My teacher has left the studio, and is being replaced by a miniature. I'll let you know how it goes....
Update: Mighty Mini Teach is awesome.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Drilling Wins
For me, learning a dance move always starts with a moment of "this is so cool!", usually followed by weeks of "How did that go again?" It's frustrating. I need to drill.
In group classes, my instructors will cover something until everyone has basically gotten it, then move on. That's the most efficient use of the instructor's time, and that's awesome. But it's not enough for me to make the transition from head knowledge to body knowledge.
In private lessons, I definitely want to cover as much as you can, so once I've basically gotten it, we move on. I do often ask for a bit of review either at the beginning or end of a private lesson, but doing that for the whole lesson is like learning to drive a stick shift in a Ferrari. You can do it, it's just a shame and a waste.
During practice parties, there's a lot going on - you have to find a partner, your partner may not have learned the move you just learned, you have to worry about floorcraft and traffic management, and if you're lucky you get three or four minutes of whatever dance you learned this week. For me that's not enough. I need to do a move probably 20 times in a row for my body to start feeling it.
Every instructor will tell you to practice at home, and I do, but only a little, and not enough. I'll claim it's because I want to work with a partner, but that's mostly an excuse. I'm rarely home, and when I am, there are a ton of distractions and diversions. I love working on my house, and it's old enough that there's always more to do. Not to mention (and much more common), I still need to get caught up on Mad Men, and there's always Tivo Guilt.
Plus, I really want to work with a partner. :-/ Different partners if possible.
So I finally bit the bullet and approached several women from my classes about meeting at the studio and drilling. I also checked with the staff to make sure it was OK if we found a corner of the floor and practiced. I've had my first session already - we drilled a flair promenade that I learned in Tango, and I definitely feel I have a better handle on it than some of the more basic stuff I haven't drilled. Fifteen or twenty minutes of repetition made all the difference in me getting it (mostly) out of my head and into my body (somewhat).
So if you're a fellow dance student, set aside some time to drill - I'll be doing so again (and I'm always looking for drill partners - email me!)
20 minutes is the difference between "huh?" and "Yeah, I can do that...."
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| Awesome art by Hugh MacLeod, gapingvoid.com |
In group classes, my instructors will cover something until everyone has basically gotten it, then move on. That's the most efficient use of the instructor's time, and that's awesome. But it's not enough for me to make the transition from head knowledge to body knowledge.
In private lessons, I definitely want to cover as much as you can, so once I've basically gotten it, we move on. I do often ask for a bit of review either at the beginning or end of a private lesson, but doing that for the whole lesson is like learning to drive a stick shift in a Ferrari. You can do it, it's just a shame and a waste.
During practice parties, there's a lot going on - you have to find a partner, your partner may not have learned the move you just learned, you have to worry about floorcraft and traffic management, and if you're lucky you get three or four minutes of whatever dance you learned this week. For me that's not enough. I need to do a move probably 20 times in a row for my body to start feeling it.
Every instructor will tell you to practice at home, and I do, but only a little, and not enough. I'll claim it's because I want to work with a partner, but that's mostly an excuse. I'm rarely home, and when I am, there are a ton of distractions and diversions. I love working on my house, and it's old enough that there's always more to do. Not to mention (and much more common), I still need to get caught up on Mad Men, and there's always Tivo Guilt.
Plus, I really want to work with a partner. :-/ Different partners if possible.
So I finally bit the bullet and approached several women from my classes about meeting at the studio and drilling. I also checked with the staff to make sure it was OK if we found a corner of the floor and practiced. I've had my first session already - we drilled a flair promenade that I learned in Tango, and I definitely feel I have a better handle on it than some of the more basic stuff I haven't drilled. Fifteen or twenty minutes of repetition made all the difference in me getting it (mostly) out of my head and into my body (somewhat).
So if you're a fellow dance student, set aside some time to drill - I'll be doing so again (and I'm always looking for drill partners - email me!)
20 minutes is the difference between "huh?" and "Yeah, I can do that...."
Monday, March 5, 2012
No way to say
One of the wonderful things about dancing, for nerds like me, is the social protocol. There's an accepted way to interact. But no protocol covers everything, and there's some important things you just can't say.
There's an accepted etiquette for asking another person to dance, leading and following are recognized roles (and skills), you learn how to signal a turn and how to share the floor with other couples. It seems like at least sixty percent of dancing is communication with your partner.
I get a lot wrong, but I've got really strong rhythm. I forget the steps, I can't get out of my head, my weight often is on the wrong foot, and my hips - the tragedy of my hips is monumental. I'm often doing completely the wrong thing, but I'm generally doing it on the beat. I can always hear the beat, I know when to start, and I know when I'm off. My teachers have commented on it, and they're not kidding. If the music that happens to be playing is wrong for my lesson, the lesson is twice as hard. Currently, my whole rationale for dancing is "She ought to feel the beat in your body".
