THE THINGS YOU LEARN WHEN YOU LEARN TO DANCE
Sometimes you sign up to learn the steps and end up learning something about yourself.
Learning to dance takes away the comfort of already knowing what you are doing. Suddenly, you are counting steps, listening for the beat and wondering what your feet are doing. Strangely enough, that may be the best part.
YOU MAY HAVE MORE RHYTHM THAN YOU THINK
“ I have no rhythm” can sound like a permanent personality trait, but rhythm is something we can develop. With practice, beats, patterns and timing begin to make sense.
You may not become the person effortlessly dancing at the centre of the room, but you start to understand what the music is asking your body to do.
THE CONVERSATION WITHOUT WORDS
Partner dancing teaches you to pay attention to another person.
One person leads, the other responds, and both adjust to what is happening in the moment. There is timing, anticipation and plenty of listening, even when nobody is saying very much.
THERE IS SOMETHING WONDERFUL ABOUT BEING BAD AT SOMETHING
Adults spend a lot of time being competent. Then we try something new and suddenly our left foot seems to have developed its own agenda.
Being a beginner can be freeing. You make a mistake, laugh, try again and discover that getting something wrong is simply part of getting better.
SUDDENLY, YOU HEAR THE MUSIC DIFFERENTLY
Learning to dance changes the way you listen. You notice the beat, the pauses and the way a song builds. A Foxtrot feels different from a Swing. A Cha Cha has its own character, while Salsa brings another kind of energy.
The music is no longer simply happening around you. You are part of it.
CONFIDENCE COMES LATER
Confidence does not always arrive before you begin. Sometimes it develops one step at a time.
Eventually, something that once required intense concentration begins to feel natural. You may enter a dance lesson hoping to learn how to move and discover that you are also learning to listen, adapt, laugh at yourself and trust the process.
You do not have to feel ready to begin.
THE BEGINNER’ S ADVANTAGE
Listen
Pay attention to the rhythm and your partner.
Laugh Mistakes are part of learning.
Keep Going
What feels difficult now will become more natural with practice.
Arthur Murray Stouffville Dance Center, www. arthurmurraystouffville. com