Joy in Motion

Highly Effective Instructors Series, Habit 2: Stepping Stones & Beyond

For the true lover of dance, exploring all aspects of their art form brings great joy and exhilaration. For the true lover of teaching, the same satisfaction is found in bringing their passion for dance into the lives of others. It is often the case that dancers who reach a certain level in their dancing move on to teaching. However, teaching is not a higher level of the art of dance, but its own art altogether. Dance instructors must therefore find themselves navigating and uniting two unique sets of skills. This can be both challenging and rewarding to the instructor who is willing to spend the same time and energy on the art of teaching as they do on the art of dancing.

The seven habits of dance instructors who are highly effective at making a meaningful and lasting impact on their students’ dancing, as outlined in Seven Habits of Highly Effective Dance Instructors, are…

1) Professionalism and Respect
2) From Stepping Stones to Beyond
3) Dance Skill and Style
4) The Art of Adjustment
5) Real Community
6) A Student of Teaching
7) Pure Motivation

Read on to learn more about the second habit, teaching dance from stepping stones to beyond. Please also check out the other six habits on the Joy in Motion website.

Habit #2: From Stepping Stones to Beyond.

In anything we seek to learn – from languages to sports to bodies of knowledge – there is a natural progression of skills that takes place. In the excitement of learning, it can be tempting to skip the basics in favor of the more challenging, difficult, and “flashy” aspects of the discipline. However, doing this is like building a house on a rocky foundation. Eventually everything crumbles and must be rebuilt. Instructors are in a unique position to prevent that crumbling in their students’ dance lives and instead encourage a natural and enjoyable progression of skills.

Most dancers have at some point danced with a partner who attempted a series of complicated patterns without the proper technique and skill to lead or follow them. And sometimes these partners have even been considered by spectators and less-developed dancers to be skilled. Unfortunately, dance culture can oftentimes encourage the quick learning of steps and advanced figures over a more natural progression as skills and understanding increase. Instructors can oftentimes contribute to this culture unless they carefully evaluate the message they send in their classes.

Choreographed sequences – practiced over and over until the student can repeat them consistently over time – can be helpful in ensuring these movements stay in the student’s dance vocabulary. They can also provide the student with a sense of accomplishment at having learned the sequence. However, one of the goals of teaching choreographed sequences in social dance should be to provide a pattern with which to practice the techniques that will transfer into the rest of the student’s dancing. These techniques include partnering skills or connection (leading and following), body mechanics, spacing, timing, quality of movement, and musicality. They are not just taught on top of or in addition to the steps; they are the qualities that give life to the steps.

The first goal of teaching at the beginning level is to give students the minimal set of steps and techniques they need to communicate with their partner, get moving to the music, and begin the journey of social dance. In other words, the idea is to get them started and give them the tools they will need to dance with anyone at any level. A student can learn a complicated turn combination, but how many partners will be they be able to lead or follow in this exact sequence of moves? And how often would they likely perform the same combination in a single song or during the course of the night? The idea is to teach dancers patterns, guidelines, and techniques that will apply to most if not all partners and dances. This way the teacher is not giving the student something they can only re-create with other members of that class or students of that teacher, but rather something that will apply in the wider dance community. While it is of course appropriate and acceptable to teach a choreographed sequence, emphasis needs to be placed on the understanding and application of these concepts within the steps, not just memorizing the steps themselves.

As students progress, the effective instructor can move from general concepts to more specific techniques and skills. However, the first goal of developing quality movement and authentic leading and following still applies. The second goal then is for the dancer to reach the stage of spontaneous creation and creative self-expression. At this stage, he or she no longer simply repeats the same skill in the same way every time but begins to bring their individuality to the dance and add layers of musicality and improvisation as they build their skills. As the dancer progresses to this second stage, they are usually tempted at first to throw too much into the dance all at once. The effective instructor encourages the dancer to develop an ear for the music and an attentiveness to their partner, and to use these as inspiration for the “flashier” aspects of the dance.

But what about those students who come to their instructor just for the tricks and the flashy moves? And what about students who are looking to perform or compete? Although the moves and concepts will be more specific and advanced, the importance of reinforcing proper technique and dynamics as listed above is still of utmost importance. Tricks and flashy moves – as used in performances, competitions, and sometimes even in social dancing – feel and look the most authentic when they are based on proper technique and when they are truly lead and followed even if they are choreographed.

Victor Wooten, in his beautiful book The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music, illustrates the same principle in the context of performing music. Please note that he uses the term technique here in reference to flashy tricks, not to the basic building blocks or techniques that underlie the discipline.

Without warning, Michael hopped up, picked up three sticks, and started juggling them. I was impressed. What he did next was even more surprising. He walked to the front of the car and used the sticks to play a rhythmic pattern on the hood – and never stopped juggling the whole time.

“That’s pretty good,” I remarked.

“How’s my drumming?” he asked.

“Great!”

“Close your eyes and listen.”

I closed my eyes and listened closely. In doing so, I realized that his drumming was not that good at all. His juggling was great, but his rhythm was unsteady, mediocre at best.

“Fooled you with my performance,” Michael stated as he caught the sticks in one hand.

“I guess you did.”

“A great performance can make anyone sound good.”

“I see.”

“Technique often serves the same purpose,” he added. “The use of flashy techniques can cause the audience to start watching and stop listening. At the appropriate time, this can be a useful tool. The problem with it is, more times than not, it is the musician who stops listening and not the audience. That should never happen. More and more bass players are learning the flashy techniques first.” For some reason, he pointed at me as he spoke. “They should develop a more solid foundation before they venture off in that direction. It doesn’t matter what the technique is; just make it solid before you make it flashy.”

I knew that he was talking about me, so I fired back with my own comment. “I’ve seen you use flashy techniques before.”

“Yes you have, but when you close your eyes, what do you hear? You still hear good Music. You don’t have to watch it to enjoy it. I make sure that even my flashiest techniques are used musically. I can’t say that about all players.”

I could’ve tried, but there was really nothing for me to say. Still feeling a bit defensive, I kept quiet and listened.

“Here’s the difference,” he continued. “My techniques are not born out of the need to be flashy. They are born out of the desire to produce with my hands what I hear with my mind. Usually, if I keep my mind focused on Music, the technique will create itself. Remember, like talking, techniques are tools and not the end result.”

Wooten’s story shows that tricks are empty without authenticity and substance. This can also be seen in the dance world with performers who may look great while performing but have the reputation of being incapable of leading or following in a social dance environment. The problem is that many dancers are overly concerned with flashiness and not as concerned about authentic dancing as they should be. The complete dancer is one whose style and substance are equal, who is capable of true brilliance and not just magic tricks. The effective instructor bases their instruction on this principle.

The difficulty that instructors encounter is that many students are impatient with learning the skills in their proper progression. In a culture of instant gratification, it is tempting to give them the quick fix. However, the effective instructor is passionate about authentic dancing. Communicating the deeper aspects of the dance with fun and passion most often overcomes resistance and wins over students who come in with a different mindset. The role of the instructor is oftentimes to guide students where they never thought they wanted to go and to show them that it is worth it. An occasional student may leave to seek the empty tricks, but the ones who stay will learn how to dance more fully and more beautifully. And when they do tricks, they will be based on good dancing.

The best dancers – and the most effective instructors – are those who realize that dancing is more than the sum of its steps. Beginners in the world of social dance need to be exposed to this attitude early on and carry it with them throughout their learning experience. Dance instructors who emphasize the deeper qualities – connection, musicality, energy, creativity, self-expression – through the physical medium of the steps, moves, and tricks will find themselves making a lasting and meaningful impact in their students’ lives.

Comments