I danced with a new partner recently and we couldn't get in sync. The rhythm I was hearing and the rhythm I was feeling in her were just off. I'm not talking about swinging around the beat, the way jazz does. She was just off and, worse, inconsistent. I restarted a couple of times. I said things like "I think we're out of sync" and "I don't think we're on the beat". I tried to lead bigger. I tried to firm up my frame. I counted in my head. I counted out loud. I tried to ignore the music. I tried to dance to her beat. But I never managed to get synced up with this particular partner.
Late in the dance, visibly frustrated, she said "you're not on the beat", and she honestly meant well by it, was trying to help with all her heart. There was no doubt in her mind. I try really hard to take criticism well. Everybody there has been dancing longer than me, and the list of things I haven't learned dwarfs the seven I have.
But she was wrong. She was the one off the beat. I didn't want to argue with her and I wasn't going to be able to really help either of us.
What can you say, other than "thanks for the dance"?
There's an accepted etiquette for asking another person to dance, leading and following are recognized roles (and skills), you learn how to signal a turn and how to share the floor with other couples. It seems like at least sixty percent of dancing is communication with your partner.
I get a lot wrong, but I've got really strong rhythm. I forget the steps, I can't get out of my head, my weight often is on the wrong foot, and my hips - the tragedy of my hips is monumental. I'm often doing completely the wrong thing, but I'm generally doing it on the beat. I can always hear the beat, I know when to start, and I know when I'm off. My teachers have commented on it, and they're not kidding. If the music that happens to be playing is wrong for my lesson, the lesson is twice as hard. Currently, my whole rationale for dancing is "She ought to feel the beat in your body".
I danced with a new partner recently and we couldn't get in sync. The rhythm I was hearing and the rhythm I was feeling in her were just off. I'm not talking about swinging around the beat, the way jazz does. She was just off and, worse, inconsistent. I restarted a couple of times. I said things like "I think we're out of sync" and "I don't think we're on the beat". I tried to lead bigger. I tried to firm up my frame. I counted in my head. I counted out loud. I tried to ignore the music. I tried to dance to her beat. But I never managed to get synced up with this particular partner.
Late in the dance, visibly frustrated, she said "you're not on the beat", and she honestly meant well by it, was trying to help with all her heart. There was no doubt in her mind. I try really hard to take criticism well. Everybody there has been dancing longer than me, and the list of things I haven't learned dwarfs the seven I have.
But she was wrong. She was the one off the beat. I didn't want to argue with her and I wasn't going to be able to really help either of us.
What can you say, other than "thanks for the dance"?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Day of Dance competition (Updated)
On Feb 25th I went to the Lovelace Hospital "Day of Dance" - A Health Fair and Celebrity Dance competition, like "Dancing with the Stars" (which I haven't seen - should I?)
Anyway, Local Dance Studios volunteered to work with local celebrities and put together a dance routine, and Saturday was the show and competition. There was also social dancing, and a health fair.
The official results, and my brief reactions:
Third Place:
Will Carr of KOAT TV with Patti Smith of CSP Dance Studio - Viennese Waltz. Very enjoyable and inspiring, I'll have much more to say about this shortly...
Second Place: Elias Gallegos, Fox TV and Charity Toya, Arthur Murray. East Coast Swing. Elias is a good looking and fit young man, and that doesn't hurt. He has a very athletic style, and definitely got the "Elvis Leg and Hips" going well (after some effort, apparently). The only thing I saw was they seemed slightly out of sync at times, but if I could pull off the performance they did, I'd be thrilled.
First Place: Heather Mills, KOB TV and Chip Hindi, Enchantment Dancing - Cha Cha. Heather apparently has some dance background, and it showed, both in her performance and her degree of comfort on stage. I see why the judges gave them the highest scores, Heather was clearly having fun, and to my eye she got a lot of details right, her poise, body position, "spotting" her head during spins (I think I'm getting that term right). Really a very beautiful dance.
Now lets talk about what I found inspiring personally.
Marissa Torres KOB TV and Joe Moncada, CSP Dance Studios Cha Cha. Marissa and Joe went first, which has got to be intimidating as hell. I think it also affected their score, unfortunately. I saw a few bobbles, and I'm sure there were mistakes I'm not experienced enough to even see, but it was certainly a performance that both dancers could be proud of. The scoring from the judges put them down in the pack, but it seemed to me that the average scoring crept up significantly over the course of the competition, which was unfortunate for Marissa and Joe. Near the end one of the judges said something about wishing one could go back and give more points to earlier couples and I think this is the couple that the judge had in mind. Judging has got to be a hard job, and I don't fault the judges, they're on the spot and don't have the luxury I do of several days to think about it.
