MOTIVATION FOR DANCING: AN EKPHRASTIC ART

“Dance is to express, not to impress.” --- Author unknown 

     This quote got me thinking about why humans dance. Why do dancers, dance? I spent some time pondering this question. Discovering the answer necessitates defining the areas of dance, since there may be different reasons why we dance depending on the type or category of dance.
     The three major areas of dance are social dance, performance dance and competition dance. What motivates people to participate in one of these three areas are different but the answer is not always black or white but rather shades of gray, the borders are fluid, the lines are blurred and they frequently intersect.

Dancing is an ekphrastic art form because it is a response to another art form, music. Wikipedia describes ekphrasis as, “…a device in which one medium of art tries to relate to another medium by defining and describing its essence and form, and in doing so, relate more directly to the audience, through its illuminative liveliness.”

Have you noticed how you remember a song differently when you’ve experienced an incredible dance to that song or watched a fabulous dance routine to a song? The dance responds to the music, ekphrastically. The three areas of dance represent varying degrees of ekphrasis, with performance dance most closely resembling an ekphrastic form of art. The three forms of dance fulfill different human needs, reasons why dancers dance and why people decide to learn to dance. In this article I will discuss briefly, some possible motivations for social, competitive and performance dancing.

Having studied psychology and earning a Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology at SDSU and teaching dance for over three decades in San Diego, California was helpful in tackling these questions of motivation.

The psychology of social partner dancing includes the pervasive human need for tactile stimulation or put more simply, hand holding, hugging and touching. Years ago, I read that babies who were not cuddled for a certain period after birth were more likely not to survive long in orphanages.
    Also, communication is an essential component of psychological health, dancing uses non-verbal communication. For example, we communicate, at times, by a slight tensing of a hand or shoulder while navigating the dance floor during floor crafting.
Dance floors are the perfect meet-up venues for a safe, comfortable place to meet other people and for social networking. Dancers are not couch potatoes; they do not enjoy sitting alone staring at the TV while channel surfing.
Dancing is great exercise for increasing cardio-vascular, strengthening muscles, increasing flexibility and for stress reduction.
In dance, we create communities, meet new people, make long lasting friendships with people that have a common interest, dancing. Dancing is remedies loneliness, isolation, boredom and inertia.

Competition dancing possesses most of these benefits, reasons and fulfills many of the same needs as social dancing but includes the human need to compete with others and ourselves, to improve, to be ranked and rated, to develop hierarchies and to push ourselves to excel. We all know the importance, in our culture of sporting games, the Olympics, competing for prizes, in business and among nations.

Dance can be a competitive sport and has become very popular due to the television network shows like Dancing With The Stars. Competition dancing is often referred to as Dancesport, which has flourished in the past decade.
Historically, dances are created as a response to music and usually exist in nightclubs or in communities as part of a culture. Hence, Brazil’s samba, Argentine tango, Austria’s Viennese waltz and the United States' swing including West Coast swing started as regional dances but eventually spread worldwide.

Generally, after a period of time, Dancesport organizations begin the tedious process of documenting the rhythm units, patterns, figures of the dances in order to standardize them for competition allowing judges to grade everyone with the same standards of dance, patterns, timing, position, etc. This process doesn’t always serve the dance forms well. At times, the creativity and spontaneity is removed in this process in order to achieve technical excellence and standardization of the form. However, it does make judging and learning the patterns, sequences and amalgamations easier since there are usually a finite number of figures per dance level with a few variations. This restrictive standardization does not exist in performance dancing.

Performance dance is the form that most closely fulfills the human need to express oneself artistically. The Arts include visual, auditory, written and movement/kinesthetic art forms. Some of the visual arts are painting, sculpture, installations and fashion. Auditory arts include music/instruments, voice/singing and oral poetry/stories. Written arts include poetry, fiction, non-fiction and journalism. The movement/kinesthetic arts include martial arts and dance, which expands out to ballet, modern, jazz, hip hop, social ballroom, folk and Cajun. Television, movies, videos, theatre and YouTube blend the arts to include music and dance or performance poetry, etc.
     Partner performance dancing blends the components of an ekphrasis art form, as a response to a piece of music, musicality, and the human need for aesthetics. Good technical dancing and aesthetics add to the experience of social dancing partnerships. With partner dancing, whether social or performance, the needs of the partner are paramount but also the human need of aesthetics, creating beautiful art together is important. There is considerable dialogue among dancers suggesting that aesthetic considerations conflict with attention to ones partner in dancing but I disagree.
     Dancing is organic; it is like an evolving kinesthetic story-telling between two people that is changed when it is observed like the "observer effect" in quantum physics* (see note on quantum physics below). The minute the dance is observed, the observer becomes part of the story. It is no longer a twosome but a threesome, etc. The partners do not lose sight of each other in order to show off but rather re-design the dance to include the observer, to entertain, to please and the evolving dance is permanently changed, transformed into a three-minute play of sorts with music, characters, audience and dancing!

The dialogue about why dancers dance and why people want to learn to dance should be expanded to include the immense complexities of human nature and not limited to what any one individual or group believes are the reasons. I hope the conversation will continue to grow and that new voices will add to the dialogue. It should be an ongoing discovery since no one has all the answers.
     My viewpoint was formed over the years through my deep appreciation and long lasting relationship with the arts. I have played the violin, sang in choruses, worked in an art classroom, performed in dance, taught dancing, choreographed dance routines, written poetry and short stories and acted in plays. I am looking forward to a day when I will have the time to oil paint! 

Dance is an art form. It is “poetry in motion.” It functions as a creative response, ekphrasis, to the art of music. It is a continuing story-telling among dancers that is created by dance partnerships and changed when observed by anyone.

* Quantum Physics’ Observer Effect (Wikipedia): “In physics the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observation will make on the phenomenon being observed. This is often the result of instruments that, by necessity, alter the state of what they measure in some manner. This effect can be observed in many domains of physics.”

