Any tips to finding a (follower) partner as a "perpetual beginner" for 17.5 years?
- Thread starter NeveraPartner
- Start date
ProgressNotPerfection
Forum Master
Good God. Twenty-four posts since you joined DF as a brand-new member 43 minutes ago, and nothing but Indonesian translations of other members’ posts. Please stop.
ProgressNotPerfection
Forum Master
Bailamosdance
Forum Master
NYC and North Jersey, BTW, is the unofficial 'capitol' of the Ballroom dance world - it is filled with top coaches (and dancers). Katusha Demidova (10x Blackpool Champion) is at Rogers Dancesport in Fairfield, NJ, for instance; so is Diana McDonald (World 10 dance Champion). do they have enough 'credentials' LOL? There are more, at that studio alone...
As a rank beginner who has read a lot of books and watched a lot of videos but has not actually danced, you would do well to research and take lessons (even one-offs) from the many many pros within your area.
As a rank beginner who has read a lot of books and watched a lot of videos but has not actually danced, you would do well to research and take lessons (even one-offs) from the many many pros within your area.
Warren J. Dew
Forum Master
The US dance world, that is.
NeveraPartner
New Member
yea maybe N.NJ/NYC by reputation but maybe it's incorrect in reality --- anyhow, people I've identified are in other parts of the country. Thoroughly unimpressed with Demidova's Dancevision DVD series ... and all I know about McDonald is she runs the USTA (but I'm dubious of their grading system it's like Harvard, everyone gets an A+ in their marks). Again I need to take a deeper look at NJ.
raindance
Forum Master
I certainly wouldn't judge Katusha by the video series. The video has very specific goals (so do you, and I doubt yours align with the video precisely), and represents only a tiny fraction of her expertise and teaching ability.
open_mind
Active Member
NeveraPartner, I think I understand your interests and motivation to study dancing in this peculiar manner you described. You approach “study” as some kind of mental exercise not dissimilar to a study of differential equations or a computer language. I am an engineer myself and I admit it was fascinating in the beginning of my ballroom learning to learn about angles, rotation, steps, counts and almost mathematical precision of body motion, it was speaking to my analytical mind. Later I began to understand that this is not all, as many said here, you have to practice and develop body awareness to become a decent dancer. Plus, artistic side of dancing can’t be put into equations, I don’t know how you can learn it from books or DVDs.
Whether you can find a long-term partner who can share your interests, I am not sure. The only thing I am sure of is that she is not just knock on your door one day - you need to go out there and try to find her. Socials, group classes, web ads, whatever.
And finally, even though I understand your interests, I am still not sure of your goals. What are you goals? To be become some kind of super-expert in the theory and intricacies of dancing without mastering the basic steps?
Whether you can find a long-term partner who can share your interests, I am not sure. The only thing I am sure of is that she is not just knock on your door one day - you need to go out there and try to find her. Socials, group classes, web ads, whatever.
And finally, even though I understand your interests, I am still not sure of your goals. What are you goals? To be become some kind of super-expert in the theory and intricacies of dancing without mastering the basic steps?
Katusha organizes a competition that takes place less than 4 blocks from the studio where I train. She has consequently agreed to stop in and do a few coachings when she is here. I had a coaching with her. She is awesome. However: you better want to improve technique because she assess the need and decides what to focus on.
She was here last week. My top line improved 200% in one week and it stayed better. Not only has my top line in smooth improved, the way she had me think about it has made my top in rhythm improve. (Seriously. in yesterday's practice, I told my pro (New Young Guy) I needed to take all the rhythm routines so I can practice and memorize. We spent the whole time on rhythm and he kept saying, "Wow!" I told him "I decided to try to remember to keep my ears away from my shoulders in rhythmn too and it seems to help". )
There are a couple other things she advised that are harder to make stick. But I'm working on it.
At least with me, she really only touched on two or three things that are important for now. But they made a huge difference so I think the assessment and advise are very useful.
