, I'm horridly competitive and know I won't be happy until I win something...anything! :) he he he

[dancersdreamland]

Dance goals...to become a really great dancer through my eyes while experimenting with any/every type of dance. I have a hunger for dance knowledge to learn new styles and not just learn the movements, but also to learn about the dance and it's history as well.

I think someday I would like to go back to school and obtain a dance degree then open my own studio. It will be quite a while before that happens, though. Ahh, to dream...

[Adwiz]

I know I'm going to have to move to competition, but it's all still very new to me and frankly, it's still a little scary. Especially when I still consider myself a beginner and people around me, people I respect, are already pushing for me to do comps and help in floorshows and ditch my current crop of teachers for "better, comp-minded ones". Stuff like that.

Don't let the idea of competition intimidate you. I still consider myself a beginner and started competing anyway. I didn't feel ready but thought it was worth the effort, and it was. Competing has grown me considerably, especially my confidence. I know that confidence will grow with every competition, no matter how I place.

In my view, you shouldn't have to dump an instructor you like just because you're competing. However, you may decide on your own after your first comp to get additional training from someone else in specific things because of what you learned from the experience. I've done that, but I still work with my old teacher for some things.

[MadamSamba]

Thanks, Adwiz...no, I'm not "dumping" my old teacher. He's fabulous and extremely versatile.

I was saying that I've just been advised (by him as well) that he specialises in beginners and once you pass a certain level, you should move on to someone with more comp experience, especially if you're intending one day to compete.

[danceguy]

Just another view, SG. You're absolotely right to do what you know is right, and that fits your conscience.

Thank you Pygmalion - I was worried a bit about sharing my true thoughts since I know I can be a hardhead at times. :oops:

I do enjoy reading about those who do compete though, I've always been very intrigued by what drives people to accomplish their passions. We all have different ways of working towards goals, and that is very interesting too....what makes people tick?

Funny though...in one of my inspiritional posts for DDL, I talked about my crazy days when I was full bore into MA training. I only ever entered one tournament, and despite the fact that I placed and won some medals...I just found it wasn't for me. (of course I also hit a guy after a sparring match, but that's another story). :wink:

But - what truly inspired me to that level of training was actually quite funny as I look back - I was trying to impress a female Karateka that I had fallen head over heels for. I spent nearly a year training like that since I was so impressed by her level of ability - and her beauty.

And then when I finally went to her town to visit and hopefully ask her out - not only did I find she wasn't my type - but she had fallen behind on her training and I had not only matched her skill level, but gone beyond far beyond it!

Of course, I'm a nut but I think you already knew that. :shock: :oops: :shock: :wink:

[pygmalion]

More goals: (Fortunately, I thrive when I have a lot of goals in front of me. :lol: )

Find a good quality dance coach that I like and trust, who can help me focus and reach my other goals. Actually, this has become goal #1.

[LauraB]

I have several teaching related goals, among them to pass all my certs, go to more comps with students, and book myself up more with standing appointments. For my own personal dancing, my long-term goal is to be a champion in smooth and/or theater arts. My immediate goal is to start practicing consistently with my would-be partner, and more on my own. I also need to get my flexibility back up to where it was a year ago, go to yoga 4-5 days a week, and take a ballet or jazz class every weekend.

[Vince A]

I don't know why it took so long to respond . . .

1-lose the 18 pounds that I gained last year from not competing
2-compete in Pro-Am again
3-compete with my wife
4-dance WCS more with really young dancers to learn more hip-hop moves in my dance
5-do more WCS Jack and Jills
6-get better at Hustle
7-learn to to Salsa correctly with more patters, etc.
8-learn to Lindy
9-continue to learn more "flexbility" exercises