Technique can be a really easy thing to obsess about as a beginner. It is something concrete to concentrate on. However, it can be confusing when different instructors have different techniques to accomplish the same thing. (I can’t even count the many different ways I’ve been taught to do the basic lindy hop swing out.)
It’s good to know different ways to do things. Different techniques will come in handy when adjusting to new partners, or various styles of music. But in figuring out YOUR own basics, I believe the trick is to do what works for you. Well, within reason… for example, becoming a forceful lead because it works for you is going too far.
What do you think? How do you navigate through learning different techniques?
3 responses so far ↓
1 Mandy // Dec 6, 2007 at 8:54 pm
I think that when you attend a dance class you should try your best to do things just as the instructors say. Even if you think their approach is bunk, or it doesn’t match what someone else taught you, just try it. You paid to be there, so you should try getting into their heads for an hour, and who knows, something might be great for you. If you don’t try out all those ideas, then your dance will never evolve. It is better to create ‘your’ basic out of the full range of possibilities, than to use the first technique you learn.
I’ve heard instructors complain before that they sometimes have classes that totally ignore all that is said, and just continue dancing how they’ve always danced. What’s the point of paying for that?
2 Natalia // Dec 7, 2007 at 9:50 am
This is always a big deal in Middle Eastern dance, since it does have it’s roots in folk and social dances from across a fairly large area. Because of that, not only are there multiple ways to acomplish the same or similar things… if you are studying a style from a particular region, it doesn’t always work to create a movement using a technique that is commonly associated with somewhere else. This is especially true when performing folkloric dances.
Ultimately, ME dance teachers have to include cultural context and history in with their teaching of movement so students learn when they can use what works for them, and when it’s imperative to use a specific technique that is traditional to a certain style. Unfortunately, it sometimes seems like teachers can talk up a storm, and some students never really listen and make the connections between techniques learned in class and the cultures these dances come from.
3 Amberlynn // Dec 7, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I completely agree… when studying with someone, the only way to get the most from them is to do what they ask of you. I like the way Mandy said to “try getting into their heads.” Class/instruction time is NOT the time or place to be independent.
However, once you’re out of class, it’s not wise to stick dogmatically to only one person’s way of doing something.
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