When learning to dance, first we concentrate on learning patterns, hearing the beat and maintaining communication with our partner. However, after we become familiar with the patterns we want to dance, are able to dance on beat, and are comfortable leading and/or following your partner, the next steps to mastership are actually less mechanical in nature.
Advanced concepts in dancing has more to do with attunement and flow of energy. We need to get our body in a receptive mode and the way to do that is through proper breathing.
The importance of proper breathing is prevalent in any skill we want to develop, whether playing the piano, martial arts or dancing. It helps you to relax and perform at a higher level.
Developing good breathing habits will not only improve your dance skills, but it will give you more stamina and control in any activity you choose.
The first thing we can do to improve our breathing is to become more aware of it. Start concentrating on the depth and rhythm of your breathing without trying to change it. Then, slowly increase the range of your inhalation and exhalation.
Also, proper posture improves our breathing naturally. Keep your shoulders back and your head straight allowing the chest to open up and your rip cage to expand and contract freely.
Here are three simple exercises to help you increase the range of your breathing.
(Disclaimer: Consult your doctor before doing these or any other exercises)
SITING EXERCISE
Seat on a chair with your spine straight
Put one hand on your abdomen and another one on your chest Start inhaling slowly and feel your abdomen fill and expand then fill and expand the chest Start exhaling slowly allowing the chest to contract and then contract the abdomen
Do not over strain the breathing, allow it to grow naturally.
WALKING EXERCISE
When going for a walk you can use each step as a count.
Inhale during a count of four steps Hold during a count of eight Exhale during a count of twelve
Maintaining the same ratio, you can increase or reduce your breathing range to suit your comfort zone. You can reduce the numbers to 2, 4, 8 or you could increase them to 6, 12, 18.
LYING ON BED EXCERCISE
Lay on your back and do some belly breathing. Let the air go directly to your abdomen area and expand it during inhalation and contract it during exhalation
Inhale during a count of four Hold for two Exhale during a count of four Hold for two
When going to bed this exercise will help you relax and fall seep quickly.
A common thing we see in dancing is people not able to dance through a song or two without getting out of breath. These exercises will help you overcome that problem and allow you to take your dancing to new heights with proper breathing. So, next time you dance don't forget to breathe.
Happy Dancing,
Blanche & Emilio Librero
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Showing posts with label Better. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Better. Show all posts
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Willpower and Partner Dance - The Simple Key to Better Lessons and Learning Faster
Do you ever find your mind wondering in your dance class? You know you should pay attention, and after you notice that you're not focused you put the effort into concentrating. However, it's not long until all of a sudden you notice that your mind is wondering again. And then not long after that, you notice that you've actually missed something important, and you're just not getting as much out of the class as you could or should be. Chances are that you have noticed this with things other than dance, but dance actually lends itself to this phenomenon more than many other activities. Fortunately, once you understand why this is the case, it is incredibly easy to deal with. In this article I am going to explain why you are more likely to lose concentration in a dance class and what can be done about it.
Willpower
Often, concentration in class comes down to willpower. You obviously enjoy dancing and you like seeing yourself improve. However, at times, when the instructor is explaining something you can feel like Charlie Brown talking to his teacher. You can hear that there is noise coming from their mouth, but it's just noise to you. This is normal. Whenever we need to be still and not active while another talks, our minds naturally wonder. It takes effort to keep this attention, and that means will power.
'So work on your will power' some will say. It's not that easy. An article in the January 2012 edition of New Scientist covered what was currently known about will power. The most interesting thing about it, I thought, is that will power actually uses energy. If you blood sugar levels are low, then we find it hard to maintain our will. This explains why some diets never work. You have little energy from not eating enough food, and this up quickly trying to maintain you will power to not give into the temptation of eating the food you love. Combine this with a diet and exercise regime, and you can see how failure is imminent. This is a slight digression, but it shows that will power (and concentration) very much needs energy.
Willpower and dance
Given that dance can be active it will burn some energy - energy that could be used to aide concentration. Think about when you have your dance lesson. It's probably later in the day. It is likely after work when you have already used up a lot of your energy reserves. So in a sense it is almost like your dance classes have been set up to make it hard for you to maintain the will to keep concentrating on the lesson. When you consider that it is just that, a lesson, then you realise that you might have an issue.
To improve your dance ability you are going to have to concentrate. You have probably already read about how dance is so good for us because it works both the body and the mind. As you now know, this is really going to use up your energy, and rob you of your ability to concentrate.
Maintaining your willpower
So you now know that you need to keep you willpower going if you're going to have effective dance lessons. You also know that the key to will power is energy. So the solution is obvious. You need an energy burst at the start of each lesson. I personally buy a hand full of Chupa Chups every now and then and have one before a lesson. Obviously, any lollipop will do - you just need something that will slowly release the sugar into your system during the class. If you want to be popular with other students or your teacher, then bring enough to share.
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Willpower
Often, concentration in class comes down to willpower. You obviously enjoy dancing and you like seeing yourself improve. However, at times, when the instructor is explaining something you can feel like Charlie Brown talking to his teacher. You can hear that there is noise coming from their mouth, but it's just noise to you. This is normal. Whenever we need to be still and not active while another talks, our minds naturally wonder. It takes effort to keep this attention, and that means will power.
'So work on your will power' some will say. It's not that easy. An article in the January 2012 edition of New Scientist covered what was currently known about will power. The most interesting thing about it, I thought, is that will power actually uses energy. If you blood sugar levels are low, then we find it hard to maintain our will. This explains why some diets never work. You have little energy from not eating enough food, and this up quickly trying to maintain you will power to not give into the temptation of eating the food you love. Combine this with a diet and exercise regime, and you can see how failure is imminent. This is a slight digression, but it shows that will power (and concentration) very much needs energy.
Willpower and dance
Given that dance can be active it will burn some energy - energy that could be used to aide concentration. Think about when you have your dance lesson. It's probably later in the day. It is likely after work when you have already used up a lot of your energy reserves. So in a sense it is almost like your dance classes have been set up to make it hard for you to maintain the will to keep concentrating on the lesson. When you consider that it is just that, a lesson, then you realise that you might have an issue.
To improve your dance ability you are going to have to concentrate. You have probably already read about how dance is so good for us because it works both the body and the mind. As you now know, this is really going to use up your energy, and rob you of your ability to concentrate.
Maintaining your willpower
So you now know that you need to keep you willpower going if you're going to have effective dance lessons. You also know that the key to will power is energy. So the solution is obvious. You need an energy burst at the start of each lesson. I personally buy a hand full of Chupa Chups every now and then and have one before a lesson. Obviously, any lollipop will do - you just need something that will slowly release the sugar into your system during the class. If you want to be popular with other students or your teacher, then bring enough to share.
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Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Understanding the History of a Partner Dance for Better Expression
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.
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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.
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