Additional dance info:
http://pwdancetime.blogspot.com/ or http://www.dancetime.com/

About the Author

Pattie Wells hails from San Diego, California where she writes article and video blogs for her world dance resource website at DanceTime.com. Also, Pattie is working on several writing projects including her new website at PattieWells.com, a novel in linked stories and a poetry manuscript titled Fire In Rain.  In addition, she continues to teach a limited number of private dance lessons in San Diego including dance lessons for weddings.

DANCE KINESIOLOGY: THE ANKLES

       This dance blog article will include a definition and discussion of dance kinesiology followed by a short piece on using the ankles in dance. The study of muscular movement and mechanics of human motion is called kinesiology. It covers areas in sports, exercise, massage, injuries, sports medicine and dance.

       The study of sports kinesiology uses objective measurement like scores, time to achieve a goal or distance measurements while measurement in dance is more subjective with emphasis on aesthetics and expression. Also, the objective for sports is different than for dance. Dance is more of a language that communicates emotions, sensations, experiences and thoughts.

       In social dancing, the communication is between partners, while in dancesport it extends outward to the audience and focus is on aesthetics. Social dancing is communication through connection with attention to technique, form and aesthetics.

       In all forms of dancing, dancers benefit from a kinesthetic understanding of movement and the effect of gravity and force vectors. For instance, our kinesthetic abilities aid in soft landing in leaps but also how to move through our hips, knees and ankles to absorb shock from the floor and prevent injuries. Using the knees, hips and ankles keeps a dancer grounded and contributes to a better connection with the partner. Upcoming dance tips and blog articles will focus on hip and knee action while here the focus is on using the ankles in dance.

       Two ways that muscles work are flexion and extension. The muscles involved in flexion are referred to as flexors. Flexion is akin to bending a limb, e.g. bending our knees can be referred to as flexing the knees or flexing a muscle like an arm bending. In flexing there are muscles that are contracting and opposing ones that are stretching (lengthening). The muscles for extension are referred to as extensors. Extension is like straightening a limb, e.g. a straight leg or arm or pointing the toes.

       A thorough understanding of how the ankles are involved in dancing is essential for proper technique in dance. The human foot is complex and does not land on the floor like a hoof. Generally, it rolls onto the floor moving from the heel, instep, ball, toes or from the toes, ball, instep and heels. We transfer weight from one foot to the other by pushing off of the supporting foot in a peeling action; peeling off a foot and peeling onto a foot. The ankle also can roll inward or outward as in supination and pronation.

       In social ballroom dancing, we use the inside edge to the center blade of the foot and seldom if ever roll to the outside edge of the foot. While there is a difference in the foot action between smooth and rhythm dancing, both use flexion and extension of the feet through the ankle to lift off and land. Using the whole foot in a rolling action accomplishes a softening of the movement.

       The American style smooth dances (except Tango) use rise and fall with the knees flexing evenly so there is no Cuban hip action like the rhythm dances. The smooth dances that use less or no foot rise and fall like the Viennese waltz and tango, still use the ankles to accomplish flight through projection so the movement is lateral rather than vertical.

       The American style rhythm dances including the swing dances most often use a ball-flat footwork with a rolling action and no rise and fall. While the Latin dances like cha cha, rumba and mambo use a Cuban hip action with a knees flexion and extension, the swing dances use a swing hip action. Extension and flexion of the ankles and knees with a rolling footwork is absolutely necessary to achieve good technique in the rhythm and swing dances.

       West Coast swing dancers use flexion and extension of the knees, ankles and feet constantly while dancing to create and maintain good connection and form. Proper ankle action is crucial for establishing and keeping connection in West Coast swing. The aesthetics of West Coast swing is improved by using more flexion and extension in the knees, ankles and feet.  On all the beats, one knee is flexed while the other is in extension and before the weight is transferred the hip flexors are engaged, the foot is in extension as it is placed in position and the knee is in extension as the weight arrives onto the weighted foot.

       Using the ankles improves all dancing including social ballroom, swing, blues, Argentine tango, Latin dance, nightclub two-step, hustle, West Coast swing, country western, salsa, merengue, bachata, rhythm dances, Lindy hop, balboa and jitterbug.

       A synergy between the left and right hemispheres of the brain is necessary when learning to dance in order to merge the science of movement and the art of dance.

Additional dance info: https://www.dancetime.com

About the Author

Pattie Wells hails from San Diego, California where she writes article and video blogs for her world dance resource website at DanceTime.com. Also, Pattie is working on several writing projects including her new website at PattieWells.com, a novel in linked stories and a poetry manuscript titled Fire In Rain.  In addition, she continues to teach a limited number of private dance lessons in San Diego including dance lessons for weddings.

DANCE LESSONS SAN DIEGO

"Selecting a dance studio in San Diego."

         In recent years, televised dancing on “Dancing with the Stars” and other television shows has popularized the world of ballroom dancing, aka, social partner dancing. This has led to a dramatic increase in interest for dancing and dance lessons. While TV shows portray the glamour and glitz of Hollywood stars and Dancesport, there are many people who would like to add dancing to their lives without having to do Olympic type training.

In 1997, the International Olympic Committee recognized the International DanceSport Federation as the sole body for dancesport. However, it has not been included in the Olympics to date. It is important to establish which arena of dance you are interested in before taking your first dance lesson in San Diego.

There are three arenas of dance lessons: social dance lessons, performance dance lessons or competition dance lessons, aka, dancesport. So first make a decision as to why you want to learn to dance. Social dancing is a good way to socialize, exercise and meet new friends. Some people prefer sports and the challege of dancesport, other prefer a more artistic endeavor as can be found in performance dancing. An important distinction to learn early is that dancesport is not social dancing. When you watch dancesport, remember it is NOT social dancing, it is a competitive sport.

Here are some tips for selecting a quality dance studio and/or dance instructor for social partner dance lessons in San Diego. There are several types of dance lessons including: private (individual) dance lessons, group class dance lessons, semi-private dance lessons, workshop dance lessons and warm up dance lessons (workshops) at dance parties.

