Hi everyone.
I've thought about this topic for some time now. And I've written couple of drafts and came to a conclusion, that I should break it down, and write down, in some detail about my thoughts, pro's and cons of each, with maybe some tips.
There's no denial, that of all the forms of dancing, I'm a social dancer. So please forgive me if I am biased towards the social. But from what I have/can see, the other method of improving our dancing are,
1) Social
2) Class/Private
3) Choreography
In this blog, I'm going to cover Social, where I would attribute as one of the greatest influence in my dancing.
In the realm of dancing, ESPECIALLY in Salsa, I consider Social dancing to be a key ingredient to dance, dancer and the wider "community" of dancers. I think for the majority of people who dances, the social aspect is one of the draw card of dancing. I have known some of my friend, who have never, or went to nothing more than one or two classes and the rest, all "practicing" through social.
So here's what I see as some of the Pro of Social dancing.
1) Social - It's a "duh" statement to start with, but I can atleast comment for myself, that my circle of friends, is mainly composed of what I call "salsa friends". When I first moved to Australia, I had no problem making/finding a circle.
2) Unpredictability/variety - Unless you have a rediculously large class, the chances are, you would end up dancing with the same people, over and over. That, in the beginning, isn't bad at all. But over time, the only way you can get better, is to keep exposing yourself to new "stimulus". Different style, movement, strength of leads, etc. This is particularly so, if you compare to classes, where you learn the move, so you may predict the pattern.
3) Cost - Genrally speaking, if you ONLY dance socially, Salsa/Latin, is a pretty cheap hobby. There are places that you can dance for free, or else, in Sydney, the highest cover charge I have seen is $15. Yes, going to special parties can cost $30~ but, these events are often not the norm and it's usually worth the ticket price, considering the number and variety of people you get the opportunity to dance with.
Cons
1) Learning curve may be too steep - Myself included, beginners may get better benefit from having a few proper classes to start you off. One cycle, one class, it doesn't matter, but just knowing the basics, or not, can be a difference of wether you get another dance for the night. There's "beginner" and there's "someone who doesn't even know the basic".
2) Draw of the luck - The variety mentioned above can also be a Con. You don't always know what level of dancer the person is, in a social environment. If you are dancing in a "Class" you would expect this person to be "around the level" of the class. This is not so in a social scene. Not everyone will "dance to your level", or you may be a beginner, and end up dancing with someone who doesn't even know the basics.
3) No structure - Unless you make good friends, you would rarely get "feedbacks"pointing at what you have done wrong, or right, or how to improve. It's entirely up to you. This can be a good thing, or a bad thing.
4) Not dancing - The basic rule of thumb is, if you don't ask, you won't get. And a beginner's misteke often made, is that they don't ask people for a dance. I have seen/known people, who went out and never had a single dance, or a couple, over 2 hours. In class, at theast they will "pair you up" with someone.
I use the description, that Social, is like a conversation you have with your frend over coffee. It's something you go, do, relax, have fun and go home. Choreography to me, is the opposite, more structured, precise, just like what a speech is. Class, goes somewhere in between.
In my view, the pro's out-weighs most con's, but for some people, it's not for them. But I think a really good dancer is capable of doing both perforamnce, and the impromptuness of social. How far you go to either extreme, is up to you.
Till next time