As NeveraPartner doesn't care about technique and wants "figures", I'm sure he would be unimpressed by a coaching from Katusha. If you want figures and no technique, I guess tapes and group lessons are the most cost effective way.
But honestly, technique helps me achieve the figures better. I'm better in math than most people. But memorizing instructions like "3/8th turn" doesn't cause me to actually achive 3/8 turn rather than 1/4 or 1/2 (or heck 3/4!) Not breaking my frame, spotting, internal torque that feels right and so on do help me make the right amount of turn without thinking of any "math".
(As if "3/8 turn" is all that much in terms of math. I mean, aren't fractions learned in the 4th grade? This isn't exactly partial differential equations or tensor analysis! I think sewing and knitting involve more math than dancing does! )
She was here last week. My top line improved 200% in one week and it stayed better. Not only has my top line in smooth improved, the way she had me think about it has made my top in rhythm improve. (Seriously. in yesterday's practice, I told my pro (New Young Guy) I needed to take all the rhythm routines so I can practice and memorize. We spent the whole time on rhythm and he kept saying, "Wow!" I told him "I decided to try to remember to keep my ears away from my shoulders in rhythmn too and it seems to help". )
There are a couple other things she advised that are harder to make stick. But I'm working on it.
At least with me, she really only touched on two or three things that are important for now. But they made a huge difference so I think the assessment and advise are very useful.
As NeveraPartner doesn't care about technique and wants "figures", I'm sure he would be unimpressed by a coaching from Katusha. If you want figures and no technique, I guess tapes and group lessons are the most cost effective way.
But honestly, technique helps me achieve the figures better. I'm better in math than most people. But memorizing instructions like "3/8th turn" doesn't cause me to actually achive 3/8 turn rather than 1/4 or 1/2 (or heck 3/4!) Not breaking my frame, spotting, internal torque that feels right and so on do help me make the right amount of turn without thinking of any "math".
(As if "3/8 turn" is all that much in terms of math. I mean, aren't fractions learned in the 4th grade? This isn't exactly partial differential equations or tensor analysis! I think sewing and knitting involve more math than dancing does! )
And so, you've answered the question. You don't actually want to dance; you want to *study* dance. With a study partner, rather than a practice partner. That's a great thing to want, and I wish the best of luck to you -- if you ask for what you really want, you may well get it.
Bailamosdance
Forum Master
Does anyone else get the feeling you’re being trolled here? Somebody comes on and says things like “ Music is just soothing noise” about an artform that clearly interacts with the world of music, Watch some videos and decide that the people making the video can somehow be judged by this absolute beginner, and this person, who has 17 years of “studying“ has no relationship to the world of dance for partnering, movement, musicality, or expression thinks he can have a conversation with some of the people on this forum who are some of the top dancers, teachers, and heroes in the world of dance. A person who does not know how to dance on the beginner level, who is judging world championship dancers from their perspective. I’m becoming convinced this argumentative person has too much time on his hands, and certainly would appear to have enough time on his hands to actually learn how to dance, rather than sit online and debate... this is textbook Dunning/Kruger...
snapdancer
Forum Master
The OP reminds me of a character in the local dance scene whom I've nicknamed as "Teacher Guy". Teacher Guy has poor technique and when the complex moves he attempts fail, he stops in the social dance floor and instructs his follow on what she's supposed to do. As you might expect, many of the ladies don't care for that. Yet he manages to acquire regular partners who have natural talent and who will learn how to do their part well enough to cover for his failings. Teacher Guy doesn't seem to have any special charm but through perseverance has made it work somehow.
So if the OP were willing to put himself out there and suffer a lot of rejections he might get lucky.
So if the OP were willing to put himself out there and suffer a lot of rejections he might get lucky.
Crossed my mind too
. But at the same time , trolling or not, it was an interesting exercise in examining my own feelings and thoughts about dancing - what makes me happy, what's important to me and why, what is my main focus and reason for dancing and wanting to improve. Sometimes it takes a provocative question to shake up and organize your own thoughts in your brain.