DanceMentor
02-14-2009, 08:44 PM
I've noticed there are a number of threads focus on different approaches or styles of learning about ballroom dance, yet it seems there something missing. Please allow me to explain...
General Outline of a Dancer's Development
If your goal is to get a good education in dance, you will most likely be trying to follow steps that are very similar to receiving a college degree..
1. You follow a more general course of study first so that you understand the fundamentals. Hopefully, during this time you will learn about dance steps, posture, frame, basic choreography, alignments, footwork, swing, sway, music, and much more. This normally takes a minimum of 2-4 years, and some choose to spend even longer in this phase.
2. Then people reach a point where they want start competing at a higher level. They start to develop choreography that is more advanced. They get into some specialized techniques to help produce a more elaborate style. Often at this point, they are receiving some very good coaching. They are starting to have some achievements in their dancing, and they have started to develop their own style as well as some beliefs about what it means to be a successful dancer. This phase usually lasts another 2-4 years.
3. Then there comes a realization that even though they have in many ways mastered many of the techniques, and developed a style of their own, more information is needed. It becomes a higher priority to seek out higher level coaches. Sometimes this can be very confusing, because the knowledge they have received up to this point had come from a primary coach who helped get them this far, and now they start to receive new information that is sometimes in direct conflict from what they have come to believe. At the same time, they are coming to find that different judges have different views about what makes a good dancer, and they have to learn even more in order to be well rounded, with a style that is both elegant, yet has a complexity that makes the dancer unique, and stand out above others. This last phase can take years, and involves great, but rewarding, challenges.
I tried to be very general in my above descriptions, and I know that there will be some differences from one dancer's development to the next, but please let me go on...
Schedule of Classes
Each dancer is going to have a different path to success, and each dancer will have strengths and weaknesses, so this is why there really is no "magic bullet" approach to producing an exceptional dancer, but here are some of the "courses" that each dancer must take to be successful:
1. How to learn - a dancer has to learn how to learn. So often there are blocks in the mind that prevent us from learning. Learning to identify the priorities, and choosing thoughts that will bring about success, are very important, so learning how to learn I feel is very important.
2. Book Knowledge - ballroom dancing is based on a syllabus, and even the most advanced steps have specific techniques that bring about the best results. On a side note, the new book by Geoffrey Hearn covering the advanced steps should help many dancers. Being able to remember the technique in the book, talk about it, and apply it, is an important part of the learning process.
3. Music - This includes rhythm and timing, phrasing, being able to hear and count the music, and even noticing the differences of the stylistic interpretation of different songs through dance.
4. Understanding of the System and the People - Ballroom dance has an elaborate system involving fellow dancers, levels of dancing, adjudicators, invigilators, competition organizers, teachers, coaches, vendors, rules, and much more. Learning to understand the system and find ways to position yourself positively is something that must be learned.
5. Choreography - It can take years to develop choreography that works well for the dancer dancing it. Some steps look better on some dancers than others. Some body types do better with certain steps. The height difference in the partnership can also play a huge role. Then of course many believe in phrasing of choreography while others believe in dancing naturally but using familiar groups. There are a lot of important decisions that must be made when it comes to choreography.
6. Schools of Thought - Let me start by saying that limiting oneself to one school is in itself "limiting". However, it is very common to develop in one school first, as newer dancers very much need a consistent approach. But eventually it becomes important to learn about several differing approaches, and spend time with each approach. There are coaches who have very different ideas, yet they are still producing champions. Over a time a dancer learns to draw from different ways of thinking to produce their own unique result. Usually at this point the dancer is starting to be a champion.
7. Looking Like a Champion - From hair, to makeup, to costuming, it takes time to develop the right look. Choosing the right color for your hair and skin color, and finding a vendor that will help you with achieving the right look takes time and development.
8. Physical Conditioning - From building endurance to improving flexibility and balance, this area cannot be overlooked.
9. Expression and Acting - Learning to show good facial expressions as well as show the emotion that is characteristic of the dance
10. Believing in Yourself - Dancers spend a lot of time being corrected. They look at themselves in the mirror. They lose quite often at the competitions. Dancers need to spend time building confidence in themselves and in the path they have chosen.
11. How to Practice - From doing rounds to examining steps to getting comfortable with choreography, yet producing a good result takes time and development.
12. Developing a Winning Team - Often great partnerships fall short due to a lack of emphasis on building a partnership that is all about team work, and helping one another achieve success and confidence.
13. Organization and Planning - Each dancer must develop and understanding of what they want to achieve, and then plan the steps that will get them there, from planning lessons, to finances, to scheduling.
Conclusion:
Different coaches are going to have difference amounts of emphasis on all of the above, as well as different approaches. But what is important is to understand that we are forever students of dance. There is no one single person that can make us successful except ourselves (but we can find lots of help along the way). It is also important to recognize that there are different paths to success. We might decide today that we are sure that some ingredient is absolutely true, only to find that a champion is doing it another way, and is winning. Moreover, we each have enough to work on in ourselves, and getting caught up in one item often takes away valuable time that we could spend doing one of the above.
One of the reasons I like writing on Dance Forums is because I can organize my ideas in writing, and develop my own approach. It is my hope that others also share in this desire to improve both as dancers and as people. If, as a community we can share goals such as these, we will all win in some way.
