Have you ever had a discussion (almost an argument sometimes) with someone about how a dance should be danced? I have seen it a few times. One person is talking about how a certain dance should be done and the other is thinking it should be done another way. I have noticed that most of the time each person is really just talking about their preference instead of about anything absolute. This is probably one of the things about partner dancing that a lot of us forget. As much as we like the idea of learning to dance 'the right way' all dances are constructs, and thus arbitrary. However, there are some rules on partner dancing in general and some rules for each dance. But even with these known there is still room for interpretation.
How do you determine if something is just interpretation or a deviation from the dance?
One of the best ways to be able to determine if you're dancing a partner dance within the spirit of the dance is to understand its history. You can always change things any way you want, but by understanding the history of a dance you can at least know if you have broken with the spirit or argue why you're still dancing 'properly'. In this article I will give a few example of how this can be used so that you can better understand how history can be used.
I actually first came across this method of understanding dance when a dance instructor told me about his experience with a woman who thought she was expert in salsa. This man had been dancing for a long time, was an instructor, and new how to salsa. However, this woman said to him, after dancing socially at a salsa function 'That not how you salsa!' She was certain that there was an exact way. However, as this instructor pointed out, 'salsa' means 'sauce' in Spanish because it was made as a mix of things. Thus, it is not a dance that is terribly strict. It is also a street dance, that means it has less structure to it. Thus, as long as you're in time and dancing to the rhythm of the music, then you're probably salsa dancing.
Another example I came across that showed how history helped was from an instructional video. The instructor was talking about Samba. He pointed out that when the samba was made in Brazil there was a large African influence. This gives samba music that heavy drum sound on the 2 and 4 beats. This also means that Samba should have an African like swing in the hips. This kind of guidance helps realise what you do need to do when dancing a dance.
The final example was one for the jive. Because Jive was developed by people who at the time had to work very hard for their money, when they hit the weekend it was like they had been released from prison. And that's how the jive should look and feel: like a man just out of prison.
There are many dances out there so it would get boring for me to go through each. However, you can always search them on the internet. Also, most national dance associations will have a book that explains not just the way each dance should be danced, but why it is like that, which usually comes from its history. If you can get such a book, then it can be very useful. Finally, any book on the history of dance can be very handy. So consider asking for one next time it's your birthday. You will be surprised at how often you want to refer to it - just to double check.
ExperTrans language - multilingual services
ExperTrans voice-overs services
ExperTrans interpreting translation services
No comments:
Post a Comment