Does your Dancing have Enough Soul?

There are dancers who are proficient, and then there are dancers you love to watch and dance with.

Proficient dancers are quick on their feet, they don’t miss a beat, they know lots of moves, and yet their dancing is more like a knack than an art. There’s no soul. The music and their partner are props.

How do you know if your dancing doesn’t have enough soul?

• Do you dance about the same way for every song?
• Do you dance the same way with every partner, making changes only for your partner’s ability?
• Do you dance through breaks?
• Do you have one way of doing individual moves?
• Will you dance to any song?

If you said yes, think about putting more feeling into your dancing.

Think of your body as another instrument in the band. Go beyond just keeping the beat; feel the mood of the song. Is the band playing a song that’s joyful? Serious? Sweet? Silly? Does the sound flow or does it pop?

Watch this lindy clip choreographed by Frankie Manning to “Flyin’ Home.”
Flyin’ Home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNv7ivtkxW8
The dancing changes with the music—it isn’t random moves. Notice how the dancers move when the song is more subdued (0:29, 0:44), when the mood picks up (0:55, 2:11), when the sound pops (1:29, 2:32), when it flows (2:00) and when the band winds it up and lets it go (2:41). Notice how different people interpret the music: there are dancers tapping, line dancing, lindy hopping, spectators keeping the beat, even the band moves differently to different parts of the song. People kiss, shout, and talk to each other when the mood of the song is right.

Compare “Flyin’ Home” with this song:
Love me or Leave me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEQpipS_qfc
Even though the tempo is about the same, the mood is completely different. A song that goes “I intend to be independently blue” and has a minute of Mozart-inspired piano playing calls for sensitivity; it isn’t the time for successive swingouts. I picture dancers doing Balboa, turns, footwork arm-in-arm, and creative moves I don’t know the names of.

Tell me how you might interpret this song:
Minor Swing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEzsPGHsi90&feature=related
There’s a spare, 20-second introduction where you need to do more than look at your partner, but less than a full-bore lindy. There’s a staccato guitar and gypsy violin. There’s a break near the end. There’s restraint and intensity. How would you interpret the different parts?

Paisley said:

Watch this lindy clip choreographed by Frankie Manning to “Flyin’ Home.”

Click to expand...

Ryan Francois (of Ryan and Jenny) actually choreographed this routine. Frankie provided consulting and a cameo. Although the dancing is great, it's really not representative of social dancing from the early '40's.

Paisley said:

Love me or Leave me

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I like Nina Simone, but I hate this song. It's not that the song is bad, but whenever I hear it played at a dance it seems that everybody puts their "Groove" level at 100 (especially during the piano solo).

Paisley said:

:
Minor Swing

Click to expand...

This is one of my favorite songs to dance LA (bal) swing too, although the original swing era jitterbugs weren't all that crazy about Django.

Housekeeping Note

Let's talk about dancing with feeling as opposed to doing random moves or going through the motions.

For discussion about the history of swing dance, what constitutes authenticity, whether "east coast" is a legitimate term, who started what dance style, etc., please post comments here:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=17399&highlight=dancing

Thanks!

(Not directed just at you, resortes, dance threads tend to veer off in a certain direction.)

Mechanics vs. Feeling
I was going to write about mechanics being more important than feeling. But last night, I had a dance with someone who wasn’t technically great, but interpreted the music better than anyone I’ve danced with in a long time. It wasn’t so much the specific moves as the way he did them: stepping on certain beats, holding on others, keeping some of the moves small even though we had room to make them bigger, and leading three or four turns at a time instead of the usual one. It wasn’t a dance to impress spectators, but it felt great.

