Partnerships And Understanding.

[Bella]

I think it's important you know which category you're training for, silly.

 

[elisedance]

yup, you might feel a bit out of place if you walk out to do latin during a smooth heat

 

[dbk]

I've been in that kind of rut, too. It will get solved by a lesson or two with a good Latin pro, who will give you clarification on things you don't understand, new/better technique, etc.

If you are already taking lessons with a regular coach, it might be time to branch out and get a new point of view. Either your coach isn't very good, or s/he just can't explain things the way you need them explained.

 

[madmaximus]

Hey people out there. I have a question. I am trying to go through this 'phase' myself but any good advice is always helpful.

Hope you could hear my story. A long one.

I reach a point where I am stuck in practice Latin Ballroom. Chacha, Rumba etc. I find that practice these days are not useful anymore. My partner and I wont learn much from our practices and our improvement speed has decreased. I just do not know what to practice and how to improve. We will go through parts of our routine and although we know that this 'move' can be improved, somehow it's almost impossible to fix that move because of lack of knowledge, since i've only started dancing latin 8 months ago and have totally no background in dance. None.

This is also the reason why my partner says that it's because it's something new and a phase which i will have to go through myself. And to add to that. I've been watching some people in the same school as me dance latin and i compare myself to them. I get demoralized and also during practice i would take whatever i think could be improved based on how others did it 'nicer' and tell her that we can improve on this step or how this step could be made to look nicer. And eventually we end up arguing because i get frustrated that theres so many things to work on and that we are not improving. This slowly leads to feelings of giving up.

I now am trying to get through this 'phase' but i do hope that you fellow dancers who have experienced this before, could give me some tips, advice and hope.

Alright then,
What do we know:
8 months dancing. Latin Style (5 Dances), a few privates and group classes.
1 Partner, 1 teacher(?) and a lot of frustration.

Welcome to the black hole. Come on in--it's frustratingly fun in here (echo).

Seriously, A.C., write this down: NUANCE.

Dancing skill , and the eventual improvement thereof, is all about NUANCE (you know, those little tiny details, like specific angles of the foot, the bend of the wrist or elbow, the angle of the chin, the expression of the eyebrows--I could go on and on...but let's not).

The point is, the more you are able to refine your knowledge about a movement or motion (and apply that knowledge to said movement), the better you can be.

For example, when we take our first Rumba steps, we think only in terms of putting the foot ahead of the other--but studying that one part of the technique over the years you will realize that that step requires several pieces of technique (like compression, hip action, straight/bent knees, timing, and so on...)

When we first begin to dance, our expectations versus the reality of the sheer volume of knowledge required to improve, hardly match--and we're often happily oblivious of that fact.

This puts us at a serious disadvantage, because unless you have a good teacher who can paint that exact picture of a "perfect" Rumba walk and its NUANCES, you have no way of recognizing what to work on (and the amount of work needed) to get there.

It's impossible to draw a rutabaga if you haven't seen one.

Thus the answer to your problem, of course, is simple: you merely need to amass such knowledge.

You need the knowledge to REFINE your movement into a more specific NUANCE.

And that takes TIME, the right teacher, the right approach, and the right things (not the wrong things) to focus on.

So find that one mentor whom you can work with, and who will be invested in your development.

Last bit of advice--never compare your dancing with someone else's, because 9 times out of 10, you'll end up envious, bitter, and frustrated.

Remember, to be the smartest person in the world, you just have to realize that you don't know anything.






m

 

[mamboqueen]

bravo!

 

[fascination]

and always always listen to the mystery man...always

 

[jerseydancer]

yup, you might feel a bit out of place if you walk out to do latin during a smooth heat

if she is from Europe or Asia, they have never heard of smooth or rythm. It is only ballroom (standard) or latin

 

[elisedance]

good point...

however, then she might feel even odder...

