Delusions of Competence

This post is copied from the following site:
http://karenkaye.net/2015/06/13/delusions-of-competence/

Saving a copy here because it's good.

A few years ago, I started doing Argentine Tango. While learning this highly complex dance, I found dances frustrating and unfulfilling. Until I met Joe. My dances with Joe were delightful! Each time I left his embrace feeling like the most elegant, talented dancer in the room. I thought “Wow – tango is easier than I thought!”.

My dances with Joe, a professional tango dancer, were amazing because of his skill level – not mine. A skilled dancer compensates for everything the unskilled person does wrong. When I dance with Joe, if I am off time, he gets me on time. On the wrong foot? Joe fixes that too. If my frame or connection is weak, or my musicality is off, Joe has to compensate for all that. Meanwhile, I am blissfully unaware and having a fantastic time – relishing in my delusions of competence. But Joe is having to work extra hard to make this dance tolerable / enjoyable / not a public embarrassment.

Many people think dancing with advanced dancers will make them better dancers. Really? If someone is compensating for all your mistakes, how will you ever learn anything? How will you ever learn how to stay on time, manage your own momentum, hold your own balance or weight, and maintain connection?

Want to learn how to stay on balance? Go dance a lot with a someone who constantly puts you off balance. You’ll end up mastering the skill of how to managing your balance no matter what.

THAT is a skill of an advanced dancer.

Fast forward two years: Last night I danced with a total beginner who kept apologizing each time he had me on the wrong foot or put me off balance. Later I explained that those things actually help me become a better dancer – it is good practice and skill development for me to learn how to handle those situations fluidly and with grace.

A truly advanced dancer knows how to handle awkward shifts in balance or being on the wrong foot or off time. Anybody can be a great dancer when they have a perfect partner – but for me, the skill set that truly makes them advanced is that they can dance just as well with a pro as they can with a beginner. If we are dependent on having a “good partner”, then we aren’t actually very good dancers. 

When I dance with a beginner, I get a chance to work on skills I rarely get to work on with a skilled lead, such as maintaining my balance and staying on axis (regardless!) and filling long pauses and empty space with styling.

The truly advanced person keeps revisiting their fundamentals because we experience them differently as we develop. Even though I’m still very much a beginner in tango, I’m trying to avoid falling into the trap of having delusions of competence. I’d rather know how to dance, than just think I do. 

Lead is an invitation - followed by an 'assist'

There are many styles of leading... this is how I would describe mine.

1. First I'll 'invite' the follow to go where I want her to go (and in the process maybe turn a couple of rounds as well).
• If she does not respond to my invitation correctly, there are some possible reasons why:
1. She don't feel like it (yah, it's possible and she has the right not to follow :P)
2. Your invitation is too confusing (unclear lead)
3. Your invitation is too late (music fast, she can't respond in time)
4. Your invitation is too complicated (she hasn't learnt that level of moves yet)
• If she does not respond to the invitation, there is no point going to step 2 as it will become a fight instead of a dance. 
2.  Once she started to go where I want her to go, I assist by giving her appropriate amount of force in the necessary vector.
• Appropriate is a subjective word. How I define appropriate is that :
• the force will make it easy for the follow to execute the move
• it will not throw her off balance
• it is still possible for her to stop without losing balance
• it is not painful or scary
• As per point (1), if she is not moving in the direction according your invitation, there is no point FORCING it as it will make the follow feel like she is being thrown around rather than dancing

Now, the invitation to move, must also come with invitation to STOP (or change directions).

Many leads know the 1st part but forgot the 2nd and completely relies on the follow's ability to stop herself. 

I prefer to take care of the follow all the way from the start of the move to the end of the move.

Applying the same principles as starting the move

1. I will 'invite' or indicate to the follow that it's time to stop. Once she knows the signal,
2. An appropriate amount of force in the necessary vector is applied to help the follow 'brake' and slow down to a stop SMOOTHLY

I often use driving a car as an analogy. We do not enjoy being slammed around if the driver loves to jam brakes suddenly. Same for dance. Smooth 'braking' will make the dance a more enjoyable journey.

