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gstyle
26th-August-2006, 11:21 AM
Last couple of weeks I have been feeling my dancing has been a bit stale. So I got to wondering what is that makes a good dancer? Is it knowing more moves? Is it the ability to create your own personal style? The ability to tune into any partner you dance with? A good lead?

What turns an average dancer into a good dancer? What turns a good dancer into a great dancer?

Lory
26th-August-2006, 11:57 AM
Good question:nice:

For me, it's someone who engages with their partner, they have the ability to make their partners feel special, happy, competent and relaxed. :waycool:

They can seamlessly absorb any mistakes their partner might make, possibly changing their intended move to smooth things out.;)

The have the ability to recognise their partners level and adjust their moves accordingly. :na:

When the floor's busy, they respect the fact that 'safety' comes before 'ego'!:devil:

Minnie M
26th-August-2006, 12:11 PM
IMHO ..........
It is :-
soul :respect: respect of the dance :respect: feeling the music :respect: and enjoying the dance WITH your partner :respect: :worthy: :yeah:

I wouldn't care if my partner only knew half a dozen moves as it is DANCING not executing moves :clap:

Unfortunately a lot of the above comes with confidence and experience (not sure which order) and too much confidence sometimes goes the other way :sad:


........The have the ability to recognise their partners level and adjust their moves accordingly.......
:yeah: :yeah:

robd
26th-August-2006, 12:44 PM
Agree entirely with Lory's response. Tried to rep her but it won't let me - could be the forum or this library computer :confused:

Robert

ducasi
26th-August-2006, 01:09 PM
Assuming you're a leader, work on your connection, your leading, your technique, your style, before you work on learning more moves.

However, sometimes its in the learning of more moves that you improve your connection, leading, technique and style. But know what your purpose is.

Lynn
26th-August-2006, 01:10 PM
Agree entirely with Lory's response. :yeah:
Tried to rep her but it won't let me - could be the forum or this library computer :confused:It let me.:D

Mr Cool
26th-August-2006, 02:53 PM
IMHO ..........


I wouldn't care if my partner only knew half a dozen moves as it is DANCING not executing moves :clap:
Minne now you have me worried last night a nice lady told me I only know 4 moves. To which I replied I am sorry thats all I can remember.

Hope you will still dance with me.


:waycool: :waycool: :waycool: :waycool:

cms
26th-August-2006, 03:33 PM
theres so many things that could be included in this description, but i feel that one of the main things is developing your own style and being able to adapt your style to that of the person you are dancing with, so as you are not fighting your partner at every turn.

some of this comes from confidence and experience but thats not always the case.

ive recently met a guy who has only been dancing 4 weeks but he listens to the music, interprets it, listens to what his partner is doing and reacts to it.

most of all he has fun! and that IMHO is the difference between just executing moves and dancing! i cetainly dance better when im enjoying the music and connecting with my partner!

C x

Mr Cool
26th-August-2006, 05:35 PM
theres so many things that could be included in this description, but i feel that one of the main things is developing your own style and being able to adapt your style to that of the person you are dancing with, so as you are not fighting your partner at every turn.

some of this comes from confidence and experience but thats not always the case.

ive recently met a guy who has only been dancing 4 weeks but he listens to the music, interprets it, listens to what his partner is doing and reacts to it.

most of all he has fun! and that IMHO is the difference between just executing moves and dancing! i cetainly dance better when im enjoying the music and connecting with my partner! :yeah: :yeah: :clap: :clap:

C x



Absolutely agree I have had the same experience with several beginner ladies over the years.
Dance lessons help and give you more moves and idea's
Free style dancing helps to improve musicality, style, lead /follow, and Connection
However to some musicality and dancing just comes naturally.
:waycool: :waycool: :waycool: :waycool:

fletch
26th-August-2006, 05:46 PM
Absolutely agree I have had the same experience with several beginner ladies over the years.
Dance lessons help and give you more moves and idea's
Free style dancing helps to improve musicality, style, lead /follow, and Connection
However to some musicality and dancing just comes naturally.
:waycool: :waycool: :waycool: :waycool:



:yeah:

I don't think they teach your style do they Mr Cool :wink:

But it would be interesting ....watching people practice the 'shack and vac' :whistle:

:D

straycat
26th-August-2006, 07:43 PM
Ooooooh. Tricky question. Impossible question, even. It's just too subjective.

What do you want from your dancing? Everyone has different goals, hence different views on what 'good' means. For example: someone only really interested in social dance (me) may well have very different criteria from someone interested chiefly in performance and competition (not me)

There're people who think I'm an amazing dancer. There're people who'd regard me (rightly, in some cases) as pretty much a beginner.

