Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Happened to be discussing the difficulties of socialing with J - someone who has lost much interest in the social aspect of our beloved dance. Personally, I can never truly understand why nor how socialing can be boring. Then again, considering the ways in which some classmates of mine dance at Union, little wonder..
Cady and I can simultaneously point out to the casual observer the way in which a certain T dances in the club. To cut a long story short, his eyes dart about the surroundings, he has little eye contact with his partner, he often seems deep in thought, shut within his mental frame, he very seldom smiles, and essentially is unable to give his partner a good dance, much less a fun one. The primary problem, as I observe, is that he is merely attempting to regurgitate the turn patterns and set routines taught by our instructor.
Now recalling patterns and routines is by no means a poor methodology of teaching; rather, it is perfectly orthodox. And to beginners, patterns are precisely what most of us (barring the natural genius with an innate latin calling) may be most familiar and comfortable with. However, for a relatively experienced salsero like our dear T, patterns.. should be just that. Patterns. Choreography for the classroom and the stage, never the social floor. How would the lady feel then, if asked for a dance in the club, only to be led into a twenty-second routine that is repetitively regurgitated throughout the five minute song? Horrid, surely.
My take on the issue is that in lessons, we learn certain fundamental moves (moves like enchufla, hammerlock, cross body lead, follow-me etc.), and thereafter, patterns to show us how these moves can be varied (variations!) and combined together. As we progress from substandard amateurs to intermediaries with a larger scope of exposure, we become increasingly familiar with our moves and their variations, so much so that we may begin to combine them in radically different ways according to our personal creativity. In so doing, we leaders morph an originally monotonous set of basic moves into a fun experience for the partner, a unique experience in every different dance that she / he is asked for.
Think that a creative lead is a difficult task by now? Yes indeed it is. Yet one does not have to be a rare talent to be able to turn each and every dance into an exhilarating thrill. Neither does it require one to be a most creative artisan on the floor. All it takes is plain old familiarity with the fundamentals of each basic move, an understanding of how their variations come about, some styling here and there, and voila, an everyday Joe may become a lead with an instinctive feel of which moves connect to what.
Hearing about friends like Kerr brings a smile to my face; this performance student used to fret and complain that he would freeze out cold in the social scene, that he would only dance well while remembering and churning out performance routines meant for stage use. Recently, J commented that his daily training with the Door To Floor team had given him a boost in terms of his socialing techniques. Does that not prove again, the conjecture on familiarity instead of mindless memory work..
Latin social, unlike ballroom dance, can never be a dance which may be captured properly by choreography. Ever seen ballroom salsa? Disgusting stuff.. To take my point further, try watching Dirty Dancing Two.
Salsa / Mambo / Bachata / Merengue. It's all about feeling the music, moving with the music, merging into the son and claves, until you ooze that sabor, that flavour, which crystallises a desirably enamoured smoothness that makes even the inner self sit up and take notice. In taking an initial step towards latin greatness, it is critical that the salsero develops a keen understanding of the most fundamental techniques of the moves and variations with which he practises. They are, after all, his lifeblood, and his soul.
Cady and I can simultaneously point out to the casual observer the way in which a certain T dances in the club. To cut a long story short, his eyes dart about the surroundings, he has little eye contact with his partner, he often seems deep in thought, shut within his mental frame, he very seldom smiles, and essentially is unable to give his partner a good dance, much less a fun one. The primary problem, as I observe, is that he is merely attempting to regurgitate the turn patterns and set routines taught by our instructor.
Now recalling patterns and routines is by no means a poor methodology of teaching; rather, it is perfectly orthodox. And to beginners, patterns are precisely what most of us (barring the natural genius with an innate latin calling) may be most familiar and comfortable with. However, for a relatively experienced salsero like our dear T, patterns.. should be just that. Patterns. Choreography for the classroom and the stage, never the social floor. How would the lady feel then, if asked for a dance in the club, only to be led into a twenty-second routine that is repetitively regurgitated throughout the five minute song? Horrid, surely.
My take on the issue is that in lessons, we learn certain fundamental moves (moves like enchufla, hammerlock, cross body lead, follow-me etc.), and thereafter, patterns to show us how these moves can be varied (variations!) and combined together. As we progress from substandard amateurs to intermediaries with a larger scope of exposure, we become increasingly familiar with our moves and their variations, so much so that we may begin to combine them in radically different ways according to our personal creativity. In so doing, we leaders morph an originally monotonous set of basic moves into a fun experience for the partner, a unique experience in every different dance that she / he is asked for.
Think that a creative lead is a difficult task by now? Yes indeed it is. Yet one does not have to be a rare talent to be able to turn each and every dance into an exhilarating thrill. Neither does it require one to be a most creative artisan on the floor. All it takes is plain old familiarity with the fundamentals of each basic move, an understanding of how their variations come about, some styling here and there, and voila, an everyday Joe may become a lead with an instinctive feel of which moves connect to what.
Hearing about friends like Kerr brings a smile to my face; this performance student used to fret and complain that he would freeze out cold in the social scene, that he would only dance well while remembering and churning out performance routines meant for stage use. Recently, J commented that his daily training with the Door To Floor team had given him a boost in terms of his socialing techniques. Does that not prove again, the conjecture on familiarity instead of mindless memory work..
Latin social, unlike ballroom dance, can never be a dance which may be captured properly by choreography. Ever seen ballroom salsa? Disgusting stuff.. To take my point further, try watching Dirty Dancing Two.
Salsa / Mambo / Bachata / Merengue. It's all about feeling the music, moving with the music, merging into the son and claves, until you ooze that sabor, that flavour, which crystallises a desirably enamoured smoothness that makes even the inner self sit up and take notice. In taking an initial step towards latin greatness, it is critical that the salsero develops a keen understanding of the most fundamental techniques of the moves and variations with which he practises. They are, after all, his lifeblood, and his soul.
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