Fun vs. Techniques

[salsachinita]

I've just returned from 2 weeks of solid salsa at Sydney Bacardi Latino Festival. There are more studios there than we have down here in Melbourne.

While a lot of dancers have great techniques, hardly anyone seemed to be having any FUN :shock: ! Whereas many dance schools here tend to emphasis on the social/fun aspects, nobody gets corrected technique-wise :roll: .

What does everybody in the DF think? What is more important? Techniques of fun? (I know we need BOTH.......but if you really have one choise...?)

[Sagitta]

Fun for sure!! I would rather dance with someone and have a good time then dance with a technically adept follower with an expressionless face and body!!

[salsarhythms]

Fun is way more important.

If it's not fun you probably won't want to keep doing it...

So have fun, then worry about the technique...

[youngsta]

Fun is off the charts! :wink:

[danceguy]

I'd say fun - especially in the beginning. I always laugh at all the mistakes I make (which are many!)...and while technique and foundation are important, without fun, spirit, joy and passion...you'll end up like a robot on the dance floor.

I've seen people doing just technique...and its no fun to watch. I've had some ladies just try and do technique with me...and its no fun to do!

How about always have fun...and then as you learn technique...keep it fun and enjoyable? :P

[MacMoto]

I dance because it's fun. I would hate to see the day when I forget this.

I certainly want to improve my techniques, and practice is not always fun (it can be so frustrating when I can't get things right...), but I do it only so I can get even more fun when I go to clubs and dance, both for myself and for guys dancing with me. I would not want to be one of those elite dancers who execute super-fast spins and amazing tricks at a social dance with a deadly serious look on their face... I mean, surely one can be good and have fun at the same time, right?

Just a thought: are having fun dancing and being fun to dance with two different things? I'm thinking about this quote from the How important is fun? (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2068) thread as I ask this...

http://www.eijkhout.net/lead_follow/social_attitude.html

"Generally, the one with the worse technique has more fun. Part of the goal of having good technique is to help your dance partner have more fun. If you want to have fun, you don't need good technique -- just a *partner* with good technique.

Hmm, I can sort of see the logic, but isn't more fun to dance with someone who's having fun than to dance with someone who is technically good but not there to have fun with you? Am I making sense???

[dragon3085]

Fun is always important, but I would question at which part you thought no one was having fun. If I pay to go a workshop, then while I'm in the workshops themselves I tend to be very serious myself. Usually I am learning something new and I'm concentrating on learning that before they move on to the the next thing or the workshop ends and I still have access to the instructors otherwise I might have just as well spent the money on something else and not the workshop. Now when the general dancing starts later which is usually the case with workshops, at least here in Texas, then I'm all about the fun. I obviously wasn't at your set of workshops so I was wondering if it was the general dancing part when no one was having fun or during a instruction?

Pat

[Sagitta]

Wecome to the forums dragon3085!! :) I agree with you that people often are more serious during workshops as they are learning technique etc. I often the same way, but during general dancing it's all about having fun!! :)

[borikensalsero]

It's all about fun, fun, and more fun. For me, even when I'm going to class I'm a clown. I spend the 2 hours joking around with the intructor the students, even the cleaning people walking around. I still learn what I'm supposed to learn, so I guess its working. But to me, it is more about the journey there than the actual goal.

The serious stuff I leave for work when I'm told to do something and say NO. :twisted: I demand a raise. :twisted: :twisted: Hasn't worked in 7 years but I'm still trying. :roll:

[borikensalsero]

I've just returned from 2 weeks of solid salsa at Sydney Bacardi Latino Festival. There are more studios there than we have down here in Melbourne.

Welcome back, and I would like to know how much fun you had down there. :D Give us the scoop. :D :D


Welcome to the forums dragon3085!

[SDsalsaguy]

Welcome to the DF family Dragon! :D

[Vince A]

Ditto, ditto, ditto . . .

It is all about having fun . . .

Take it from someone who has been there, and now IS there . . .

I've been competing for about 9 years, and although I thought I was having fun . . . it was about technique, technique, technique. However, after the comps ended and the social dancing began, I realized that I was having much more fun playing at dancing.

