Being a dancer vs. being a person that dances

[wooh]

My instructor told me that I need to start thinking of myself as a dancer. I'm having trouble with that. I think of myself as one who dances. Seems like a small distinction, but it's a big one in my mind. So my question is, what does it take to go from one who dances to being an actual "dancer." Was there a point in your dance life that this happened for you?

 

[Sagitta]

The difference of being and trying to be. The difference between dancing as part of vs with/to. Whne you don't have to listen to know where your feet and hand should be...where the soul guides one on one's journey. When does it begin? To ask that question means that one is not there yet.

Listen to lots of music. That helps. :cheers:


You get the feeling one dance, then 2. 3 and then more...and then dance is you

 

[tacad]

Recently a dance friend of mine got sick. So when I called the hospital i told the nurse that we were ballroom dancers. I had never referred to myself as
a dancer before. I had spent a year practicing with a new teacher, going to dances. Dancing had become a major part of my life. It's hard to say when it actually happened though.

 

[dancersdreamland]

Wow! That is an excellent question...

I think the difference between a "dancer" and "someone who dances" is really the distinction you give to yourself. Do you take one or two dance classes for the sheer joy of dancing or is dance a part of your life? Is dance something you do just for fun or is it more...perhaps dance is your life?

I can't really give an answer to your question...just wanted to drop some thoughts.

Personally, I always say I wish I were a dancer, when in fact I probably am...

 

[new-ish]

I heard a teacher once say that when she was taking singing lessons, her coach told her to imagine that she was a star singer and that helped her singing immensely. She encouraged us to think of ourselves as great dancers and bring that feeling to our beginner dances.

I used to whine to my teacher that I felt like I was just doing steps and not dancing. She just smiled and told me to keep practicing.

 

[chandra]

we should classify "the evolution of a dancer"
So far we have
"one who does steps and does not feel like he/ she is dancing"
"one who dances (as a hobby)"
"One who defines onesfelf by ones dancing. (a dancer)"

Theres gotta be more common phases, anyone else have any ideas?

Thats where i say the switch is. When the way you view yourself as a person is intemitely (sp?) entwined w/ dancing, and you cannot think of yourself, and /or describe yourself without including dancing as a frame of reference.

 

[Sabor]

what does it take to go from one who dances to being an actual "dancer."

its takes a little bit of magic .. one of the many gifts of creation .. can't be aquired .. but may be discovered.

 

[Sobrero]

what does it take to go from one who dances to being an actual "dancer."

its takes a little bit of magic .. one of the many gifts of creation .. can't be aquired .. but may be discovered.

I agree with you Sabor!!!
For me the difference between ‘someone who dance’ and a dancer is big! :!: :!:
I think that ‘someone who dances’ is someone who gets to the dance floor and dance because he/she was forced to from his/hers boyfriend/girlfriend, because he/she does not have anything better to do, because he/she wants to see what other people see in dancing, because he/she did it once and it was just ok. (Yes guys there really are people in that category :doh: )

However, a dancer is someone that enjoys dancing or better loves dancing!
He/she likes to dance because dancing means something more to him/her. Being a dancer is not just what you do on the dance floor is a whole way of lifestyle.
I also do not think that your levels is important! There is no difference if you are a beginner or a professional if you love what you are doing and in every dance you get lost in the feeling then you are a dancer!! :wink:

I first thought that I might be a dancer during a bachata song when I decided that just for one dance I would not think about my technique or my steps or what I was doing! I just let myself go and I let my partner lead me. I finally felt free and complete…. I don’t know like I was in heaven!

Sobrero

P.S. ok I just read the last line and it sound really silly but it is the TRUTH!!

 

[millersc72]

My two cents

When I first started ballroom dancing I felt like I didnt even belong on the floor. I had always considered myself as having two left feet.

My first competition came about and when I arrived to the competition children under 10 were dancing... I felt like turning around and leaving!

One of our senior studio members saw the look on my face and told me something that has stuck with me. She said that I was already in the top 10 percent of the dancers in the country, so not to worry... just enjoy and dance.