But here's the important thing to me. Early in the routine, Marissa looked very nervous and apprehensive. Excited, and happy to be there, but just not sure how it would turn out. And partway through the dance I saw her just let that go, and laugh to herself, and just abandon herself to the dance. That was very inspiring.
The same apprehension, joy and abandon were on display with another couple - Annette Lindeman of Lovelace hospital with Randy Piatt, the Dance Studio
Fear and enthusiasm and excitement. This was the single most impressive performance to me because Annette went from a mix of major anticipation and apprehension to total abandon and joy. This is a very human drama, and that drama is what having non-professional dancers out there is all about. I don't have words to express how humbled and happy and inspired this made me feel.
That's also one of the things I loved so much about Will Carr's performance. He wasn't a perfect dancer, but it was a performance to be proud of on purely technical grounds. And he showed and overcame some apprehension, and visibly had fun doing it, though more subtly than Marissa or Annette. But Viennese Waltz? Man, that takes some stones. I don't even attempt the Viennese waltz in the security of the dance studio (and when I do, I'm just a roadblock for the good dancers). Will Carr, apparently with no dance background, goes out there and dances one of the fastest, most technical and most challenging dances possible. Will and Patti took a big, big gamble, and must have worked their butts off, and it paid off.
The other thing I admire about the risk Will and Patti took is that a lot of the audience probably didn't even know how hard it was. In my total noob opinion, there are a lot of dances (Swing, Salsa, Rumba, Cha Cha, my favorite, the Jitterbug) that are much easier to get a handle on from a standing start than Viennese Waltz, and few or none harder. Maybe Tango?
The Judges knew this, and the teachers knew this, but a lot of the audience probably did not. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't taken lessons and been exposed to really good dancers doing a Viennese Waltz. I love Waltz (music and the dance), and I made the mistake of thinking "wow, that looks like a very wonderful flowing, fun waltz, let's try it", followed shortly by "I've got a blowout - damper three... Pitch is out, I can't hold altitude.... She's breaking up, she's breaking...." Until you've crashed and burned on the dance floor, you don't know how risky the Viennese Waltz can be. It just looks smooth and flowing and fast, it doesn't look difficult and dangerous. But it is.
UPDATE: Chip Hindi of Enchantment thoughtfully reminds me that his partner, Dawn Davide not only met the same challenge as the other performers, but did so with a broken arm, still in a cast. Once he reminded me, I do remember that fact being mentioned at the time, and I remember that it looked like they were having a lot of fun swing dancing together. I didn't mention the broken arm because I barely saw it and literally failed to remember it. Dawn pulled off the performance so well that I literally didn't notice. Once again, as I learn more, I'm just more impressed. Thanks Chip.
UPDATE: In a very kind email from Patti Smith of CSP, she points out that even the judges may not have appreciated the degree of difficulty that the Viennese Waltz represents. She's certainly right that that was an assumption, and if it was inaccurate, I apologize. I shouldn't assume that everyone understands this difference. If you'd like to learn more about the difficulty of the Viennese Waltz, I strongly recommend this page at dancing4beginners.com which has video that shows the difference much better than I can describe it. Thanks Patti.
Links:
Lovelace Hospital Day of Dance:
Performers:
Lovelace's YouTube Channel, includes several years' worth of video:
Dance Studios:
Enchantment Dancing
Arthur Murray
CSP Dance Studios
The Dance Studio
News stories:
A Longer look at our KOB dancing stars
2012 Day of Dance
Join our Heather Mills and Marissa Torres for a 'Day of Dance'
Lovelace 'Day of Dance' Feb 26
Ballroom Dancing
Waltz vs Viennese Waltz (incl. Video): - highly recommended!
Anyway, Local Dance Studios volunteered to work with local celebrities and put together a dance routine, and Saturday was the show and competition. There was also social dancing, and a health fair.
The official results, and my brief reactions:
Third Place:
Will Carr of KOAT TV with Patti Smith of CSP Dance Studio - Viennese Waltz. Very enjoyable and inspiring, I'll have much more to say about this shortly...
Second Place: Elias Gallegos, Fox TV and Charity Toya, Arthur Murray. East Coast Swing. Elias is a good looking and fit young man, and that doesn't hurt. He has a very athletic style, and definitely got the "Elvis Leg and Hips" going well (after some effort, apparently). The only thing I saw was they seemed slightly out of sync at times, but if I could pull off the performance they did, I'd be thrilled.
