Dancing not getting ANY better

[MadamSamba]

Was chatting with someone the other day who has stopped doing private lessons. He's a great dancer but was saying that he had stopped private lessons because of various things in his life and intended to go back soon, but in the interim he had found his dancing was, as he put it, "getting pretty crappy".

It wasn't true, but I got his point. For months he had been getting visibly better every time I saw him dance then, after he stopped privates, his dancing seemed to plateau. He's still fabulous to watch and dance with, but says he's not learning anything new, just consolidating what he already knows.

Is there any point even bothering to dance if you're not learning anything new for months on end? He said he was dancing "mechanically", just for the sake of it, but that it wasn't terribly exciting anymore because he wasn't doing new things or trying new moves on the girls he danced with.

[Jack]

My problem is that I dont practice enough, I dont have a partner at this time, but I will hopefully soon. I cant afford too many private lessons but they help tremendously..

[JohnK]

I'd say yes, there is a point in continuing to dance even if you're "not learning", because you still are. Dancing is a lot like muscle tone - if you don't use it, you lose it. In addition, anything that stimulates the brain stimulates learning, even if nothing appears to be happening on a conscious level.

Sounds like those "various things in his life" are putting a crimp on his psyche. OK, maybe he's too distracted to benefit from lessons for now, but I'd encourage him to continue dancing if only in "maintenance mode", especially if he derives any enjoyment from it at all. Exercise (ie dancing) is a powerful coping mechanism, and much healthier than booze, food, or TV.

[Genesius Redux]

I think it's always useful to dance with a lot of different people--working with a teacher/partner is great, but you can learn a lot from leading other people. Or alternatively, following other people's leads. It is true, however, that depending on where you dance, you may not be able to do all of the fun things you can do when taking privates or engaged in comps.

And I also find that if you're not dancing because you're having a great time, you don't have to go out all the time. God knows, there are other things you can do. I find that one night a week is pretty sufficient to keep me in practice, in terms of applying what I know to a social dance situation. If I don't feel like going out dancing, I do something else!

[Sagitta]

I don't see any point in mechanically going through the motions. Perhaps a break with all the other distractions would be good? You might lose a little but it's never totally lost. One can quickly recover to one's previous level after an absence, and I've found that my dancing seems to have a certain new look spark after a little time off. :wink: :)

[tsb]

truth be told, sounds like a typical guy response - our (male) tendency is to focus and derive our satisfaction/significance from accomplishment / achievement. from my experience observing dancers on the floor as well as from teaching, a guy's initial impulse is to think that in order to be a good dancer they need to know loads of complicated moves - and do them even if they (or their partner) don't have the skills to do these moves well. i would probably still think that way myself if i hadn't had a lot of females tell me that they can enjoy dancing just simple figures as long as they're led well - especially if they like the guy they're dancing with. (of course, that's not to say that being a 'flashy' dancer who knows all the latest moves doesn't attract some women.)

there's certainly nothing wrong with wanting to continue to expand one's repetoire of moves, but i submit that making that the main thing that controls how much you enjoy dancing sure can limit your ability to have fun - especially if you can't afford privates!

[Sagitta]

Ditto!! :)

[KevinL]

Is there any point even bothering to dance if you're not learning anything new for months on end?

Bothering to dance? Yes, I suppose if it's bothersome to dacne you shouldn't bother, but most peoplehave fun with what they do.

To repeat what other posters have said, though, dancing just to maintain skill is very important. Even if you aren't learning new things in a class situation you can still "learn" to put things together in different ways at a social dance. And you can "learn" what additional partners feel like, and respond to, while dancing so that you can later adjust your style to even more people.

Kevin

[Porfirio Landeros]

A good portion of the time you take between lessons is maintenance. You're bettter off at least dancing while you make up your mind, rather than losing your flexibility and technique by sitting around for a few months.

If the lack of motivation is from feeling like you're not learning, maybe you should mix it up a little with a different coach. Try having a coaching session with a recent or past champion. If they don't come to your area, plan a trip and make an appointment to meet one. San Diego is a great place ;-)

[SDsalsaguy]

San Diego is a great place ;-)
:D :wink: 8)

[MacMoto]

For months he had been getting visibly better every time I saw him dance then, after he stopped privates, his dancing seemed to plateau. He's still fabulous to watch and dance with, but says he's not learning anything new, just consolidating what he already knows.

Here's a quote from a salsa forum topic (Hitting a "wall" (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2590)) about plateaus:
I started to seriously get into salsa about two months ago. I suppose you could call it a full blown addiction, but now I feel as if I'm hitting some sort of wall. :headwall: I'm getting really frustrated and can't seem to advance from where I'm at now.

It's not a wall. It's a plateau in your learning curve. One of my teachers has told me his theory that it's during these plateaus that most of your learning takes place. Your muscle memory and your subconcious are gathering information every time you dance and eventually it will all come together and you will start to show a marked improvement. This might be accompanied by a concious realisation of what you can work on or it might not.

One word of warning - the end of a plateau will almost always be proceeded by a seeming decrease in ability (One of those `I can't get anything right' days (or on occasion weeks) that I'm sure most of us are familiar with ;)). It's during this phase that your body is integrating what its just realised and getting rid of some of your earlier habits that you used to need to compensate for your poor technique.

The only trick to facilitating this process is to be persistant. You don't have to work any harder, and you don't have to change what you are already doing, unless you want to. Carry on practicing, even when it seems like nothing is changing, relax, enjoy and have fun with what you can do and look forward to that night when you can't get anything to work right!

(Sarah, I hope you don't mind me quoting you -- what you said has helped me so much! :D )

Is there any point even bothering to dance if you're not learning anything new for months on end?

Bothering to dance? Yes, I suppose if it's bothersome to dacne you shouldn't bother
I must say that's the way I feel: if you no longer get any buzz from dancing, it may actually be a good idea to take a break from it until you feel you want to do it again. Wanting to get better and feeling frustrated when you hit a plateau is one thing, but when you lose sight of why you dance, the best place to find it again may be away from dancing. If he enjoyed dancing for its sake, he will probably come back eventually; if he liked dancing purely for the sense of accomplishment he got from getting better at it, then... he can either choose to persevere until the next breakthrough comes along or he can choose something new to get better at.
(This may sound harsh, but one thing I don't like is dancing with someone who doesn't enjoy it...)

[dTas]

i agree... when learning to dance you reach plateus where the mind can not take in anymore information until the body has understood the current information.

you could also try dancing in different places to try and stimulate your enthusiasm. if you're tired of one location, try another... go to different studio's or even try a bar or two where they don't play organized ballroom music.

test your abilities to see if you can dance to something that wasn't ment to be played as a foxtrot, waltz, cha cha, etc... where the music artist just wanted to make music and wasn't wondering "what are they going to dance to this?"

i dance in several places, studios, bars, malls, sidewalks... where ever i hear music. sometimes its tricky dancing where there's no organized place to dance (dance sneakers have helped greatly in that dept). dance because you like to move to music and move to music the best you know how.

[Sarah]

(Sarah, I hope you don't mind me quoting you -- what you said has helped me so much! :D )

Not at all - I'm flattered, and glad it helped. Thanks :oops: :D

Cheers
Sarah