One day, another moderator on the DF (d nice) said something that really made me wake up . . . and I really don't want to get into that . . . but he at least made me look at my dancing from another view. Was I competing to "only win?" Was I enjoying it? Was I setting unrealistic (unobtainable)goals? Did I stress while waiting to compete? Did I get depressed if I didn't win? Was I spending too much $$$ to reach "those goals? Etc!

Yes, technique is important because you cannot do the dance properly if cannot execute it. Yet having fun, says that you at least acknowledge the dance, can do some or most of it, and "I'm here to have a good time!"

Now, my WCs dancing is completely changed: "more playing minus diminished technique = way more fun!" Now, when I do compete later this year . . . I won't worry as much about screwing up or dancing to a never-will-happen-perfect-performance . . . because now I don't have to be perfect . . . there is no perfect performance . . . and I don't need someone else to "me" that I did or did not dance well, nor do I need a trophy or plaque to remind of what I did that day.

If I'm satisfied . . . :D

AND I'll know how I did as I'm walking off the dance floor!

[MapleLeaf Salsero]

Now, when I do compete later this year . . . I won't worry as much about screwing up or dancing to a never-will-happen-perfect-performance . . . because now I don't have to be perfect . . . there is no perfect performance . . . and I don't need someone else to "me" that I did or did not dance well, nor do I need a trophy or plaque to remind of what I did that day.


Hi Vince,

Almost anyone that looks at a couple dancing can tell if they´re having fun, if there´s connection, synchronisation, etc. It´s something you can´t fake and it´s fabulous to watch.

Judges can notice this within the first couple of seconds. I believe it is something they value a lot in a performance. I say this because you don´t see it too often. When I see people compete, most of the time it seems so false, so rehearsed, with no "azucar"... When you see that rare couple that has it, you get blown away. I think you have the right atitude on this.

[salsachinita]

Just a thought: are having fun dancing and being fun to dance with two different things?

Thankyou for bringing this aspect up, MacMoto! This was exactly what I've been wodering when I posted this thread.

I mean, from time to time we all see certain characters having an absolute ball out there on the dance floor, but they can be absolute nightmares to dance with at the same time :shock: !

So, do we have FUN at the expense of our partners trying their best to keep dancing with us...? (thus miss out the fun for themselves?)

Some of our most popular studios emphsis SO MUCH on the fun/social factor, hardly anybody get pulled aside to be told: "Listen, mate, if you do *A* instead of *B* your dancing will be this much better...." (in fear of spoiling poeple's FUN :? )

The result? Lots of people out there having fun on the dance floor while the rest of us avoid dancing with certain ones who may cause traffic hazards/injuries out there :roll: .

Do I sound like a snob? I apologised if I do :oops: . Just want to be practical & point out the reality.

There has to be a balance between FUN & TECHNIQUES. Just because you pay attention to techniques doesn't automatically mean that you are not capable of having fun :wink: !

[salsachinita]

Fun is always important, but I would question at which part you thought no one was having fun. If I pay to go a workshop, then while I'm in the workshops themselves I tend to be very serious myself.

I am sorry if I didn't make it clear. When I posted this thread I only meant the social side of things.

For sure, I would be serious too if I am doing a workshop! But I will be serious in my usual fun way :P !

[salsachinita]

But to me, it is more about the journey there than the actual goal.

I am with you there, Boriken :D ! This is how I live my life 8) .

[salsachinita]

I am so glad my DF family is with me on the fun issue 8) !

Here's my experience during the Bacardi Festival :wink: :

After being lead through countless numbers of L.A. moves (flavour of the moment :? with 90% dancing population doing so) for a week I was pleasantly relieved to finally spotted a group of students/teachers from a Cuban Rueda studio.

However, the rounds of Rueda I did during the next few songs changed my mind. I felt like I was passed along a circle of robots (a la Arnie in Terminator :shock: ) with one or two exceptions. It was one of the toughest Rueda I've ever experienced. On top of that, no one seemed to be having much fun.....when the moves got called out it was as if ppl were being QUIZED :shock: .

The same night, I found my way to a club frequented by Latinos. It was a quietish night with ppl still at the harbour (it gets packed, I was told). All the people there wore the widest smile :D ! (better still, ZERO sleazeballs!)While most of the people there did simpler styles, they were all playing WITH the music & their partners with plenty of sabor! This, is EXACTLY how I grew up dancing.