First Place: Heather Mills, KOB TV and Chip Hindi, Enchantment Dancing - Cha Cha. Heather apparently has some dance background, and it showed, both in her performance and her degree of comfort on stage. I see why the judges gave them the highest scores, Heather was clearly having fun, and to my eye she got a lot of details right, her poise, body position, "spotting" her head during spins (I think I'm getting that term right). Really a very beautiful dance.
Now lets talk about what I found inspiring personally.
Marissa Torres KOB TV and Joe Moncada, CSP Dance Studios Cha Cha. Marissa and Joe went first, which has got to be intimidating as hell. I think it also affected their score, unfortunately. I saw a few bobbles, and I'm sure there were mistakes I'm not experienced enough to even see, but it was certainly a performance that both dancers could be proud of. The scoring from the judges put them down in the pack, but it seemed to me that the average scoring crept up significantly over the course of the competition, which was unfortunate for Marissa and Joe. Near the end one of the judges said something about wishing one could go back and give more points to earlier couples and I think this is the couple that the judge had in mind. Judging has got to be a hard job, and I don't fault the judges, they're on the spot and don't have the luxury I do of several days to think about it.
But here's the important thing to me. Early in the routine, Marissa looked very nervous and apprehensive. Excited, and happy to be there, but just not sure how it would turn out. And partway through the dance I saw her just let that go, and laugh to herself, and just abandon herself to the dance. That was very inspiring.
The same apprehension, joy and abandon were on display with another couple - Annette Lindeman of Lovelace hospital with Randy Piatt, the Dance Studio
Fear and enthusiasm and excitement. This was the single most impressive performance to me because Annette went from a mix of major anticipation and apprehension to total abandon and joy. This is a very human drama, and that drama is what having non-professional dancers out there is all about. I don't have words to express how humbled and happy and inspired this made me feel.
That's also one of the things I loved so much about Will Carr's performance. He wasn't a perfect dancer, but it was a performance to be proud of on purely technical grounds. And he showed and overcame some apprehension, and visibly had fun doing it, though more subtly than Marissa or Annette. But Viennese Waltz? Man, that takes some stones. I don't even attempt the Viennese waltz in the security of the dance studio (and when I do, I'm just a roadblock for the good dancers). Will Carr, apparently with no dance background, goes out there and dances one of the fastest, most technical and most challenging dances possible. Will and Patti took a big, big gamble, and must have worked their butts off, and it paid off.
The other thing I admire about the risk Will and Patti took is that a lot of the audience probably didn't even know how hard it was. In my total noob opinion, there are a lot of dances (Swing, Salsa, Rumba, Cha Cha, my favorite, the Jitterbug) that are much easier to get a handle on from a standing start than Viennese Waltz, and few or none harder. Maybe Tango?
The Judges knew this, and the teachers knew this, but a lot of the audience probably did not. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't taken lessons and been exposed to really good dancers doing a Viennese Waltz. I love Waltz (music and the dance), and I made the mistake of thinking "wow, that looks like a very wonderful flowing, fun waltz, let's try it", followed shortly by "I've got a blowout - damper three... Pitch is out, I can't hold altitude.... She's breaking up, she's breaking...." Until you've crashed and burned on the dance floor, you don't know how risky the Viennese Waltz can be. It just looks smooth and flowing and fast, it doesn't look difficult and dangerous. But it is.
UPDATE: Chip Hindi of Enchantment thoughtfully reminds me that his partner, Dawn Davide not only met the same challenge as the other performers, but did so with a broken arm, still in a cast. Once he reminded me, I do remember that fact being mentioned at the time, and I remember that it looked like they were having a lot of fun swing dancing together. I didn't mention the broken arm because I barely saw it and literally failed to remember it. Dawn pulled off the performance so well that I literally didn't notice. Once again, as I learn more, I'm just more impressed. Thanks Chip.
UPDATE: In a very kind email from Patti Smith of CSP, she points out that even the judges may not have appreciated the degree of difficulty that the Viennese Waltz represents. She's certainly right that that was an assumption, and if it was inaccurate, I apologize. I shouldn't assume that everyone understands this difference. If you'd like to learn more about the difficulty of the Viennese Waltz, I strongly recommend this page at dancing4beginners.com which has video that shows the difference much better than I can describe it. Thanks Patti.
Links:
Lovelace Hospital Day of Dance:
Performers:
Lovelace's YouTube Channel, includes several years' worth of video:
Dance Studios:
Enchantment Dancing
Arthur Murray
CSP Dance Studios
The Dance Studio
News stories:
A Longer look at our KOB dancing stars
2012 Day of Dance
Join our Heather Mills and Marissa Torres for a 'Day of Dance'
Lovelace 'Day of Dance' Feb 26
Ballroom Dancing
Waltz vs Viennese Waltz (incl. Video): - highly recommended!
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