Of course, there are follows who loves 'roller coasters', but even 'roller coasters' hard direction changes are carefully designed to be exciting rather than jarring :)

The best leads are also good followers

My style of lead had often been coined as 'planting' the girl because I tend to put her exact where I want her to go. "Plant her feet at the spot".

But it doesn't always work that way!

Some girls just do not give you the connection or the leverage to let you 'plant'.
Some girls are just too fast for you to 'plant'.
Some songs are just too fast for it too.

In many situations, the lead can only 'signal' the follower what he wants her to do...
Then depending on how she reacts, the lead will have to adapt quickly.

Example, you want her to go forward X distance. Instead she went X + Y (i.e. further than you want).
If the move you are doing prevents you from being able to stop her from going that extra distance.... What can you do? To me, the easy way out, is to move that extra Y with her. Then we will stay in sync and I will be able to continue with what I've wanted to do next!

I call this... following the follower :)

In this way, the dance will be smoother, less jarring stops, disconnects, etc.
This is the same concept as dancing to the follower's level.

I can't remember the moves!

Recently 2 students asked me the same question:
"I've attended many classes but I can't seem to remember the moves I've learnt before, what can I do?"

My answer? It can actually be found in a few other posts in this blog, e.g. "using technology", "Practice Partners", etc.

But I'll summarize it here again
1) I arrange my favourite moves into a FIXED seuqnce. The FIXED sequence part is important as it will make it EASY TO REMMEBER (this is related to a post explaining why we learn a choreography)
2) Use the SAME SEQUENCE, on EVERY GIRL I can get to dance with. (This is related to the Practice Partners Post). The purpoes of doing so, is to make the moves in this sequence part of muscle memory
3) Tear the sequence apart, find a way to jumble the order and randomly apply them. (Related to JigSaw Puzzle post). If you are able to do this, congratz. You had just mastered all the moves in the sequence!
4) Add one new move into this sequence :)

Meanwhile, as you should still be attending clases and learning new stuff, do not be in too big a hurry to use the new stuff before you had mastered the old ones.

If you are afraid of forgetting the new things you have just learnt, just use a digicam and video the moves (ask a classmate to help). This is related to the (use technology post).

THere. That was how I did it. I told the 2 students who asked me this question about my approach. But somehow they didn't seem to want to do it my way.. Well.. I tried. Haiz.

Difference between On1 and On2

Recently YQ taught the performance class a 'theory' lesson on musicality and difference between On1 and On2 Salsa. (I should convert the diagram to online... and post here)

One key point which I think is very notable is....

For On1, just before the pauses, both dancers are in 'closed' position (2 feet together)
For On2, before 4 and 8, the dancers are in Open position.

There is a big impact here, in that these pauses are 'photo moments', where people watching the dance get to see a break between flurry of movements.

This is also when On2 dancers like to style A LOT.

e.g. Every Open break, after 6,7... On2 dancers are in an open position, and a very common styling here would be for both dancers to look away and use count 8 to style, and come back to connect on 1.

Similarly, in a CBL, On2 leads like to do it OPEN (i.e. going opposite direction like in an open break) rather than forward (towards the follow), and point away (a styling move) at count 8, then step + lead on count 1 to execute the CBL.

Barriers to Social Dancing

Beginner guys have many many 'fears' when it comes to social dancing. I will list down some... in individual posts and write on how to overcome them.

Here is one which I heard recently....

"I wanted to dance with this girl, but she just finished a dance with an awesome lead.... if I ask her to dance now, it would be an anti-climax!"

Does that sound familiar? Basically it's a guy ego problem... we assume that the girls will compare :)

Honestly though, who cares? It's not like u're going after the girl? U're just going to do one dance and the hunt for the next target! :P

If she had a very intensive dance with another guy just before you, then... do a slow and smooth one to help her relax! (I'm sure she'll appreciate it)

The key thing is, enjoy the dance, SMILE. Even doing simple moves (especially on crowded dance floors) can be nice as long as both dancers are smiling and enjoying it :)

I will try to get a girl's POV for this sentence and post it here later.