Her words stuck with me and ring true. The major population do not "dance" we actively seek to hone our dance ability by practicing and taking lessons. It is just my opinion, but I would consider that by actively taking lessons and practicing you would be considered a dancer. If one doesnt, then I would consider you a person who likes to dance or a hobbyist.

 

[MacMoto]

Pedantically speaking, someone who dances is a dancer.

Beyond that, I agree with DDL; the distinction between a dancer or someone who dances is entirely in your mind (unless you are a dance professional, in which case I'd imagine you wouldn't even be asking the question). You become a dancer when you start seeing yourself as a dancer, and that point is probably different to each individual.

My story --
I started seeing myself as a dancer when I realised that salsa had become my lifestyle, not just a hobby. Salsa was at the centre of my social life and I couldn't (and didn't want to) contemplate my life without salsa. It didn't matter whether or not other people saw me as a dancer, and it was nothing to do with how often I danced or how good I was -- it was all about how *important* dance was to me. At that time my marriage was on the rocks, and salsa was a major source of conflict. My ex couldn't understand why I *had* to go dancing every weekend -- after all, it's just a hobby, not a matter of life & death. I struggled for an answer and then come to the conclusion -- I needed dance because I was a dancer. This answer didn't save my marriage but it did save my sanity.

 

[Medira]

I full realized that I was a dancer when I had a period in my life where I was unable to dance at all for a few years. The longing I had to get back on a dance floor was astounding...and it was something I didn't know I could feel until it was right there inside of me. It's the desire and the longing to be connected to the music, to feel the freedom that the connection with the rhythm and partner, if you're partner dancing, that truly makes you a dancer.

 

[yola]

when i hear music, i cannot sit still, i have to move albeit just my little finger
when i look at dancers performing on stage, i dance with them, move with them, feel their movement in my body....

when i dance, i feel complete, i am alive, i do not think about past or future, but live only in the present, now and there....

Yes, i am a dancer....

this has been so all my life, i only realised this very late. Too late to become a professional balletdancer for example ... but not too late to change my life and let it be about dancing, live my dream...

and i've never been more alive or happyer

 

[dancemom]

Angelica at 10 tells me "but mom, dancing completes me." She told me this over a year ago when, due to a sports injury, was on crutches for a week and couldn't dance. She was going crazy and was begging me to let her dance prior to her appt the next day when her doctor was planning on releasing her to dance again. She is indeed, a dancer.

 

[boco]

dm that sounds like me.

recently i did something ot my foot (they say I just rolled it) bu i ended up in a boot and crutches.

two days later, I was at my dance class, trying to dance (or at least trying to roll around the routine) because my recital was the week after.

i got yelled at like 6 times to sit down because they didnt want me to hurt myself =(

i still went to all the practices for footklan (i only missed one due to something, and it sucked =( )

so i understand where shes coming from. My foot still hurts (its in my ankle now I think) but I'm still dancing

-j

 

[alemana]

this really struck a chord with me too.

my new coach told me the same thing during our second lesson: "it's time to start thinking of yourself as a dancer and treating your body like a dancer's body."

for me, the switch in my brain flipped at that moment. i was already close - salsa had become my passion and i was devoting an awful lot of time and money to it - but having HIM say it, for some reason, made all the difference.

i'm a literalist so thinking of myself as "a dancer" means BEHAVING as a dancer. i still cringe a little if i hear myself SAY out loud that i'm a dancer, but the truth is that the way i live my life now, day-to-day, is shaped by being a dancer. my priorities are guided by it.

i've changed the way i work out - much, much more stretching. the weighlifting i do has been altered to focus on my weaknesses on the floor.

i've changed what i spend my money on.

i shape my life around my performance/competition calendar.

i've cultivated a different set of friends.

i'm much more motivated to eat better (and i always had a good diet, but now i'm super focused on it.)

i'm about to radically change my hairstyle (hey, that's a big deal for ladies! )

i shop for makeup and costume jewelry with an eye toward what i could wear to compete.

i'm considering taking up a freelance second career to fund my dancing obsession.

and most recently, i asked myself what gift i'd like to give myself for my birthday. typically i go out for a very expensive meal (i'm a huge foodie) but this year i'm heading to a competition in Boston merely to spectate. that' s now my idea of how to give myself a present i'll love.