In terms of your dancing feeling stale - it's not a nice feeling, but not something to worry about - it's happened to us all, for me on many occasions, and it always passes.
My dancing tends to plateau for a while, and noticeable improvement comes in bursts - I don't get the 'stale' feeling anymore, but I used to be very prone to it.

Honestly, I don't think you should be worried about how good you are, or how to become 'good' - more usefully, you could look at what you enjoy about dancing, and maybe look at how to regain that.

Gadget
26th-August-2006, 08:56 PM
What turns an average dancer into a good dancer? What turns a good dancer into a great dancer?
No idea.

I have spent a long time looking at people who ladies commented were a "good/ great/ fantastic" dancer - trying to work out why and what makes it so. I want to see if I can find that "X-factor" and put it into my dancing.
I have looked at people whom I have thought are "good/ great/ fantastic/ cool" and tried to work out why.
Don't think I've found it yet, but for most it seems to be the connection with their partner:
- whether this is knowing how to tread the line between 'passion' and 'slease'
- or the ability to know exactly what their partner is doing and work with it
- or knowing exactly where their partner is at every point in the dance
- or changing the dance untill you are both hearing the music the same way
- or making 'mistakes' into 'moves'
- or the ability to find that 'spark' in every person and play to that
- or a combination of all these

The one thing they all seem to have in common is that they are dancing with their partner, not for them, to them, in spite of them or at them.

I do think that some dancers seem to be rated as excelent dancers by other good dancers, but often that view is bias by familiarity and is sometimes over-exaggerated.

Baruch
26th-August-2006, 09:05 PM
I'd say that the most important quality of a good dancer is the ability to provide a clear lead or follow well. That's the basic foundation of all connection between partners, and it's surprising how many people just don't "get" it.

Lynn
26th-August-2006, 09:57 PM
Ooooooh. Tricky question. Impossible question, even. It's just too subjective.

What do you want from your dancing? Everyone has different goals, hence different views on what 'good' means. Yep. Very much so. Someone may be able to be very technically precise and do fabulous performance dance, but not be responding to the music or their partner. In the MJ world that person wouldn't be a good dancer. (I specified in the MJ world as its a sociable dance, the same person could be regarded as a good performance dancer.)

Some key features - connection, clear lead/responsive follow, musicality, timing. The moves are just how you put all that together.



In terms of your dancing feeling stale - it's not a nice feeling, but not something to worry about - it's happened to us all, for me on many occasions, and it always passes.

My dancing tends to plateau for a while, and noticeable improvement comes in bursts - I don't get the 'stale' feeling anymore, but I used to be very prone to it.

Honestly, I don't think you should be worried about how good you are, or how to become 'good' - more usefully, you could look at what you enjoy about dancing, and maybe look at how to regain that. :yeah: I've gone through several plateaus and I now recognise them as good things - for me at least they give that incentive to try something new, push myself a little further, challenge my dancing. I've had to find more experienced dancers to learn from, travel to learn different styles and from different teachers - but I know I always have lots more to learn.

Or sometimes I stop worrying about improving and just relax and have fun.:D

tiger
27th-August-2006, 09:55 AM
aaggh; the 'fun' word has arrived,as late as 14 posts too, i thought it would have arrived earlier. Cynical bit over.

Good dancer/dancing is IMHO is,like beauty, in the eye of the beholder.
What's important to one person, isn't to another. Some people are move monsters, some like it + some dont. Others use musicality,some really like that,some dont know whats going on. Etc,etc

Whats important, imho, is that you know who you can dance ok/well with,who you can't :nice: and within reason, pick and choose the right people for the type of music.:nice:

Frankie_4711
27th-August-2006, 11:25 AM
There are lots of people I'd consider to be good (for me at least) to dance with, but each for different reasons ... some it's the connection, some their leading, some their musicality, some their attitude to dancing or sense of fun/enjoyment/playfulness, and yes, for some it is the moves. I can't think of a single one that has everything ... but that doesn't matter, because it means every dance will be different, even though every one is FAB in it's own way.

And being good to dance WITH is different to being good to watch (which some people might call a good dancer) ... I've watched people dancing and thought 'WOW - I've GOT to dance with him - he's GREAT', but then when I did actually dance with him, didn't enjoy it half as much as I thought I would - some people are suited to each other, some are not, and that's just something that has to be accepted. I've also had some dances where a watcher has commented afterwards that we looked so good together, when in fact, I was having a complete nightmare trying to follow a really bad lead, being yanked around really hard in all sorts of weird directions and out of time!