Cerebral or Intuitive Approach?
With other partners, I tried both cerebral and intuitive approaches. The intuitive approach (not thinking about what I was doing) was more fun; the cerebral approach (deliberately doing moves to fit the music) was mentally tiring but may have inspired some of my partners more. One in particular led some moves he doesn’t normally lead, but that went really well with the music.

ive read this post a few times iching to answer but not knowing how!!
your last post has helped!
i learned to jive when i was in my early teens(mate spent an afternoon in our large dining room kitchen and taught me how her mum had taught her (we only had one record sutable as well!!) id tried before with people but really think it best to learn the basics!! as over the yrs ive been able to adapt them to both who ive jived with AND wot style (swing included!)
i enjoy dancing with someone who shows their soul mostly, im lucky enough to dance with people who have technic too !!
I do get frustrated at what we call "ballroom boppers" that have had dance lessons and continue to visibly count the steps totally oblivious to the beat of the music! like most skills in life you learn the basics and then adapt to your own sense of style surely!! .ive tried dancing with some but found it very daunting and hard work...i always find "the back beat" myself. the most frustrating thing for me at the mo is my lack of fitness,!! i cannt dance to the beat for long enough!! (on the list of new yr resolutions!! )

Agreed--you have to have at least a fair basic and a few moves to work with. That's all that the one partner had who interpreted the music so well, a fair east coast basic and a few moves. I disagree with those who say "just move to the music!" People without any skill just end up swaying around or faking it.

Beyond technique, I think a big part of this is how the music and your partner affect you. Probably, part of it is knowing the song or at least typical patterns.

A little off topic, once I started working out (lifting weights, step aerobics in addition to dancing), I was able to dance the way I really wanted to. Good luck with your plan to get in shape!

Another Example

In the 1994 Olympics, figure skater Oksana Baiul beat Nancy Kerrigan by a hair. Kerrigan was technically more competent than Baiul, who tended to make two-footed landings. Kerrigan was technically brilliant and skated a beautiful performance, all the more admirable for recovering from a knee injury. But as the deciding judge explained, Kerrigan's skating looked "programmed."

Nancy Kerrigan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7RvWbnaDZk

Around 3:50, she's a measure ahead of the music. The music is a prop. Compare this to Baiul's performance (the best video I could find of her at the '94 Olympics):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6zKfZVurJY

At 2:00, the music takes on a stronger beat, and she's right on it, even in the spins. Baiul's technical ability helps her show the feeling of the music and the joy she feels in skating to it. It shows in the expression on her face, in her steps, and in her arm movements. Baiul is full of verve; Kerrigan often looks posed or affected.

Here, Baiul interprets a more restrained piece of music in a signature routine, The Swan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA7TxLfw0V8&feature=related

This isn't a jump-filled, action-packed, hand-clapping routine. But it's magnificent.

resortes805 said:

Ryan Francois (of Ryan and Jenny) actually choreographed this routine. Frankie provided consulting and a cameo. Although the dancing is great, it's really not representative of social dancing from the early '40's.

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Hm.. I guess that depends on where you were. I think (and the impression I get from Frankie Mannings biography), that social dancing in the black ballrooms was much like this, and that Harlem was still cookin' at that time.

Here's black cats dancing in the REAL savoy (closed 1958):
I think this clip of Leon James is where he is social dancing. And my guess is that his goofy moves and spontanious breaks of fun, and underplayed humour was not that common among white dancers at the time.

I you ask me, its an unfair question, "if I could put more soul into my dance". Yes, as a dancer who praise the savoy style dancing, I want to have more soul into my dancing! But, no matter how hard I train I don't think I will ever have the same sense of soul & rythm as the black dancers had (I am from Scandinavia. Here we are realy good at being stiff and cold all the time).

Just a follow up, I thought about it some more.
Because it depends on the meaning of "soul". The feeling of "being reealy into" it can be acchieved by anyone, and some scientist refer to it as "flow". And its a good place to start, if you want more "soul" into the dance.

But to me it is a question of "listening" or "feeling" the music like a poetic language, and express that through your technical skills as a dancer... sure, it sometimes comes out a little quirky! But, to me it doesn't matter, as long as it made me and my partner laugh and had fun, its ok! It's like the act of making love, sure there will always be some missteps, but it's not important!

I'm a soulless being so I don't dance

I enjoy watching people at the floor thou, most of all those who has really fun. People who concentrate on their calcucatings are so obvious that even those who can't dance sees it (I mean me)

Hammelby said:

Just a follow up, I thought about it some more.
Because it depends on the meaning of "soul". The feeling of "being reealy into" it can be acchieved by anyone, and some scientist refer to it as "flow". And its a good place to start, if you want more "soul" into the dance.