There are several dance genres including American style rhythm and smooth dance, Nightclub dancing, International style Latin and standard dancing, Country Western dancing and even Cajun or Blues dancing.

American style dancing is done socially, competitively and for performances. It includes two divisions: rhythm and smooth dancing. The rhythm dances are rumba, cha cha, mambo, bolero, East Coast swing, samba and West Coast swing. These are the classifications used at competitions and by some dance organization. I like to separate the swing dances into their own category including Lindy hop, shag, West and East Coast swing and jive. The American style smooth dances include: foxtrot, waltz, tango and Viennese waltz.

The Nightclub dances include the Hustle and NightClub Two Step but other Latin and swinng dances are often included like salsa, bachata, merengue and the East Coast swing, West Coast swing, Lindy hop, Carolina shag, St. Louis shag and balboa. Argentine tango dancing is often included in the Nightclub dance category.

The International style dance lessons in San Diego are divided into two categories. Latin dance includes the rumba, cha cha, samba, jive and paso doble. The standard dances include the waltz, foxtrot, tango, quickstep and Viennese waltz.

Cajun dance lessons in San Diego include Cajun waltz, jig and zydeco.

After you have decided what type of dancing you are interested in, it is important to look for the right type of dance studio and/or professional dance instructor. The various dance studios in San Diego specialize in different areas of dance.

Some of the dance studios feature mostly dancesport with an emphasis on International Latin and standard dance lessons. There are a few San Diego dance studios and/or dance instructors that specialize in performance dancing with dance lessons, dance workshops and rehearsals geared toward a particular performance. A few dance studios in San Diego specialize in social dance lessons featuring American style rhythm and smooth dance lessons, nightclub dance lessons, swing dance lessons and country western dance lessons.

Once you have determined the right dance genre for yourself then it’s time to check out the dance lessons offered at the San Diego dance studios. The local dance studios are spread out across the county so you can find a dance studio in La Mesa, North County Inland and Coastal plus in the heart of San Diego including Kearny Mesa, Hillcrest and Baypark.

I recommend you choose a storefront dance studio and not a room in an apartment, converted garage or someone’s living room.  Check out the dance studio’s on the web, look at their websites and their online presence including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Look for a dance studio with a longstanding good reputation, ask your family, friends and co-workers for a recommendation. Some dance studios crop up when lease prices are low and vanish in a short period time. 

Go and check out the dance facility, do they have a floating hardwood floor that  provides the appropriate comfort for your feet and legs. Is there a professional sound system, good acoustics, a comfortable large space, a courteous office staff, greeters, adequate lighting and parking, reasonable fees, a professional dance staff, and are the policies fair and clear. Most independent dance studios do not use contracts for private or group class dance lessons. Remember to ask the studio their refund policy.

Here are some tips on selecting a professional dance instructor in San Diego. Check their website or ask for a resume or bio. Find out if they are associated with a professional association or dance studio. Ask them what they specialize in, for example, American or International dancing, social or competitive dance lessons, etc. 

Also, inquire where they learned to teach dancing and if they teach social dancing. Find out if they offer dance classes, individual lessons and semi-private lessons and how long they have been teaching including how many hours per week on average they teach dance. It is important to know if they have been trained to teach or are competitors turned teacher.

Many dance instructors teach part time, find out if they teach full-time or part time and who taught them to teach. Check out their dance classes, workshops and dance students. For social dance instruction, it is important to know if they teach lead/follow techniques rather than fancy dance sequences for dance couples or dance competitors.

It is important to determine if they use current teaching methods like conceptual learning and kinesiology or do they still use a rote dance pattern learning system.  Make sure to find out if their emphasis is dancesport or social dance, American or International style dance lessons. Can you find them in San Diego advertisements like Yellowpages.com, online newspapers, Google or PPC ads and do they offer online discounts.

Check to see if they have taught at the colleges and Universities, on the faculty in the dance and music departments or in the recreation departments or ballroom dance clubs. Find out if they have taught in the schools, community centers or private colleges.

        One of the important questions to ask, is do they continue to train and update their knowledge of dance instruction to stay current. Where or with what organizations do they continue to improve their dance teaching, revise their methods and update their dancing and dance teaching. 
        Most importantly, learning to dance should be a pleasurable experience that contributes to your fun, fitness and friendships. Find a dance community that fits your needs. Keep looking until you find the right fit for you. Live long and dance!

More info about dance at: https://www.dancetime.com/

About the Author

Pattie Wells hails from San Diego, California where she writes article and video blogs for her world dance resource website at DanceTime.com. Also, Pattie is working on several writing projects including her new website at PattieWells.com, a novel in linked stories and a poetry manuscript titled Fire In Rain.  In addition, she continues to teach a limited number of private dance lessons in San Diego including dance lessons for weddings.

A PASSION FOR LATIN DANCING!

What is Latin dancing? There are two definitions for Latin dance. One is used to refer to the International Latin competition dances: cha cha, rumba, samba, jive and paso doble. The other definition is used more generally to refer to the dances that originated in South America, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and other places in the Caribbean. These Latin dances include the mambo, cha cha, salsa, merengue, rumba, bolero, samba and bachata. There are many more Latin dances but these are the dances most often danced in the U.S. in social dance communities and Latin dance performances.

For our purposes we will use the second definition. In American rhythm competition the Latin dances include: cha cha, rumba, bolero and, at times, merengue and samba. We will discuss the American style Latin social dances in this article.

Many of these dances originated or became popular in the early 20^th century. However, most have earlier roots in the music and rhythms that preceded the current forms of the dances.

Mambo music is rumored to have started in the 1930’s in Cuba and was heavily influenced by Jazz musicians. It spread to Mexico City and New York and eventually evolved from its original form to include a break step on count two after dance studios in the U.S. formalized the dance.

The cha cha also originated in Cuba in the early nineteen fifties from Cuban music with a split fourth beat. The dancers introduced a chasse danced on beats 4 & 1 with a break step on count 2 like mambo. Cha cha is danced to Latin pop or rock but can also be danced to contemporary music like rock, disco, soul or pop. It is a favorite in venues that offer Latin music dance nights.