 

[WaltzElf]

if she is from Europe or Asia, they have never heard of smooth or rythm. It is only ballroom (standard) or latin

Not true - depending on what country he/ she is from, there's also Exhibition, Team Formation, English Old Time and New Vogue ;-)


All these are dancesport competition styles found in places in Europe and Asia.

 

[Bella]

lol, it's the whole "american" in front of smooth and rhythm that throws people off....

 

[QPO]

Welcome to DF, good question I have issues myself

I will look forward to the replies

Hey people out there. I have a question. I am trying to go through this 'phase' myself but any good advice is always helpful.

Hope you could hear my story. A long one.

I reach a point where I am stuck in practice Latin Ballroom. Chacha, Rumba etc. I find that practice these days are not useful anymore. My partner and I wont learn much from our practices and our improvement speed has decreased. I just do not know what to practice and how to improve. We will go through parts of our routine and although we know that this 'move' can be improved, somehow it's almost impossible to fix that move because of lack of knowledge, since i've only started dancing latin 8 months ago and have totally no background in dance. None.

This is also the reason why my partner says that it's because it's something new and a phase which i will have to go through myself. And to add to that. I've been watching some people in the same school as me dance latin and i compare myself to them. I get demoralized and also during practice i would take whatever i think could be improved based on how others did it 'nicer' and tell her that we can improve on this step or how this step could be made to look nicer. And eventually we end up arguing because i get frustrated that theres so many things to work on and that we are not improving. This slowly leads to feelings of giving up.

I now am trying to get through this 'phase' but i do hope that you fellow dancers who have experienced this before, could give me some tips, advice and hope.

 

[QPO]

Well now that my DP & I would do a comp, it has changed the dymanics, he is a perfectionist and thinks that my input is not serious enough. what I am finding at the moment that the amount of information that I have to digest, means that when i get on the dance floor I concentrate on some and fluff the others. ie. think aoubt the feel and arms will make me forget to look up and out instead of eyes down to the floor. If I focus on the eyes and head, then something else will go astray. I am hoping this will all become second nature evenutally, but at the moment......:-(

 

[sambagirl]

Don't worry. It will become second nature -- that's why everyone practices, so that the actions we want our bodies to take will become consistent and ingrained.

 

[Nik]

Hey people out there. I have a question. I am trying to go through this 'phase' myself but any good advice is always helpful.

Hope you could hear my story. A long one.

I reach a point where I am stuck in practice Latin Ballroom. Chacha, Rumba etc. I find that practice these days are not useful anymore. My partner and I wont learn much from our practices and our improvement speed has decreased. I just do not know what to practice and how to improve. We will go through parts of our routine and although we know that this 'move' can be improved, somehow it's almost impossible to fix that move because of lack of knowledge, since i've only started dancing latin 8 months ago and have totally no background in dance. None.

This is also the reason why my partner says that it's because it's something new and a phase which i will have to go through myself. And to add to that. I've been watching some people in the same school as me dance latin and i compare myself to them. I get demoralized and also during practice i would take whatever i think could be improved based on how others did it 'nicer' and tell her that we can improve on this step or how this step could be made to look nicer. And eventually we end up arguing because i get frustrated that theres so many things to work on and that we are not improving. This slowly leads to feelings of giving up.

I now am trying to get through this 'phase' but i do hope that you fellow dancers who have experienced this before, could give me some tips, advice and hope.

I think everyone goes through this, for me its about 2 times a year. For about a month or 2 I will feel like crap, will argue with my partner, and not have any contructive practices.

At times like this, I have found that the best thing to do is start digging up old tapes of yourself and watching them, (if you don't have any, then tape yourself practice once or twice a month). You will start seeing that you are infact improving, and you have to keep taking lessons.

Sometimes you have to let the paint dry before adding new layers, you can't constrantly be painting.

Believe me when I say this, one day you will come to the studio and everything will just start working.

 

[QPO]

Nice to know that this will happen.. we are off to practice tonight perhaps it will be better

Don't worry. It will become second nature -- that's why everyone practices, so that the actions we want our bodies to take will become consistent and ingrained.