But to me it is a question of "listening" or "feeling" the music like a poetic language, and express that through your technical skills as a dancer... sure, it sometimes comes out a little quirky! But, to me it doesn't matter, as long as it made me and my partner laugh and had fun, its ok! It's like the act of making love, sure there will always be some missteps, but it's not important!

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I think you can be really into your dancing and flow in the wrong direction. For example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OWmx5c_dCk&feature=related
Feel free to fast forward to 2:00. Billy Ray Cyrus put a lot of time and effort into his dances, and it's clear that he's focused. But it looks like a forced effort that has no inspiration.

For reference, a better rumba:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw7RPVxCwK4

I agree that good dancing requires feeling the music. The music should go in your ears and out through the rest of your body. At its best, I see it as almost a religious experience. In some churches, people get so full of the Spirit that they dance, shake, or roll around on the floor. Even some white people do this in the U.S. The Spirit has to have an outlet. As Rachel Pollack put it, "The word 'inspiration' originally meant 'filled with a holy breath,' and derives from the same root as 'spirit'....The life force that fills the universe is not gentle or benign. It must be discharged, grounded in something real, because our bodies, our selves, are not meant to contain it, but only pass it on." (Seventy-eight Degrees of Wisdom, p. 31)

For me, it's the music that makes me dance.

Good technique allows a dancer (or someone using any skill) to direct the release of the energy that has inspired them. We should use the best technique we have and strive to improve on it. But as Emerson said, to paraphrase, there comes a time in every man's education when he concludes that imitation is suicide and envy is ignorance. We of English and northern European stock won't interpret the music like black people of Harlem did 60 to 80 years ago. Certainly they had soul, but did they wear it out? I don't think we have to precisely imitate the past, nor can we.

Hammelby said:

Hm.. I guess that depends on where you were. I think (and the impression I get from Frankie Mannings biography), that social dancing in the black ballrooms was much like this, and that Harlem was still cookin' at that time.

Here's black cats dancing in the REAL savoy (closed 1958):
I think this clip of Leon James is where he is social dancing. And my guess is that his goofy moves and spontanious breaks of fun, and underplayed humour was not that common among white dancers at the time.

Click to expand...

Well, the first clip is of a group routine (notice that there is no one else social dancing on the floor) and a contest (notice the number sheets on the back of the leaders jackets). The clip of Leon is of a jam circle. While the dancing in Malcolm X is period accurate, the dance scene it is too choreographed to be an accurate portrayal of a night of social dancing at the Roseland ballroom (which I believe, was segregated).

As relevant as this is to the topic, I'll put it aside in the interest of discussing dancing with feeling or soul.

To dance well requires control. Really proficient dancers know different arm movements, head movements, even where to look. They've practiced it all. Everything has a different effect. Nothing is random.

To dance with feeling requires, I think, letting go of some conscious control and inhibitions. Our instincts and reactions are faster and often better than our conscious thoughts. Josephine Baker--the toast of Paris in the 20s--would never have been a hit if she'd been careful and controlled:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFf04zGVhKo

Again, these aren't random moves. Baker had been a professional dancer for years before going to Paris. She first became a star in the U.S. partly because of her goofiness; she stood out in the chorus.

Compare this to the too-hip-to-care dancing common in the lindy hop crowd. (Or worse, the I-owe-my-wife-a-night-out attitude.)

In other words, if you're in a shell, you have to climb out of it. Swing isn't the minuet. Dancing doesn't have to be big and wild to come from inside of you. But it should show your own interpretation of the music.

Here, Baiul interprets a more restrained piece of music in a signature routine, The Swan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA7Tx...eature=related

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It is just as stunning to watch today as the original. It was just beautiful beyond words.