The rumba evolved when African and Spanish rhythms were combined from dances done in the 1920’s and 30’s. It took it current form in the late 1940’s. Also, rumba bolero evolved but is danced to slower rumba style music. The bolero is a unique Latin dance in that it incorporates Cuban hip action, rise and fall, and contra body movement more so than the box rumba or cha cha.

Samba originated in Bahia, Brazil and became popular in the 1930’s even though there were forms of the samba danced in the early 20^th century. Samba music incorporates African rhythms. The samba is often danced in Carnival celebrations throughout Brazil and across the globe. The samba is not spot dance like most of the Latin dances but instead travels around the ballroom line of dance. The samba has a unique hip action that differs from mambo, cha cha or rumba.

The rumba, cha cha, samba, bolero are considered classic American style ballroom dances while the salsa, merengue and bachata are considered more nightclub or street dances. This may be significant in that ballroom dance studios generally attempt to standardize dances in order to teach them to everyone. This formalization is a process, which many dances have gone through, starting as street dances and moving into a more formal style that is documented by dance educators. A recent dance genre that went through this process was the Country Western two-step. 

The salsa Latin dance is very popular today. It originated in the 1970’s heavily influenced by Eddie Torres. The salsa evolved from mambo and is similar but the break step is often done on count one instead of two. The knee and hip action are not as staccato as in mambo or cha cha. Salsa is probably the most popular nightclub Latin style dance in the U.S. currently. In most salsa dance venues you will also find people dancing merengue and the bachata.

The merengue originated in the Dominican Republic but may have been influenced by Haitian dance rhythms. It is a walking style dance with softened knees bending in an alternating fashion to achieve a Cuban hip action. The music almost always accompanies salsa dance music in Latin dance venues.

The bachata has become very popular in the last decade. It originated in the Dominican Republic in a different form in the 1950’s but slowly evolved to its current form around 2000. Bachata music is a Caribbean style music that uses a three step followed by a tap or hold on count four. Sometimes a hip pop is used on the fourth beat. The bachata is rapidly becoming one of the most popular dances today.

The Latin dances, generally are spot dances rather than dances that move down the line of dance like the smooth dances, waltz, foxtrot, tango and Viennese waltz. The exception is samba, which does move around the dance floor. The dance frame is slightly more relaxed than the smooth dances and the body below the rib cage has freedom to move using hip motion. The knees alternate bending in most of the Latin dances and the ankles are uses to achieve lateral movement and to press into the floor. In most of the Latin dances, there are no heel leads. The Latin dances generally use static balance rather than body flight.

Dancers often choose Latin dances for performances because of their inherent beauty. The art of Latin dancing is witnessed even in social settings as dancers often move into a one or two hand position allowing for graceful, ballet-like or jazz arm movements, pointing of the feet, turn out of the leg and sway creating very graceful, sensual movements plus a certain amount of spontaneous choreography.

Other dance genres are strongly influenced by the Latin dances like hustle, which is sometimes called Latin hustle. The East Coast style of hustle, New York hustle, uses considerable Latin technique. Also, nightclub two-step used sway and hip movement early in its evolution in the 1970’s, although it uses less in its current form. Latin dance styling has also influenced West Coast swing and Argentine tango.

Why Latin dance? The Latin dances can be done on smaller dance floors like cruises, nightclubs and at weddings. Many couples are choosing Latin songs to dance at their weddings and requesting salsa, bachata and merengue for their wedding dance.

Also, there are many health benefits gained from dancing in general but Latin dancing has some specific health benefits from the body mechanics used for Latin styling. The hip flexors are constantly working to achieve hip movement and the lats are strengthened as a result of the work they do to maintain a lifted sternum. There are isometric benefits from the physical connection used in the compression and leverage used to achieve connection while dancing with a partner particularly in one or two hand position. The Latin dances also increase flexibility in the torso, hips, knees, ankles, shoulders and feet by the stretching required while performing many of the movements in the Latin dances.

Latin music is very popular currently, especially the salsa, cha cha, merengue and bachata. There are many dance clubs featuring Latin music throughout the U.S. and abroad. There are Latin dance venues available every night of the week in San Diego, California. Also, most dance studios offer Latin dance parties and ballroom dance venues always include a lot of Latin music on their playlists. Passion reigns supreme in the Latin dances. Many social dancers possess a true lifelong passion for the Latin dances including myself.

So, shall we Latin dance? Which is your favorite Latin dance: Mambo, cha cha, rumba, samba, bolero, salsa, merengue or bachata?

(All or part of this article can be reprinted or used for dance education if is attributed, credited to the author, Pattie Wells). For additional dance articles go to http://www.dancetime.com/ or www.pwdancetime.blogspot.com.

About the Author

Pattie Wells hails from San Diego, California where she writes article and video blogs for her world dance resource website at DanceTime.com. Also, Pattie is working on several writing projects including her new website at PattieWells.com, a novel in linked stories and a poetry manuscript titled Fire In Rain.  In addition, she continues to teach a limited number of private dance lessons in San Diego including dance lessons for weddings.

SHALL WE DANCE, BALLROOM?

Part 1: Shall We Dance, Ballroom?

The word Ball, in Ballroom dance, is derived from the Latin (also Italian) word, ballare, which translated means “to dance.” Since ballroom dancing is done in a hall or room, the word “room” was added. The term eventually referred not only to the hall where dancing occurred but also to type of dancing as in ballroom dance, ballroom dancer and ballroom dancing.

Early historical records trace the origins of ballroom dance to the late 16^th century but the most notable dance, the Minuet, emerged in the middle 17^th century and was popular until the end of the 18^th century. During the Victorian era, waltz dancing emerged but was originally considered scandalous because of the closed dance position used in the waltz dance versus the more open positions of the minuet. Strauss waltz music was instrumental in spreading waltz dancing across Western societies. The Viennese waltz is done in both International and American styles of ballroom dancing across the globe.

