In my opinion, dance
technique is intentional controlled movement of body parts to
produce a desired result.
A beginning dancer has little conscious control of feet, legs,
torso, shoulders, arms, head, fingers, etc. Dance skill is
proportional to the amount of control exercised. Straight or
bent leg? Angled or upright torso? Heel or toe lead? Weight over
heel or ball of foot? Tension or compression in contact? Every
choice is correct in the context of some particular desired
result; every choice is equally incorrect in the context of other
options. The only question is whether the dancer has control
(technique) to achieve the result desired. Any particular dancer
may achieve some portion of a desired result due to good genes
or unconscious habits, but a skilled dancer can modify movements
at will to meet a variety of different requirements.
One can argue endlessly about whether any particular goal is
appropriate in the context of a particular dance style. It is
(or should be) somewhat easier to determine whether a dancer
has achieved the goal once it has been set.
This is a very good assessment. Skilled dancers (or participant/
practitioner in any other endeavor) have also practiced and
understand/appreciate the fundamentals of the activity, to the
degree that it's all instinctive. The conscious control is
ingrained in the mind/body, the skill factor being the ability
to swap control between consciousness and subconsciousness on
command/demand. For instance, the consistent/perpetual ability
to compensate/counterbalance for the partner (by feeling the
_proportionate_ acceleration/velocity of the partner) has to be
instinctive as there is no time to "think" (goes for follower
and leader).
Unfortunately, it's practically impossible to get these things
right (especially the goal-setting), as the journey is a maze.
At every turn, there are choices, and the "wrong" turn means
lots of back-tracking, or perhaps even being entangled in the
web forever. No instructor/instruction will get one to nirvana,
but may contribute to (or often distract or subotage) part of
the experience.
