I saw the light

S

squirrel

New Member
I've pondered a bit today on whether to post this or not, and the video of Michael Jackson's song in another thread here helped me make up my mind.

I am a trained dancer. I used to not dance at all (not even the "penguin style" done in highschool on slow songs). I found Salsa and something within me changed.

I've struggled hard to learn. I didn't hear the beat at all and had a hard time moving my body anyway (even on Merengue). But I loved it and wanted to do it so badly that I trained the only way possible for me - I learned technique. I needed to have everything broker down and explained, then I would try it for weeks/months until I got it.

It was hard at times to look around and see how fast others learned... how natural the moves looked on them and make the comparison with my robotic style.

But all I wanted to do was dance Salsa. So I didn't give up. Lately my dancing has been improving a lot. And it started, of course, with the moves that involved technique. Apparently I have a good frame and posture and can spin and do difficult moves w/o being a pain in the knat to lead. Of course, the better the leader, the better the dance - technically speaking.

I now craved for on2. I started struggling to learn it, helped by a friend (no on2 teacher here). I stepped merengue-like to the beat to be able to remember where my feet break. I looked weird, but I continued to do it. And I improved a lot.

Then Luis Vazquez came to Bucharest for a workshop. I danced with him and looked at him dance with other gals. Now, for those of you who have not yet met him - he is the dream leader. He makes every woman feel good, almost never refuses a dance and dances at one's level. He is easy to follow and fun to dance with. Watching him dance with other gals made me realise something. Not only did he adjust the level and the lead - he adjusted HIS dancing to the lady. Example: there is a lady here who is darn good looking and can do some sexy styling. With her, he did a lot of shines and let her do her thing. With me, he used a lot of hard moves and very many spins. :)

It was interesting. He danced the way the woman could look her best and of course make him look good as well.

Last weekend we had another workshop, with a guy called Timothy, who lives at present in Brussels. Now, Tim is from Curacao and dances on2 and rhumba (one hell of a dancer). He is not a great leader, but he improvises a lot. He likes to move his body and interpret the music, forgetting about the moves a bit. He told me the first time we danced that I am good, but am afraid to express myself.

After 3 days with him, I was in the club on Sunday, watching the couples (great music was on) and all of a sudden I surprised myself wondering "What are the people on the dance floor doing? Why are they doing move after move? Doesn't the music play for them? Is it just a basic beat? Isn't the music so much more? The music tells you what to do - not 40 spins necessarily. It was on2 music, so calm and sensual and playful - all they did was pattern after pattern. WHY?

Now, the reason why I hesitated to post this experience of mine is out of respect for those learning now. I remember how hard it was to hear even the basic beat. How hard it was to tell 1 from 5. How hard to move your body on the music.

Still, I decided my experience is good - it should show people you don't have to be Latino/Afro to dance. Anybody can dance. No matter how long it takes. If this is what you wish, it will come true. Provided, of course, you work on it. I am not talented. But now I've started to feel what it is like to really dance. Not just struggle through patterns. Of course now my moves are too rough, clumsy at times. But I am no longer afraid of expressing myself. I am no longer afraid of ME.
 
Very interesting and inspiring. :)

Dancing in the music and not to the music is what I have been focusing on lately.
 
I think it's a great post. It will give hope to beginners who can't hear the beat or who feel they aren't "natural" dancers.
 
I'm also one of the ones who do not have a natural talent and I thought I could never dance. So the mind and a strong will can make things happen :).
 
hmmm....

No talent here myself but I do manage to do a little on the floor. Know what you are talking 'bout though. ;-)
 
Does talent even exist? I mean, everyone has to make an effort and work at it. I'm sure like 95% of the people we see out there are thinking themselves awkward at times and chalk up most of their ability to simply learning it. It just depends on how much time we have to devote to it. Sometimes we have to work at it more, because we have to learn more things from scratch, compensate for a lack of experience with rhythm, movement, balance, focus, whatever... some have more in their suitcase when they arrive, like experience with the music or a familiarity with the way the body looks and feels or a cultural intimacy with the subject matter... but they have to work at it too, especially if they want to acheive a higher level. I think we tend to look at people who are more proficient, look at their success and instantly label it "talent", thinking it's some innate thing. This may be the case in rare instances, but for the most part, for many of us, think it simply has to do with strength of desire, will, knowing yourself, loving yourself, pushing yourself and dedicating yourself to your goal. We'll all get there at different speeds and in different ways, but for most, we use the same sort of fuel and have to keep applying the gas.
 
thesp.

Reminded me of what Fred Astaire once remarked, when someone stated how talented he was . To paraphrase-- his reply,-- A little talent-- but a lot of hardwork . Most of the worlds top pro,s will admit to the same work ethic .
 
The best practioners of any art form or sport got there for two reasons. They had the physical attributes that could be trained and enhanced to reach that high level. They had the discipline to work hard at it year after year and to work through the plateau periods. Take Michael Jordan for instance. He had the physical attributes but he did not get where he did without a lot of hard work. Look at Frankie Martinez on his DVD. Yes his body type does give him an advantage as far as fluidity in body movement. But you can tell he worked hard to get to that level.
 
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A couple of these and you'll see the LIGHT....
 
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