THE 5 STAGES OF LEARNING BALLROOM DANCE
How does the mystery of learning to dance take place?
Whether it is mastering a new step or a new layer of technique, we can expect our bodies to pass through five distinct stages of ability to dance new information - with a teacher, on our own, with music, as a habit, and as our own. If we are learning something simple, our bodies may be able to pass through the following stages very quickly or even skip some. If we are learning something difficult, it may take longer for our bodies to learn it. In either case, our bodies will pass through the following 5 steps.
A. LEARNING A NEW STEP
1. With a teacher
You have the ability to execute the step while following the teacher or under a teacher's guidance.
2. Slowly on your own
You are able to execute the step slowly by yourself with no outside prompting.
3. To music
You are able to dance the step up to the speed of the music.
4. As a habit
You are able to insert this step with minimal attention in context with other steps and you dance it
correctly without much concentration.
5. As your own
Your new move is so much a habit that you are able to dance it on the dance floor even if anyone else is watching. It is part of your natural dance vocabulary.
B. TRAINING A NEW LAYER OF TECHNIQUE
Training technique is going from learning what steps to dance to choosing and training how you would like your body to dance it, for example dancing with better posture or adding body action, foot use, or arm and leg coordination. Learning a social dance generally requires a very small amount of learning technique, while learning dance for performance or competition tends to require much more technique to train your body to do what you would it like to do.
When we train in technique, your body will pass through the same 5 stages of dance ability milestones as when learning a new step. However, in this case, we will use a particular step or sequence of steps as a first draft that we then improve by integrate each layer of technique, i.e. each improved way of moving, into our previous movement habits.
1. With a teacher
You are able to integrate and use this layer of technique throughout the step under a teacher's guidance.
2. Slowly on your own
You are able to consistently apply this technique throughout the step slowly by yourself. You are aware of your body's tendency to slip back to the old way of moving and can correct it without a teacher specifically drawing your attention to those moments.
3. To music
You are able to use this improvement technique throughout the step pattern up to the speed of your chosen music. In this stage, executing this technique throughout this step is your sole focus. You have not yet added other steps before or after the step or other distractions.
4. As a habit
You are able to insert this step with minimal attention in context with other steps, and your technique is now an integral part of how your body experiences this step. Your body has embodied this new technique as its own. When you dance the step, your body automatically uses your improved technique throughout the step without having to think about it.
5. As a habit in performance
This new layer of technique is so much a habit and feels so natural to you that you use it automatically to express yourself as a dancer. It feels difficult and requires effort to go back to the old, less efficient way of moving.
How does the mystery of learning to dance take place?
Whether it is mastering a new step or a new layer of technique, we can expect our bodies to pass through five distinct stages of ability to dance new information - with a teacher, on our own, with music, as a habit, and as our own. If we are learning something simple, our bodies may be able to pass through the following stages very quickly or even skip some. If we are learning something difficult, it may take longer for our bodies to learn it. In either case, our bodies will pass through the following 5 steps.
A. LEARNING A NEW STEP
1. With a teacher
You have the ability to execute the step while following the teacher or under a teacher's guidance.
2. Slowly on your own
You are able to execute the step slowly by yourself with no outside prompting.
3. To music
You are able to dance the step up to the speed of the music.
4. As a habit
You are able to insert this step with minimal attention in context with other steps and you dance it
correctly without much concentration.
5. As your own
Your new move is so much a habit that you are able to dance it on the dance floor even if anyone else is watching. It is part of your natural dance vocabulary.
B. TRAINING A NEW LAYER OF TECHNIQUE
Training technique is going from learning what steps to dance to choosing and training how you would like your body to dance it, for example dancing with better posture or adding body action, foot use, or arm and leg coordination. Learning a social dance generally requires a very small amount of learning technique, while learning dance for performance or competition tends to require much more technique to train your body to do what you would it like to do.
When we train in technique, your body will pass through the same 5 stages of dance ability milestones as when learning a new step. However, in this case, we will use a particular step or sequence of steps as a first draft that we then improve by integrate each layer of technique, i.e. each improved way of moving, into our previous movement habits.
1. With a teacher
You are able to integrate and use this layer of technique throughout the step under a teacher's guidance.
2. Slowly on your own
You are able to consistently apply this technique throughout the step slowly by yourself. You are aware of your body's tendency to slip back to the old way of moving and can correct it without a teacher specifically drawing your attention to those moments.
3. To music
You are able to use this improvement technique throughout the step pattern up to the speed of your chosen music. In this stage, executing this technique throughout this step is your sole focus. You have not yet added other steps before or after the step or other distractions.
4. As a habit
You are able to insert this step with minimal attention in context with other steps, and your technique is now an integral part of how your body experiences this step. Your body has embodied this new technique as its own. When you dance the step, your body automatically uses your improved technique throughout the step without having to think about it.
5. As a habit in performance
This new layer of technique is so much a habit and feels so natural to you that you use it automatically to express yourself as a dancer. It feels difficult and requires effort to go back to the old, less efficient way of moving.
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By Suzie Hardt Author of Moving As Two: A Guide For Ballroom Dancers 4 x United States Amateur Senior 1 10 Dance Ballroom & Latin Champion |
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