The music or the dance?

[lily]

Which makes you love the dance you love, is it the dance itself (the physical movements) or the music that you dance to?

I love Swing dancing so very much but when the music isn't the type I prefer, I dance with much less enthusiasm. But if the DJ puts on a 50s rock 'n' roll song that I love, I'm in heaven and as my partner whizzes me around I think, "Oh yes, that's why I love dancing. Because it makes me feel THIS GOOD!!!"

I've tried Salsa many times. Some of the movements are quite similar to what I've learnt in Rock so I've never understood why I don't get that same high. But I think that it could be the music. I just don't 'feel' Salsa music so it doesn't inspire me to dance. So many people love Salsa so much but every time I dance it I find myself as if looking at a modern art painting, thinking, "I just don't get it." :cry:

So, for you, what makes you love Swing, Salsa, Ballroom or whichever dance you can't live without? Is it the music, the dance or something else such as the atmosphere where you go dancing or the people you meet there...?

[peachexploration]

Umm, let's just say the music of Salsa drives me nuts! :lol: But in a good way. :wink: I can hear 8 bars and totally lose it and break into a shine in the middle of downtown Orlando with no problem. For me, the music is the real passion and inspires the dance. :)

[Sagitta]

The music, the music, the music....the music...the music :)

[pygmalion]

Any minute now, I expect boriken to post some beautiful poetic statements. (The man is good, you have to admit. :D )

Both. Yes, both. I know I'm wimping out. I've done music all my life, and pretty much any genre of music has something in it that moves me. Maybe that's why I can't pick a dance genre. :? But, when I was growing up, I never had the time for organized sports (I was doing music LOL) so I never got good at them. Now, as an adult, the sheer physicality of dance helps me realize a facet of myself that's been there forever, untapped.

I love it all. 8)

[Danish Guy]

The dance, with all the partner interaction and fun.
The salsa music was a necessary thing that followed,
with a few ok songs.

I have learned to appreciate the music now,
but the dance come first.

[Pacion]

Any minute now, I expect boriken to post some beautiful poetic statements. (The man is good, you have to admit. :D )

And what if I don't want to admit it :roll: :lol:

This is a tricky one. For me it goes together like "love & marriage", "horse & carriage", "champagne and strawberries" :lol:

After having deliberated it for 20 seconds :lol: I think it is the music. I will hear a song, that I have never heard before and the things I will do with my feet/knees/hip action, I don't know where it comes from :oops: it is like if something just lifts me up to another plane/level. Some songs also have the opposite effect :roll:

I will never forget. I was in a small record store here in London a couple of years or so ago, buying some CDs. I heard the first few opening bars of a song and I started getting emotional :roll: :roll: :roll: :lol: The guy working there didn't know whether to give me a glass of water and a tissue or just to clear some space on the shopfloor so that I could dance :lol:

::sigh::

:lol:

[ShyDancer]

Both. Probably when it comes right down to it the music makes the dance...

I adore learning all the technique involved in the dances, as well as the steps.The music completes the package, you cant have one without the other! (Ok well you can have music without dance, but I prefer it with!)

I had myself a great example this past week, I normally dont do many Jives socially, maybe one a night. But this time they played my favorite Jive song first, then followed it with 2 more of my "must dance" songs. I could not believe the way my body reacted to the music and after I had sat down a friend came racing over to ask me where on earth I had learnt to jive in that manner since he watched my exams a few weeks back :lol: :lol:

Hmm maybe it is the music

[Purr]

So, for you, what makes you love Swing, Salsa, Ballroom or whichever dance you can't live without? Is it the music, the dance or something else such as the atmosphere where you go dancing or the people you meet there...?

All of the above! When I'm dancing, it's the about the relationship & interaction with my dance partner, whatever story we're telling on the dance floor. It's also a response to the song being played, and for me a song I like gets a much better response. And it's also a response to the atmosphere on the dance floor, and what's going on around us with the other people on the dance floor. It's a great feeling when there's lots of other energy around us to draw from.

8)

[MacMoto]

Salsa -- I love both the music and the dance. When I hear salsa music, I get an irresistible urge to dance.

AT -- love the dance but can't get into the music... :(

Cha Cha Cha & Bachata -- didn't like the music at first and didn't dance because of it, but now I've grown a taste for the music and, as a result, the dance.

[Sabor]

the are not separate for me.. they are one entity.. dancing is soul, mind and body music.. the music plays, and i play along with mine.. make a concerto out of it

[squirrel]

the dance was the first thing that attracted me to Salsa... and because I was so bad at it, I learned merengue first :)... now it's a combination, but mostly the music... the first measures of a Salsa or Salsa-like song get me in the dancing mood... I dance in the street, in stores, in buses :oops: :oops: :oops:

[etchuck]

It's the dance, but the music makes me want to move "better" when I'm dancing.

[Angelo]

It's the music. No matter how much I love the dance, if a song I don't like is playing I will most likely sit it out.

[lily]

It seems that a lot of people agree that it's the music that inspires them to dance. I was just dropping off to sleep last night when I suddenly thought, "I should have added a poll to the post". So I did :D