During the 20^th century, ballroom dance flourished due to several factors including the wide popularity of jazz and big band plus the importing of many dances from other countries. Many new ballroom dances emerged during this time and other dances evolved with popular music including cha cha, rumba, samba, mambo, foxtrot, tango, quickstep, waltz and all of the swing dances, as well. Professional dance organizations like the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing in Europe and Arthur Murray in the U.S., documented, analyzed and codified the various ballroom dances, organizing them into categories like International and American styles, and the sub-categories of Latin/Modern and Smooth/Rhythm, respectively.

American smooth ballroom dances include waltz, foxtrot, tango and Viennese waltz. American rhythm ballroom dances include rumba, cha cha, mambo, bolero, samba and East Coast swing.

International modern ballroom dances include waltz, foxtrot, tango, Viennese waltz and quickstep. The International Latin ballroom dances include rumba, cha cha, samba, jive and paso doble. International style ballroom dancing has been highly standardized for competition and in order to qualify as a sports category in the Olympics.

Ballroom dance is often used as an umbrella term for all partner dances including social dancing and competition dancing. There are other forms of partner dancing, which fall into the category of social dancing sometimes referred to as the nightclub dances like Argentine tango, West Coast swing, Country Western dancing, Blues dancing, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Cajun dance, Hustle dance, Lindy Hop, Balboa and Night Club Two Step. Also, Hip Hop is a social dance that is not a partner dance.

Square dancing, round dancing and folk dancing are also social partner dances but not included in the category of Ballroom dance. Also, vintage dancing while considered social is not included in ballroom dance. Vintage dance groups are often involved in the preservation of the original dance forms.  Round dancing is ballroom dance sequences for couples to practice their dancing in a group all doing the same routine. 

Over the years, Ballroom dance split into three distinct categories, social dancing, performance dancing and competitive dancing. The latter category of dance is often referred to as Dancesport. Each dance category has its own distinctive features and qualities that fit the particular needs of the dancers involved in these unique areas of dance. Here, I will summarize the three groups but the focus will be on social dance, social dancing and social dancers. The other forms will be discussed in upcoming Dance Talk blogs.  

I believe that performance dance should be considered an art or art form, competitive dance is a sport and social dance is a combination of non-verbal communication, spontaneous creativity and relationship. These are broad categories and there is overlap in each type of dance. Each category fulfills the needs and motivation of different people. Performance dance attracts people with an artistic temperament who want to both express and impress. People who enjoy sports and competition take to Dancesport where connection is not as crucial as in social dancing. Others might enjoy an activity that is both social and healthy that provides a means of expressing oneself creatively with music through dance connection. It is wonderful that dance can provide people who are motivated by different needs, a vehicle to express themselves through music. All three categories contribute to the flourishing dance communities.

Every song danced with a partner is like a short relationship. It involves agreement to the types of rhythm units and variations used, e.g. in rumba a slow followed by two quicks, put another way, a single unit (one weighted step for two beats) followed by a double unit (two weighted steps in two beats). Each partner has a role, either lead or follow. Communication, non-verbal, is essential for the dance to be enjoyable and memorable. It is two people moving to the music in synchrony with varying amounts of spontaneous creativity depending on the dance genre. The dance is not choreographed. The dancers movements respond to the music. Dancing to a piece of music could be considered a form of Ekphrasis, where one medium of art responds to another medium of art by defining its essence and/or form, e.g. a poem about a painting.

As such, social dancing is the artistic expression of two people together, non-verbally communicating to a piece of music using an agreed upon rhythm unit(s) and guidelines for a particular dance genre but allowing for spontaneous creativity as a response to the music. Dance genres vary in the extent that they allow creativity while dancing. Most social dance genres allow dancers to break from the usual rhythm or structure. American style Ballroom dancing is very fluid in its guidelines for creativity, partly by allowing an open position. Nightclub dance genres take creativity even further by allowing dancers to break out of the standard rhythm units like West Coast swing, Argentine tango and Blues dancing.

In recent years, various organizations have attempted to standardize and codify American style dancing. There are certain benefits to standardization like adjudicating at competitions and the creation of national organizations to train dance teachers. However, this push toward standardizing American style dancing is an attempt to structure and conform a style of dance that historically has been open and allows for a variety of patterns, directional alignments and more flexibility for the individual dancers. Since International style ballroom dance has already been standardized, I’m not completely convinced that standardizing American style Ballroom dance is beneficial for social dancing in general, although it does increase the resources available for dance instruction across the country.

Ballroom dancing generally uses music from Western cultures in a Ballroom or hall where everyone dances counterclockwise or in a spot for some of the rhythm dances like cha cha, rumba, mambo, East Coast swing and bolero. Many ballroom dance studios offer strictly Ballroom dance venues and some offer a ballroom and nightclub mix of music for their social dance parties. Generally, certain dance groups prefer to have their own music mix like West Coast swing dancers, Lindy Hoppers, Country Western dancers, Blues dancers, Argentine Tango dancers, Jitterbug/East Coast swing dancers and Hustle dancers. Often the best music mixes include some variety of retro and contemporary music selections and a dash of different dance genres.

I recently read an article published on the BBC website suggesting that Ballroom dancing is one of the best activities to delay the onset and diminish and/or slow the progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s diseases. Check back to the Dance Talk blog for an upcoming discussion of the scientific evidence that supports dancing your way to better health.

Live long and dance!

More dance info at: http://www.dancetime.com/

About the Author

Pattie Wells hails from San Diego, California where she writes article and video blogs for her world dance resource website at DanceTime.com. Also, Pattie is working on several writing projects including her new website at PattieWells.com, a novel in linked stories and a poetry manuscript titled Fire In Rain.  In addition, she continues to teach a limited number of private dance lessons in San Diego including dance lessons for weddings.

Excerpt from Los Tangueros, a story by Pattie Wells

Excerpt of "Los Tangueros," published in ZYZZYVA literary magazine. 