And I totally know where you're coming from with the staleness/plateau thing ... it's a natural part of the learning curve, and nothing to worry about.

Lynn
27th-August-2006, 02:11 PM
Hmm, replies seem to be veering from what makes a good dancer to what makes a good dance partner. Not always the same thing.

There are some guys I dance with who will never be 'good' dancers - but I love dancing with them because they are good dance partners and we can share enjoyment of dancing.:D

Of course the ideal is being both a good dancer and dance partner.

On to more practical stuff - for getting off a 'plateau'. Firstly identify something in your dancing you want to improve - the easiest way to do this is find a more experienced dancer and dance with them, having first asked them to identify something in your dancing you could work on. One thing only.

Then look for classes, workshops, other dance styles, book a private lesson - whatever is available and works for you - to improve that one thing.

I do think feedback helps so you can dance again with the experienced dancer and ask if there is an improvement - and then maybe find something else to work on.

littlewiggle
27th-August-2006, 09:17 PM
I think having confidence on the dance floor is an important factor - if you don't look confident, the musicality just doesn't work but there is such a thing as too much confidence and that can kill it too!

When I achieve a great connection with my partner and the music and nothing else exists for that few minutes, I am in the zone and it leaves me happy and feeling I have had a fab dance. I guess that's because I feel my partner has focused totally on me and we have really connected.

Smiling also helps to make a great dancer! Who wants to dance with a mardy bum!

skippy
27th-August-2006, 09:55 PM
I think it helps if you know the music, and like dancing with the person you are dancing with. Obviously if it's a stranger you can still connect by relaxing and ( if a female) let the man lead. I have always relaxed more when I feel the man is confident and not trying too hard to make you go into the new moves!!!

straycat
29th-August-2006, 08:48 AM
Who wants to dance with a mardy bum!

Another mardy bum?

Commis Chef
29th-August-2006, 11:38 AM
A good dancer moves with the music and does this in connection with their partner. The dance should feel as if it flows from one move to the next seamlessly. This will be dependent on a good lead and a good follow.

One question might be -can anyone be a 'good' dancer if they are partnering a 'poor' dancer at the time. If it is a partnership how far can the more skilled dancer use those skills if they are restricted by someone with lesser skills or bad habits?

mick
29th-August-2006, 04:16 PM
What turns an average dancer into a good dancer? What turns a good dancer into a great dancer?


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straycat
29th-August-2006, 04:38 PM
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WAM?
Didn't they wear silly shorts and dance around singing silly songs in the eighties?

Gadget
30th-August-2006, 12:22 AM
One question might be -can anyone be a 'good' dancer if they are partnering a 'poor' dancer at the time. If it is a partnership how far can the more skilled dancer use those skills if they are restricted by someone with lesser skills or bad habits?
Aren't "those skills" what make them able to partner a 'poor' dancer and make it a 'good' dance?

stewart38
30th-August-2006, 01:43 PM
Someone who accepts there are many better dances then them and accepts that many will have danced a lot less time then them ??

straycat
30th-August-2006, 01:50 PM
Hot water, good dentistry and soft toilet paper.

Magic Hans
30th-August-2006, 06:26 PM
The same as what makes a good musician, painter, artist, engineer, surgeon, author, etc, etc, etc ...


Heart and Soul

[ .... or passion, spirit or any of the other similies] .... oh, and a certain amount of rapport too!!

:grin: :grin: :grin:

MartinHarper
31st-August-2006, 01:42 PM
A good dancer, to me, is one who can dance many dances well, including a mixture of solo and partner, ballroom and latin, formal and informal. In addition, they should have the skills to quickly learn new dances, and new things in the dances they already know.


If it is a partnership how far can the more skilled dancer use those skills if they are restricted by someone with lesser skills or bad habits?

I feel like there are some skills that are usable when dancing when less skillful partners, and some that are not. A simple example is that a skilled leader dancing with a less skillful partner will use his ability to lead things clearly, but won't be able to use his ability to lead things precisely. If he dances with a more skillful partner, then his ability to lead precisely becomes more relevant, while the ability to lead things clearly is no longer important.

Beowulf
31st-August-2006, 01:52 PM
if someone could definitively find out what makes a good dancer, extract it, distill it, mix it with some charm, some confidence and give it to me in an IV injection I'd be very grateful.

Failing that.. my answer to the original question will to be "Practice, Practice, Practice"