General Outline of a Dancer's Development
If your goal is to get a good education in dance, you will most likely be trying to follow steps that are very similar to receiving a college degree..
1. You follow a more general course of study first so that you understand the fundamentals. Hopefully, during this time you will learn about dance steps, posture, frame, basic choreography, alignments, footwork, swing, sway, music, and much more. This normally takes a minimum of 2-4 years, and some choose to spend even longer in this phase.
2. Then people reach a point where they want start competing at a higher level. They start to develop choreography that is more advanced. They get into some specialized techniques to help produce a more elaborate style. Often at this point, they are receiving some very good coaching. They are starting to have some achievements in their dancing, and they have started to develop their own style as well as some beliefs about what it means to be a successful dancer. This phase usually lasts another 2-4 years.
3. Then there comes a realization that even though they have in many ways mastered many of the techniques, and developed a style of their own, more information is needed. It becomes a higher priority to seek out higher level coaches. Sometimes this can be very confusing, because the knowledge they have received up to this point had come from a primary coach who helped get them this far, and now they start to receive new information that is sometimes in direct conflict from what they have come to believe. At the same time, they are coming to find that different judges have different views about what makes a good dancer, and they have to learn even more in order to be well rounded, with a style that is both elegant, yet has a complexity that makes the dancer unique, and stand out above others. This last phase can take years, and involves great, but rewarding, challenges.
I tried to be very general in my above descriptions, and I know that there will be some differences from one dancer's development to the next, but please let me go on...
Schedule of Classes
Each dancer is going to have a different path to success, and each dancer will have strengths and weaknesses, so this is why there really is no "magic bullet" approach to producing an exceptional dancer, but here are some of the "courses" that each dancer must take to be successful:
1. How to learn - a dancer has to learn how to learn. So often there are blocks in the mind that prevent us from learning. Learning to identify the priorities, and choosing thoughts that will bring about success, are very important, so learning how to learn I feel is very important.
2. Book Knowledge - ballroom dancing is based on a syllabus, and even the most advanced steps have specific techniques that bring about the best results. On a side note, the new book by Geoffrey Hearn covering the advanced steps should help many dancers. Being able to remember the technique in the book, talk about it, and apply it, is an important part of the learning process.
3. Music - This includes rhythm and timing, phrasing, being able to hear and count the music, and even noticing the differences of the stylistic interpretation of different songs through dance.
4. Understanding of the System and the People - Ballroom dance has an elaborate system involving fellow dancers, levels of dancing, adjudicators, invigilators, competition organizers, teachers, coaches, vendors, rules, and much more. Learning to understand the system and find ways to position yourself positively is something that must be learned.
5. Choreography - It can take years to develop choreography that works well for the dancer dancing it. Some steps look better on some dancers than others. Some body types do better with certain steps. The height difference in the partnership can also play a huge role. Then of course many believe in phrasing of choreography while others believe in dancing naturally but using familiar groups. There are a lot of important decisions that must be made when it comes to choreography.
6. Schools of Thought - Let me start by saying that limiting oneself to one school is in itself "limiting". However, it is very common to develop in one school first, as newer dancers very much need a consistent approach. But eventually it becomes important to learn about several differing approaches, and spend time with each approach. There are coaches who have very different ideas, yet they are still producing champions. Over a time a dancer learns to draw from different ways of thinking to produce their own unique result. Usually at this point the dancer is starting to be a champion.
7. Looking Like a Champion - From hair, to makeup, to costuming, it takes time to develop the right look. Choosing the right color for your hair and skin color, and finding a vendor that will help you with achieving the right look takes time and development.
8. Physical Conditioning - From building endurance to improving flexibility and balance, this area cannot be overlooked.
9. Expression and Acting - Learning to show good facial expressions as well as show the emotion that is characteristic of the dance
10. Believing in Yourself - Dancers spend a lot of time being corrected. They look at themselves in the mirror. They lose quite often at the competitions. Dancers need to spend time building confidence in themselves and in the path they have chosen.
11. How to Practice - From doing rounds to examining steps to getting comfortable with choreography, yet producing a good result takes time and development.
12. Developing a Winning Team - Often great partnerships fall short due to a lack of emphasis on building a partnership that is all about team work, and helping one another achieve success and confidence.
13. Organization and Planning - Each dancer must develop and understanding of what they want to achieve, and then plan the steps that will get them there, from planning lessons, to finances, to scheduling.
Conclusion:
Different coaches are going to have difference amounts of emphasis on all of the above, as well as different approaches. But what is important is to understand that we are forever students of dance. There is no one single person that can make us successful except ourselves (but we can find lots of help along the way). It is also important to recognize that there are different paths to success. We might decide today that we are sure that some ingredient is absolutely true, only to find that a champion is doing it another way, and is winning. Moreover, we each have enough to work on in ourselves, and getting caught up in one item often takes away valuable time that we could spend doing one of the above.
One of the reasons I like writing on Dance Forums is because I can organize my ideas in writing, and develop my own approach. It is my hope that others also share in this desire to improve both as dancers and as people. If, as a community we can share goals such as these, we will all win in some way.