It’s passion that makes perfect.
Last night I had the privilege of attending a workshop taught by Alicia Pons, here on her 5th visit to the Triangle.
A renowned Milonguera, she is known for all sorts of cool Tango things like her display of feminine elegance, precise footwork and the list goes on and on…
But for me, it’s her incredible PASSION for the dance that makes her a world-class instructor, a term that is used far too often and far too casually.
She outlined five basic principles of connection. These were meant for Tango, but they can and should be applied to any dance.
In dance, true progress comes from re-examination of the self. Not from patterns, tricks, techniques etc. Anyone can do these, and everyone does these.
Any good dance instructor should, first and foremost, lead students on a journey of self-examination.
Examine what you do over and over again, and never settle in or become too comfortable with your dance or the philosophy that underlies it.
1. Connect with yourself.
Be aware, plain and simple. Be aware that your are breathing. Far too often we forget that we actually exist while we are dancing. We become so focused on the next step that our own movement becomes lost and end up looking like choreographed machines.
2. Connect with the music.
LISTEN before you do anything. Resist the urge to just grab your partner and go through the motions. Music leads, always.
Sometimes, I think we fall back on a mental routine that tells us to activate some pattern simply because a certain type of music is playing.
3. Connect with your partner.
In the words of Alicia Pons, “The embrace is handmade”.
Of course it is! It’s woven from the thread of partner and music.
I think every dance should be handmade. I am in love with this idea.
If for nothing else, out of respect for your partner, tailor the dance to them and the music. And if you view dance as a gift, is it really appropriate to give every partner the same gift?
4. Connect with the floor.
Cut the string, relax the shoulders, and break the egg. Allow your energy to travel into the floor and avoid sustaining it all in the shoulders in one big ball of tension.
I was corrected on this one. It’s easy to do, so watch out.
5. Connect with other couples on the dance floor.
She didn’t touch on this one too much, probably due to time constraints. But, it goes without saying that you probably won’t be the only one on the social dance floor.
I think you should always exercise special awareness. Be aware of where you are in relation to everyone else.
I urge our readers to ponder the above points. Take a second to examine yourself, if your priority is growth and fulfillment as a dancer.
I understand that some “dancers” may view the above as total bullocks. These are usually the men out there who boot up and sequentially execute their dance routines like a Windows PC.
If you think this kind of computerized dancing is cool, remember that it’s usually the men who love to wrap their arms around technology and cool gadgets.
Women on the other hand …
I will leave you with my favorite Alicia Pons quote.
“Men, sometimes the embrace feels so good, it’s more than enough.”
If memory serves me right, there was not a single expression of disagreement from any of the ladies in attendance.
No related posts.
Alicia is brilliant! I had to share this blog on my FB page because it makes so much sense to me. Here is what I wrote:
For many people dancing is something to do for exercise or fun, but for others it’s done with feeling and as an expression of feeling. In either case it’s all good, but if there is more to it for you then the advice of Alicia Pons may be helpful. I do not expect to become an expert or professional dancer, but I love the dances I choose to dance. I’m not particularly interested in the steps and patterns of dance. I think the word passion describes it best for me.
A couple of weeks ago I couldn’t dance at two of my regular dance events (Loafers and Elk’s Lodge) because of snow and ice and the next week I was so depressed. The entire experience I have when I dance is important to me. I search for connection to my dance partner, the music, the people around me and the space in which I occupy as well as connecting to myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s holistic dancing.
There are people in my life who don’t understand my preoccupation with dance. It’s all I want to do and talk about sometimes. It’s my medicine and for now I am going to keep taking it.
Thanks for sharing this on your page as well!
I think you hit on a key note. “If there is more to it for you.” Which goes back to the question of how much and how deep are you really trying to go.
Some people are satisfied with a light sauce made from a superficial base. On the other hand, some require more nourishment.
Holistic dancing.
Rich touched on this one plenty of times in the past, but needless to say, dancing was created in a holistic context, not in an airtight container.
We work to try and maintain some of the holistic properties for the art of dance.
You keep dancing Tonia!
You are getting better and better, or rather more and more passionate about what you do -and it shows.
Thanks E.
I am certainly becoming more passionate and encouraging everyone to dance. I’ll have to work on the better part.
I think Paso does a great job of facilitating holistic dance because you have written about it from many different perspectives and you encourage people to step outside of their dancing box and try something different. You do well by leading by example and you lead well. The follows who dance with you know this about you, but I think the leads know too. I see that they admire you but it is reciprocal, I see that you also admire them doing what they can the best they can when they can. It’s a beautiful thing.
Okay, I hate the commercialized Vday, but are you feeling the love today?
You know Tonia, your feel is getting better and better. Must be that WCS!!
Come to think about it, Dora has the same smooth, grounded feel. Actually, I always feel a little smoother after dancing WCS.
I appreciate your keen sense of observation.
Fortitude is my favorite ‘f’ word. And I love it when new leads and follows display it, taking charge of their fears, letting go and expressing their feelings and music through movement.
This takes a lot. We have trained in a multitude of different dance forms, which not only gives us tons of movements to draw from, but more importantly a sense of what it feels like to suck at something.
In fact, at any given time there is usually one form of dance we are training in that we totally suck at.
Call it reconecting with reality. Everyone should do it.
You know me Tonia, I tend to seriouly dislike anything overly commecialized. Especially the holidays. Although Halloween is another one of my unfortunate guilty pleasures
Just be happy E!