(It is a chapter in my upcoming collected stories novel CAFÉ OF THE MIRRORS) 

La leccion

The practica tradicional allowed men to practice their leads without embarrassment. The dancers made mistakes, corrected errors, and executed the necessary repetitions without fear of humiliation in front of women. This was not the only motivation. Like Carlos, some men simply preferred men. Others, like Ricardo Reyes Basoalta, simply did not want to be seen dancing with women.

Carlos considered Ricardo the best tanguero at the practica, the best possible teacher for Zanetto. He enlisted Ricardo as Zanetto’s instructor.

“We begin.” said Ricardo in fluent English, “with the salida. It is like walking, but the toes stay close to the floor, catlike, and the upper body tilts toward the partner.” 

He reached his hands out to show Zanetto the abrazo.

“Don’t worry my friend, we start with the open abrazo. Lift your arms and bring your feet together until they touch.” 

Zanetto perceived Ricardo as middle aged, a businessman or banker, who towered over the other men and had a broad torso and thick neck.

Ricardo’s enormous hands held Zanetto’s forearms, firmly guiding his movements. He back-led Zanetto, heels and toes close to the floor, upper bodies leaning in. Ricardo’s cologne smelled of jasmine.

“Argentine tango uses lead-and-follow as non-verbal dialogue. The improvisational nature of the dance can only be realized by the complete absence of anticipation.” Ricardo commenced a series of caminadas, counter-clockwise around the hardwood floor.

Zanetto stopped abruptly: “Ah ha, like poetry, which moves across and down the page.”

“An interesting perspective, amigo.” Ricardo grinned. “The stops are periods; hesitations, commas…”

Ricardo surveyed the room, “Carlos, come here and practice caminadas with Zanetto.”

Carlos dashed over. He moved in close to Zanetto. Ricardo walked beside them: “Now we will spend some time on embellishments. We call them adornos, and tango is nothing without adornos.”

He traced the floor with smooth figure eights. “These are ochos. You can do them forward or back.” He whipped his leg in a circle from the knee, finishing in two beats, a boleo. He hooked the back of his knee around Carlos’s thigh and squeezed. “And this, amigos, is my favorite, the gancho or, as you say, the hook.”

“Now I will show you the close embrace.”

Ricardo moved Carlos toward Zanetto so their chests touched. Zanetto cradled Carlos with his right arm behind his back. Carlos placed his forehead on Zanetto’s cheek. His left wrist rested on the back of Zanetto’s neck. The skin of his wrist felt soft as the belly of a baby. His breath tickled. A strand of hair stuck to Zanetto’s lips. It tasted like aloe and clover. Carlos tightened his abrazo, and Zanetto leapt back. 

“Ah,” Ricardo bellowed. “La parada – the stop.” He laughed. He slapped Zanetto on the back. “Bueno, break time. Let’s get a drink.”

All three walked toward the bar, Zanetto in the middle. Ricardo winked at Carlos and said, “La Mordida.” They both laughed. “A sandwich,” Ricardo translated, “a step where the leader places his two feet on each side of his partner’s foot.

Ricardo pulled a white handkerchief from his shirt pocket and wiped his brow, “Don’t worry, relax, we’re done with the lesson.”

“I begin to understand the passion of tango and its difficulty,” Zanetto acknowledged.  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a yellowed piece of napkin with writing on it.

“What have you written? Are you a journalist, amigo?”

“No,” Zanetto answered. “It is a poem, a tango poem, more or less.”

Ricardo grabbed the piece of paper and began reading. He giggled then laughed loudly, “It’s too sissy, amigo, make it more macho, more earthy. It’s too sentimental, too many flowers and rainbows.”

Zanetto straightened up in his chair, “O.K., that’s enough, what do YOU know about poetry, anyway. I have been writing for almost a year now. My friends and family love my poetry. Give it back.”

“Don’t be so sensitive, amigo, I meant no offense.”

Zanetto snatched his poem out of Ricardo’s hands and pushed away from the bar. He raised his right hand to his eyebrow; saluted Ricardo and Carlos, and strode away. Shaking his head, he muttered under his breath, “Tomorrow at the Café Tortoni, I will meet Pablo Neruda and get a true poet’s advise about my poem.”

Intermezzo  

On his way home, Zanetto stopped at the Church of San Pedro Telmo. He entered a pew and knelt. Pressing his palms together, he dropped his head and prayed—to St. Mary of Edessa, asking forgiveness for the pleasure he’d derived from dancing with Carlos and Ricardo. He also prayed to the patron saint of poets, St. David, for inspiration. And for perseverance in the face of doubt and uncertainty. He ended by asking the Virgin Mary to forgive his vanity and arrogance. He asked for a sign from Christ that his passion for poetry sprung from a divine source and was not the devil tempting his ego.

          That night, he slept restlessly, tossing and tormented by nightmares. As a ray of morning sun pierced threadbare curtains and played on cinnamon walls, he wrapped himself in the coarse Indian blanket and sat at the table. He wrestled with disturbing thoughts about Carlos and Ricardo. He remembered their hard bodies, the coarse hair on their arms, the muskiness of sweat mixed with cologne, brandy and tobacco.

He wrote a love letter to Cici. Then he revised his poem, removing the cicadas and lilies, adding a rifle and a black panther.

Pattie's website: http://www.dancetime.com/

About the Author

Pattie Wells hails from San Diego, California where she writes article and video blogs for her world dance resource website at DanceTime.com. Also, Pattie is working on several writing projects including her new website at PattieWells.com, a novel in linked stories and a poetry manuscript titled Fire In Rain.  In addition, she continues to teach a limited number of private dance lessons in San Diego including dance lessons for weddings.

From Swing and Hip Hop to Tango!

When I was in elementary school, I remember watching some older kids dancing while holding hands, spinning and laughing to music blasting from record player spinning a 45- inch vinyl record. I wanted to do what they were doing but it would be twenty five years before I would discover the name of that dance!

Growing up, I loved music and constantly listened to my mom’s classical music like Edward Grieg’s “Hall of the Mountain King. She also played lots of Strauss music especially the Strauss Viennese waltzes, which is what my mother and family danced in their youth.

