Am/am dancers, what is your ratio of solo to partnered practice?

Terpsichorean Clod

Terpsichorean Clod

Forum Master
The person I dance with is out of town. So this week, I can take a bit of a break, even while increasing my solo practice. Which is to say, increasing it from zero. :oops: I used to have a solo to partnered practice ratio of at least 1 to 2, sometimes as much as 1 to 1. But she wanted more partnered time, which ate into my usual solo days. Ironically, I think I might be more effective at the partnered practices if I were to cut back on them... :idea: :razz:

So am/am-ers, what is your ratio of solo to partnered practice?
 
Without the presence of a partner for feedback, solo "practice" is of fairly limited utility.

But solo "contemplation" both mental and physical can be absolutely key to progress.

The difference is that instead of just doing, one must pay very conscious attention to how and why one is doing something. Experimenting to understand what techniques work or do not, and how they change the character of movement that results is what makes the difference.

Probably a majority of latin dancers can drill something alone in front of a mirror and effectively evaluate how well they are doing, because they have a fairly precise idea of what they should be doing. Conversely, only a small minority of standard dancers seem to have given the details of action comparable thought. The difference in detail awareness can be most obvious in ten dancers who pursue both.

Just going through motions only makes them habitual. Only with feedback - internal or external - and a clear focus on understood goals do they actually become better.
 
DP travels about 50% for business so I usually have a couple days each week when I can solo. I need to get better about it though b/c I usually take an afternoon train to work and my mornings often get chewed up with life maintenance issues. I'd put the ratio at about 1:3 solo to partnered if you count socials as practice.
 
Our "practice together" time is largely during lessons, and a very small amount outside lessons. My solo practice time is probably about two to three times as much as the time I practice with my partner. She doesn't like to practice when we don't have the supervision of an instructor. But I need to. So she'll spare some time for me once a week or so, and put up with my dancing with her for a brief while. I would really prefer a lot more partnered practice, and less time with my imaginary partner. I have many partnering issues I'd like to resolve. But these seem impossible to agree on without an instructor, so I understand where she's coming from. Improving partnering is a slow, arduous process.
 
Even though I know that it would be beneficial, I never practice by myself...

As a standard follower, it seems to me that there's only a very limited number of things that I can practice by myself, and even then, it's hard to practice those things in the studio because it's always crowded and I don't have eyes in the back of my head...

I see some standard girls practicing by themselves at the studio and I always think that I'd really like to do the same but it seems very difficult for me for some reason... If there are standard girls here who regularly practice by themselves, I'd be curious to know what you work on and how you manage floorcraft...
 
Oversway said:
As a standard follower, it seems to me that there's only a very limited number of things that I can practice by myself, and even then, it's hard to practice those things in the studio because it's always crowded and I don't have eyes in the back of my head...
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Even though you won't be choosing the material when applying your dancing, having well-worn paths through sound body mechanics is every bit as useful for ladies as it is for men. A huge part of following is simply keeping your body in a receptive position, and that is achieved by intentionally preferring sound mechanics. I've rarely met a man or a woman who was good at their own job without also having developed a shadow capability in the other - even if they don't often overtly employ it.

If practicing on your own does not appeal, taking a fundamentals course as a leader could be quite beneficial to building precise body usage in a context where making your own choices is also possible.
 
About 2:1 (twice as much solo as partnered) but it might be misleading in my case since I'm studying for certification exams (tentatively scheduled for the third weekend in June!), going over material for classes, practicing from DVDs, reviewing material from private lessons taken on my own, etc. I'd say only about 10% of my solo practice directly concerns competition, but that's not as if to say that the other 90% doesn't affect my partner.
 
About 1:1. On the days that I don't meet my partner, I use it to contemplate and internalize the motion. I don't need that much space. I could potentially hang out the entire time in a corner and repeatedly perform an action.

When I am with the partner, I try to remember what it feels like when she is there, so that when I'm alone, I try to see if I can reproduce that feeling. It's very difficult when there's no mass there to provide some resistance or feedback.
 
Food for thought. :grin:
nottomention said:
Without the presence of a partner for feedback, solo "practice" is of fairly limited utility.
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Apologies in advance if I'm misinterpreting or taking this out of context. :)

I feel that the mirror is a good source of feedback. Granted, there is a limit to which I can use it, if I am also trying to maintain a head position.

As an example, I have a good idea (well, I think I do :)) of what it should look like when the standing leg/foot are being used. And it's pretty clear in the mirror how far I fall short. And I can recognize improvements in the mirror when I give attention to that aspect.

Sometimes, a mirror isn't necessary. I know where my weight is supposed to be and I can feel where it actually is. Or if I can't tell exactly where my weight is, I know at least if I'm off balance. I usually have a decent idea of what measures to take towards correcting that.
But solo "contemplation" both mental and physical can be absolutely key to progress.

The difference is that instead of just doing, one must pay very conscious attention to how and why one is doing something. Experimenting to understand what techniques work or do not, and how they change the character of movement that results is what makes the difference.

Probably a majority of latin dancers can drill something alone in front of a mirror and effectively evaluate how well they are doing, because they have a fairly precise idea of what they should be doing. Conversely, only a small minority of standard dancers seem to have given the details of action comparable thought. The difference in detail awareness can be most obvious in ten dancers who pursue both.
Click to expand...
Does this have more to do with a general difference in how latin and standard dancers tend to behave? Or is it more about an inherent difference in the dance styles?
Just going through motions only makes them habitual. Only with feedback - internal or external - and a clear focus on understood goals do they actually become better.
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I think habitualizing is pretty important. Being able to implement the corrections of my teachers is nice, but I want those actions to be as automatic as breathing. So that when under stress, I default to them. :)
 
Mengu said:
Our "practice together" time is largely during lessons, and a very small amount outside lessons. My solo practice time is probably about two to three times as much as the time I practice with my partner. She doesn't like to practice when we don't have the supervision of an instructor. But I need to. So she'll spare some time for me once a week or so, and put up with my dancing with her for a brief while. I would really prefer a lot more partnered practice, and less time with my imaginary partner. I have many partnering issues I'd like to resolve. But these seem impossible to agree on without an instructor, so I understand where she's coming from. Improving partnering is a slow, arduous process.
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I empathize with you. I danced with one person with whom any unsupervised partnered time was completely unproductive. It didn't last very long. And there was another person I danced with whose idea of partnered practice was social dancing... I think too little solo time is bad, but too little partnered time is obviously just as bad (worse?). I guess it's a matter of balance?
 
suburbaknght said:
About 2:1 (twice as much solo as partnered) but it might be misleading in my case since I'm studying for certification exams (tentatively scheduled for the third weekend in June!), going over material for classes, practicing from DVDs, reviewing material from private lessons taken on my own, etc. I'd say only about 10% of my solo practice directly concerns competition, but that's not as if to say that the other 90% doesn't affect my partner.
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:notworth: I'm impressed. Though will the ratio stay the same after your exam? Anyway, sure it counts, since as you said, your partner certainly benefits from your solo work.

Good luck with your studies!
 
Gorme said:
About 1:1. On the days that I don't meet my partner, I use it to contemplate and internalize the motion. I don't need that much space. I could potentially hang out the entire time in a corner and repeatedly perform an action.
Click to expand...
:notworth:
When I am with the partner, I try to remember what it feels like when she is there, so that when I'm alone, I try to see if I can reproduce that feeling. It's very difficult when there's no mass there to provide some resistance or feedback.
Click to expand...
I had a long-standing issue with outside partner position from too much solo time and almost no partnered time to balance it. I was failing to take into account the presence of another body.
 
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