Earlier this week, I taught a class of high school girls and
found myself very impressed at how quickly they picked up choreography – youth have
such a good memory. In fact, they
learned the choreo so quickly that they wanted to move on to learning the
technique of the Cha Cha I was teaching.
Afterwards, that same day, I taught an adult class, with
minimal choreography and an emphasis on execution of figures we had been practicing
in a series of group classes together. I
found that my adult students are much more eager to learn new choreography. They often want to learn new steps to keep
them interested, yet can experience a frustration over the technique required
to execute those steps.
In truth, choreography is easy to pick up, but learning to
dance technically well – which is really the point of any dance education –
requires time, commitment, and passion.
WDC Ballroom Champion, Peter Eggleton, once said, “I can
teach you a Feather step (in Foxtrot) in about 15 minutes, but it will take you
a lifetime to dance it.” Though I am
teacher, I am also a student of dance, and this statement is really overwhelming! A lifetime commitment to dance!
What Eggleton is saying is that the average dance figure takes
about 15 minutes to learn; however, it takes time and years of practice to
develop it.
Dance is a pursuit of perfection that one will never fully
attain.
It will help all students, at every level, to realize that –
yes choreography needs to be changed,
altered, adapted as you get better at dancing – but it’s RARELY that cause of
your bad results. Your commitment to learning and
practicing the technique of execution is the key to dancing well.
I have often talked to students who wish they could revisit
an old routine and perform it again with current dance skills. In fact, recently, one of my students told me
that he wished he had his current level of skill when he danced a showcase
routine one year ago, this November.
Don’t be eager to jump ahead to new advanced figures that look
more interesting – learn how to dance first. Like a novice pianist, after a few weeks of training you would
not attempt to perform a complex Beethoven concerto.
Exciting choreography is fun and interesting, but it is not
the reason you would fail to get the results you want. Your ability to dance
the choreography to the highest level is required for the sense of
accomplishment and fulfillment a student seeks. And that is only achieved
through technical understanding and practice of execution over time.