Then one day, in the early sixties, I saw something on the television that swept me off my feet, Chubby Checker’s “Twist.” Pretty soon it was all the rage across the nation. I decided I had to be an expert at dancing the twist, so I practiced and learned how to twist on one leg or squatting all the way to the floor and while doing back bends. I became the life of my parent’s dinner parties when they invited me out to dance for their guests.

Dancing became my passion and has stayed with me since those early years. Also, I’m certain that dancing changed my life by contributing to my health and happiness through the sheer joy it has given me. I danced often while in High School and taught other girls to dance in my living room. During college, I entered local nightclub dance contests and won prizes, gifts and some extra cash. My favorite music was the fabulous Motown artists and songs. But during these years all the dancing was solo dancing, without holding hands or dancing together. Most people didn’t even look at each other.

Years later while working as a teacher’s assistant in a Junior High art class, the teacher I worked with asked me, “Why don’t you teach dancing since you love to teaching and dancing?” Later that week, I stopped by a neighborhood dance studio and jumped into a dance lesson. I thoroughly enjoyed it but didn’t return until my mom asked me where she could take Tango dance lessons. I mentioned the place that I had taken the dance lesson. It was called “Terry Clark’s Social Dance Studio.” My mom asked me to go to a dance party with her because she didn’t want to go alone. I went. Later that evening, Terry Clark asked me if I wanted to teach dancing at his dance studio. I thought about it and told him I thought it would be a fun job while I was in college. I started teaching dance there late in 1976. I was the only Free Style (Hip Hop) teacher there, so I taught a lot of people how to dance solo while I trained in social partner dancing.

Shortly after I started teaching dance lessons, I was introduced to swing dancing . First, I learned the East Coast swing and immediately recognized it as the dance those older kids were doing all those years ago. I was so thrilled to finally learn swing dancing! Later, I learned the West Coast swing. I fell in love with the West Coast swing dancing in 1977. I have danced West Coast swing pretty much continuously since those early years. It still holds a special place in my heart.

In the early sixties, our culture changed from people dancing together, holding hands and at times pressing up close to each other to people dancing apart and hardly looking at each other for about two decades until the movie Saturday Night Fever brought social and competitive partner dancing back into the lime light. Social partner dancing has been popular ever since. The popular form of dancing shifts from time to time like the Hustle fad shifted to Salsa dancing in the early 80’s then Country Western dancing in the early 90’s with the popularity of Country music. The nineties brought back swing with the neo swing bands and Hustle had a resurgence with the contemporary soul and Hip Hop of the nineties and early two thousands. And Tango resurfaced with the traveling Tango show, Forever Tango, in the eighties. Finally, competition dancing has really fueled West Coast swing, Lindy Hop and Ballroom dancing across the globe with television hits like Dancing with the Stars.

I’m happy that I’ve lived during a period in our culture when people danced close together, holding hands while looking at each other to fabulous genres of music like R&B, Blues, Soul, Funk and Pop. I guess the question now is, “Am I ready to dance even closer ala Argentine Tango?” 

Stay tuned for more at: http://www.pwdancetime.blogspot.com/ or http://www.dancetime.com/

About the Author

Pattie Wells hails from San Diego, California where she writes article and video blogs for her world dance resource website at DanceTime.com. Also, Pattie is working on several writing projects including her new website at PattieWells.com, a novel in linked stories and a poetry manuscript titled Fire In Rain.  In addition, she continues to teach a limited number of private dance lessons in San Diego including dance lessons for weddings.

Dancing from Mambo to Hustle and Salsa!

Social partner dancing can be divided into at least three categories: social dance, performance and competition dancing. Here I will focus on several social dances and their relationship to each other and how they have evolved. This is a quick fly by of Mambo to Salsa through Swing, Cha Cha and Hustle and a discussion on how these dances are all related.

 I believe it is important to understand the way most dance styles evolve organically and syncretically, blending several dance styles and music from different influences over time. In order to trace Salsa dance history, we have to travel through Mambo, Swing, Cha Cha and Hustle.

Mambo is a mix of Afro-Caribbean and Latin American musical rhythms thought to have originated in the early 1940’s. The dance is often attributed to Perez Prado in 1943 playing at La Tropicana in Havana, Cuba. Afro-Cuban and American jazz influenced the development of the dance genre. In the 1990’s, Eddie Torres in New York launched a campaign to bring back the Mambo. The original Mambo dance that breaks on the two beat evolved to Salsa in the 1970’s. Some people think of it as the next generation Mambo.

I danced Mambo regularly in the mid to late 70’s before the Salsa spread to Southern California. It was very popular in dance studios and among dancers that enjoyed dancing to Latin music. I was lucky to be able to dance Mambo with Latin dancers who learned it in the height of its popularity. Among the dancers, there was a joke that Cha Cha evolved for those who could not dance as fast as most popular Mambos. There may be some truth to this but I believe that popular music changed, becoming slower and incorporated a triple rhythm from swing thus creating a perfect environment for the Cha Cha dance to evolve.

Cha Cha became popular in the early 1950’s and was sometimes referred to as the Triple Mambo due because it uses a triple rhythm like swing. Cha Cha can be danced to many different types of music including Cuban, Latin Pop, Latin Rock and contemporary pop. It is believed to have roots in the religious ritual dances of the West Indies. In 1952, it was brought to England and became Ballroom Cha Cha and eventually International Latin Cha Cha. Like Mambo, Cha Cha uses a staccato movement and the break step is on count two. Its popularity has continued into the new millennium. Today it is danced as an American Ballroom dance, a Latin dance and even included in venues that do mostly swing or hustle dancing.

The Hustle dance Hustle started in the 1970’s as a blend of Latin and Swing dance styles mixed to Disco music. Disco music has a rhythm that is more like a thump-thump while other dance genres use a tick tock type rhythm. Of course, there was the early song by Van McCoy titled “The Hustle” recorded in 1975, which led to a widely popular line dance of the same name. The partner dance that became known as the Hustle had earlier incarnations like Latin Hustle, Disco Swing, Rope Hustle, Tango Hustle, Street Hustle then later L.A. Hustle and New York Hustle, both are still danced today. There are styling differences between the N.Y. Hustle and the L.A. Hustle but both incorporate the original 6-count rhythm and the ball flat footwork of the Mambo. The N.Y. Hustle has maintained more of the original Latin styling. American Smooth and Rhythm dancing and West Coast Swing have influenced the L.A. Hustle, so it incorporates a smoother, flowing form of the dance genre.