White People with Gusto

I loved the Australian couple's swing dance on Superstars of Dance last night. They did it with some older swing moves, smoothness and sultriness that you don't often see.

http://www.nbc.com/superstars-of-dance/video/clips/boundless-energy/966841

It isn't just the moves, but the feeling that they're doing them with. They're dancing for themselves, for each other, and for the people in the cheap seats. I've never seen the Charleston done with such verve--even by Charleston champions. Nor have I ever seen anyone so unselfconscious.

For regular guys and gals at a club, this may be too theatrical. But I hope this couple will inspire people to dance with more joy and expression.

Foofoogal said:

[The Swan by Oksana Baiul] is just as stunning to watch today as the original. It was just beautiful beyond words.

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True--a performance doesn't have to acrobatic to be great. She only does two jumps in this routine. Sadly, a lot of newbie dancers would rather do badly executed aerials than learn some basics well. And for a lot of spectators, it's all about watching people being thrown in the air.

Paisley said:

I loved the Australian couple's swing dance on Superstars of Dance last night. They did it with some older swing moves, smoothness and sultriness that you don't often see.

http://www.nbc.com/superstars-of-dance/video/clips/boundless-energy/966841

It isn't just the moves, but the feeling that they're doing them with. They're dancing for themselves, for each other, and for the people in the cheap seats. I've never seen the Charleston done with such verve--even by Charleston champions. Nor have I ever seen anyone so unselfconscious.

For regular guys and gals at a club, this may be too theatrical. But I hope this couple will inspire people to dance with more joy and expression.

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Thanks for posting that link, Paisley! Hubby and I have definitely tried to up the ante on having fun and expression in our dancing and though we are still new at it, we do get compliments on our dancing, which is really nice to hear.

I am looking forward to our intermediate class starting in February!

Directions to Shake and Shimmy Town

If you've been frustrated with the results you've gotten from your dancing, you might be making too much of your lack of immediate success. Those dancers on TV have trained for years at their dancing. The celebrities on Dancing with the Stars who dance fantastically after a few weeks have been performers or athletes for years--and they are or were at the top of their profession. This isn't to say that some people don't progress faster than others. If you'd like to progress faster, you need to get out there and practice. You might also need to find other partners, teachers, classes or venues. (If you have only one partner, you should branch out. People who dance with only one partner seem to hit a plateau at the low-intermediate level.) Imagine yourself happily, joyfully dancing well--it helps.

If you feel creatively frustrated, maybe you don't see yourself as a creative person. But dancing without feeling is just going through the motions. And some people do seem to see it that way, even some technically advanced dancers. If that's the case, you'll have to turn away from what everybody else in your circle is doing. If you're a lead, let your partner have the chance to do some styling; don't just lead move after move. You can even break away from your partner. If you're a follow, you can't lead moves, but you can inspire your partner with styling, hand movements and facial expressions that show how you feel the music.

Inky said:

Thanks for posting that link, Paisley! Hubby and I have definitely tried to up the ante on having fun and expression in our dancing and though we are still new at it, we do get compliments on our dancing, which is really nice to hear.

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Yup--people can tell when something is from the heart.

Tonight at the Denver Lindy Exchange, I saw a dancer with super-concentrated soul. Of course, he had good mechanics and quite a few moves up his sleeve and interpreted the music well. But here are some things he did differently from other dancers:

* Sinking into the floor (see video in the next post). This means bending your knees and hips to sink down on the beat. The opposite would be remaining completely upright. Good for riverdancing, not so good for swing.
* He had more of a gentle bounce than other dancers--even those who were pretty good.
* Moving outside the x, y and z axes. The x, y and z axes are left and right, forward and backward, up and down. Think diagonals and curves.

He led well: I danced with him once before, and his partners tonight followed everything he did. But the soul of his dancing wasn't about leading, it was about moving. I think the best way to learn how to move is by learning old jazz movements done in solo or group dances like the shim sham and the big apple. Moves like fishtails, the mess around and boogie backs make you move in ways that step-step-triple-step and rock step-kick step-kick-kick-kick step don't require.

Learning to do those moves well takes a lot of practice in front of the mirror, and probably some instruction to put you on the right track. It also takes a lack of self-consciousness, a spirit of fun, and an effort to do them for the people in the cheap seats.