Dance is more than sequential steps.
People come to our studio who say, “I want to learn the steps.” Their attitude is, just teach me and before you know it, I’ll be a great partner dancer. It’s just a bunch of steps.
Well, that’s not really true.
Sure, dance is a sequential order of steps to the rhythm of the music.
But it’s so much more.
Just learning the steps does not make you a good ballroom dancer. You have to learn every part of the dance.
The emotion. The drama. The act of it. The presentation.
You need to learn the connection between you and your partner.
The lead and the follow.
The feel of the dance.
All of this together makes for a pretty incredible experience.
We get frustrated when students say, “Teach me the next steps; I should be at a higher level already!”
We don’t want to insult anyone, but if they don’t really have the feel of the dance yet, they can’t truly move on to the next phase of what they’re learning.
They need to take the rhythm and understanding inside their skin. They have to embody the expression of the dance.
One partner needs to hold the frame for the other partner to be enveloped in. There needs to be a communication between dance partners, a fluid flow of connection.
You have to be able to close your eyes and feel the music in your fingertips and just go in ways that you know.
Dancing is more than just learning steps. I always tell people, “You can learn steps. You can go online, watch YouTube, buy a book, but that’s not going to make you a dancer.”
The connection is everything.