Finally, we arrive at Salsa dancing, which is a truly syncretic dance form with influences from Mambo, Cha Cha, Swing and Hustle. It’s a true blend of Latin American and European cultural influences like Danzon and Mambo. Styles of Salsa vary from Cuba, New York, Los Angeles, Columbia and Miami. In most of its forms it uses Cuban hip movement but some styles use a slot like Los Angeles style Salsa and others use a more circular motion like the Cuban style. It comes from older traditions in the 1920’s of Afro-Cuban Rumba and Son dancing. L.A. style Salsa generally breaks on count one, whereas, New York breaks on count two like Mambo. Salsa dancing today continues to evolve and incorporate movements from all the other dance genres and remains unique by region of the Americas where it is danced. Salsa's popularity has mushroomed across the globe. Today it is danced all over the world!

There is much left to say about Latin dancing from Mambo to Salsa and beyond. In recent times other Latin dances have thrived like Merengue and Bachata. Look for upcoming articles on these fantastic dances!

~The Dancetime Center is proud to have been one of San Diego's premier dance centers from 1998 to 2013!

More dance info at DanceTime.com!

About the Author

Pattie Wells hails from San Diego, California where she writes article and video blogs for her world dance resource website at DanceTime.com. Also, Pattie is working on several writing projects including her new website at PattieWells.com, a novel in linked stories and a poetry manuscript titled Fire In Rain.  In addition, she continues to teach a limited number of private dance lessons in San Diego including dance lessons for weddings.

Ballroom, Partner or Social Dance?

I am often reminded that not everyone eats, drinks and breathes dancing like I have since age nine. One day while hanging out around the front desk at The Dancetime Center someone asked me, “What is this type of dancing called?” One would think that after three decades of teaching dance classes to tens of thousands of people, I would have a quick standard answer, but I didn’t, so I began mumbling things like social dancing, social ballroom dancing, partner dancing and realized that each of these seem to be part of the answer but not the whole answer.

Social dance isn’t quite right because it includes square dance, round dance and line dance and I don’t do these much although I do secretly like line dancing. It has been called Ballroom dancing for years but somehow in the 21^st century it doesn’t seem to include all the dances we do like Zydeco or Blues dancing. So I have concluded that it might be close to correct to call it “social partner dancing,” so that it can include Country Western dancing, some folk dances like Polka and Argentine Tango.

Here are a few ways to look at the classifications of Social Partner Dance and by the way, hip hop, is a social non-partner dance, which is also taught in many dance centers.

The classic Ballroom dances Ballroom dancing, which are classified by organizations like DVIDA and include certain dances because they are done competitively, are divided into two main categories of American style and International style. Generally, we dance American style in the United States as a social dance and it is also included at competitions under two sub-categories: American Smooth includes Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango and Viennese Waltz and American Rhythm includes Rumba, Cha Cha, Mambo, Bolero and East Coast Swing. Some of us still do an American Samba as well.

International style is danced at competitions and taught instead of American style in Europe and Asia. It includes Latin dance genres like Cha Cha, Rumba, Samba and Paso Doble. International Standard dances include Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango Viennese Waltz and Quickstep.

In recent years, the club dances have become very popular and include dances like Hustle dance, Night Club Two Step, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and Swango but also could include the swing dances like East & West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, BalSwing and Charleston.

I like to think of the swing dances in their own category including  East Coast Swing, Jitterbug, Lindy Hop, Baboa, Charleston, Collegiate Shag, Carolina Shag, West Coast Swing and Swango. Although Swango could just as easily be put into a group which might be labeled Fusion dances where you incorporate two different dances into one song.

The Country Western dances seem to rise and fall in popularity every decade or so and includes the Country Western Two Step, Waltz, Cha Cha, Night Club Two Step and Polka but there is the very enjoyable Cowboy Cha Cha, which is kind of a partner and line dance mixed together.

Folk dancers also sometimes partner dance in the Polka and Viennese Waltz.

Cajun dancing is done to New Orleans Cajun and Zydeco style music, which includes the Cajun Jig, Zydeco and Cajun Waltzes.

Blues Dancing is a slow dance done to Blues music if you’re not West Coast swinging!

Tango has at least three different styles: Argentine Tango, American Tango and International Tango.

This sums up my short discussion on the social partner dances or does partner social dance sound better? And some ideas as  how they might be categorized. When I first started dancing, there was an American Smoothe dance that I never learned and seems to have disappeared called the Peabody. I seldom meet people who know or dance it and it seems near extinction. Maybe someone should start a Peabody Society to resurrect the dance?

Hopefully, this sheds some light on what we do at the Pattie Wells’ Dancetime Center. Interestingly, we teach lessons, group dance classes in most of these dance genres. The ones not offered in a group dance class are taught in individual private dance lessons or we have an instructors who can teach all of the dances in this blog with the exception of Peabody!

Also, be cautious about the terms "I swing" or "I'm a swinger," or referring to yourself or anyone else as a swinger since this term refers to something other than dancing and is usually done among couples in private settings. Certainly, we don't offer this at my dance center (wink)! So remember to always use the word “dance” when you mention swing, swing dancing!

The Dancetime Center is proud to offer San Diego's Best Dance Lessons since 1998!

More dance info at: http://www.dancetime.com/

About the Author

Pattie Wells hails from San Diego, California where she writes article and video blogs for her world dance resource website at DanceTime.com. Also, Pattie is working on several writing projects including her new website at PattieWells.com, a novel in linked stories and a poetry manuscript titled Fire In Rain.  In addition, she continues to teach a limited number of private dance lessons in San Diego including dance lessons for weddings.