I've spent the following nights hanging out with these people. I've experienced some of the BEST rueda sessions during these nights; as good as the ones I've done with the Cuban show group. my face was sore from smiling so much :D !

What made these people fantastic to dance with.....? A FUN attitude and great TECHNIQUES. Above all, the LOVE for the music, as well as living salsa as a lifestyle!

(It's not about how many comps you win, how many spins you can fit into a 4/4 beat, how masterfully you can execute those tricky moves, or even what timing/style you dance.......)

[hopelessly_addicted]

Man.... salsachinita.. what you wrote really makes me wanna go to sydney Barcardi.....unfortunately with no money and time, it's impossible for me to go :cry: bunch of my friends are going and attending 3 days of workshops next year.. will you be attending the workshops there? are they worth the money in general? You lucky people!!

[Spitfire]

Without question fun is the name of the game in social dancing.

[Flat Shoes]

50/50

Telling jokes are fun. Doesn't make for a great dancing experience though.

When dancing with a partner, there are two elements. The technique/frame/connection and the smiling/laughing/flirting/fun. Take away either, and the dance becomes miserable.

But of course, I'd rather have fun telling jokes, than being miserable dancing. So in that sense, fun is more important.

[squirrel]

Fun... fun... fun...

That's all I have to say...

[coldfeet]

When I started with salsadancing three years ago, I was a complete failure. Everything you could do wrong I must have done it at least once or twice. Rythm? Never heard of it. All the tricks to avoid a person to dance with during a lesson were applied on me. Normally I should have given up before the end of the dance course.

But I didn't. What I rediscovered was this joy in me, the fun I had with salsadancing. I have become a better dancer now and though I still strive for better dancetechniques, I am not letting spoil my fun if a certain figure does not work out.

Salsa dancing is a way for me to remember a person how much fun he or she can have and SHARE this with other persons. If I stop having fun with salsadancing I might as well stop dancing.

[tchaguito]

Nothing can annoy me more than staring at a bored and unenthuasistic face in front of me, dancing without any soul. Unfortunately, I need to practice, but about 95% of the followers I invite act like that. Even in class most people are so inhibited... I don't know if this has to do more with personality or lack of awareness.
My conclusion is that only a minority of salseros is truly passionate about dancing, and are probably more concerned with other things, like the social impact, for instance. And that's a shame, we would all benefit more if we all tried to truly enjoy ourselves!

Tiago

[heartgrl2k]

I pick fun, and here's why...

There is a gentleman in our dance club who probably knows more dance patterns and technique than anyone else. He takes NOTES (no, I'm not kidding) during workshops and practices relentlessly at home. So he's all about the technique, BUT can't lead, doesn't care what is partner is doing, no eye contact. For me, that is not fun.

The person I have the most fun dancing with DOES have good technique, but isn't obsessing over it when we dance. He dances to the music (wow!) and if either of us messes up (ok, it's usually me who messes up) it's not a big deal. We always end the dance smiling and laughing, and often are rewarded with applause from others who've enjoyed watching us.

[Sagitta]

I pick fun, and here's why...

There is a gentleman in our dance club who probably knows more dance patterns and technique than anyone else. He takes NOTES (no, I'm not kidding) during workshops and practices relentlessly at home. So he's all about the technique, BUT can't lead, doesn't care what is partner is doing, no eye contact. For me, that is not fun.

The person I have the most fun dancing with DOES have good technique, but isn't obsessing over it when we dance. He dances to the music (wow!) and if either of us messes up (ok, it's usually me who messes up) it's not a big deal. We always end the dance smiling and laughing, and often are rewarded with applause from others who've enjoyed watching us.

Glad to find another one of us out there! :applause:

[phillysalsera]

fun is deffently top for me, but I think there is an appropraite time for both. For me the more confortable I feel with my technique the more fun I have, so I pratice my technique at home or in class so when I go out on the dance floor I feel confortable enough to just have fun with it, listen to the music, and enjoy myself :lol: but I have to say my favorite people to dance with are the ones who smile the whole time