Salsa On2

http://www.salsanewyork.com/ourdancemusic.htm

I found a very good summary of information and links in the above URL. Those who are starting to learn on2 should go read it. A wealth of knowledge in there.

Some parts I wish to quote are:

We Start On The Major Downbeat, And We Break On The Clave And The Tumbao - When Eddie Torres says that this On 2 timing and style of mambo dancing "logically fits the rhythm of salsa music", he is referring to the fact that the strongest beats in the rhythm, the 1st and 5th beats, are where we begin our moves: we begin our basic step, our cross-body-lead, our turn patterns, our shines. In other words, the beats with the greatest rhythmic thrust (1 and 5) are what power the "On 2" dancer's moves. The greatest "push" or "action" in the music's rhythm (the 1 and 5 downbeats) empower the greatest "action" in the dancer's body (the initiation of a move).

In addition, as noted above, we do our 2 strong body motions, the 2 and 6 breaks (change of body direction), on the major rhythmic beats of the clave, and the strongest sounds of the conga drum, the 2 and 6. So in all three ways (the strongest downbeats, the clave and the tumbao), this particular mambo dance style and timing expresses in its strongest body movements what the structure of salsa music expresses in its strongest rhythms.

We start on 1, we break on 2: This distinguishes standard New York On 2 timing from those which break on 1, 3, etc., and those which don't begin their moves on the 1st beat, such as timings where the dancers step on 2, 3, 4, and 6, 7, 8, for example Razz M' Tazz and some Palladium, ballroom and international styles. Cuban Pete's Personal Opinion - Quoting Fernando Lamadrid, "Cuban Pete, one of the greatest dancers of the Palladium era once explained it like this: "Dancing "On 1" is dancing "TO" the music. Dancing "On 2" is dancing "IN" the music. And at a panel discussion at the World Salsa Congress, he said "....Dancing "On 1" is like dancing to the melody of the music, while dancing "On 2" is like dancing in the rhythm of the music." It might actually be more precise to say ".......dancing "On 2" is like dancing in the rhythm of the clave's tension-resolving and dominant 2 beat". While these statements are only an opinion, they are not uncommon. They do reflect many On 2 dancers' belief and feeling, especially those who danced on another timing previously, that this particular method connects them more to the rhythmic percussive elements in the salsa music. And, by the way, most of us also love the melody and the words in the songs, not just the rhythm. The major point here is that the New York On 2 timing connects very well to the rhythmic structure of classic salsa music.

Please note, however, as mentioned in our Welcome & Introduction to this web site, that nothing here is meant to suggest that different ways of dancing to salsa music are any less legitimate or less enjoyable. No offense is meant, and none should be taken. There is no right or wrong way to dance. One can dance in many ways, and in connection with many different aspects of the music: rhythm, melody, mood, meaning of the words, tempo, harmony, intensity, etc. What matters most is what each dancer prefers.....and that they don't smash into their neighbors on the dance floor

And this

There is a lot of discussion about how New Yorkers dance On 2, and how that relates to the clave, the cowbells, the congas, etc., and how one must be attending to those instruments in order to learn how to dance On 2. This is not true. These discussions are usually by those who are not primarily and dominantly On 2 dancers. Here in the New York metropolitan area, when we learn to dance On 2 from friends or in classes, whether it is with Eddie Torres, the "Mambo King", or any of the many other excellent instructors noted above , we are not paying much, if any, attention to the clave or these other instruments. That is a much later focus in our learning.

In fact, when we initially learn any part of this dance, whether it is the basic step or shines, or more advanced turn patterns, we do not even play the music at all. Instead, we count out loud "1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7" while learning to place our feet or hands in the proper positions. In order to really understand the feeling of the clave and conga rhythms when dancing On 2, one usually must FIRST be an intermediate or advanced On 2 dancer. And that means that one must have mastered the footwork, timing, partnerwork and open shines to the extent that they are automatic, and that they feel like the only natural way to move to this music. I am not saying that this is the only way to learn our step, but rather that it is the most common method of instruction currently. As with music, while some may learn to play by ear, the majority learn by using a the standardized systematic notation; some may learn mambo in other ways, but the majority here learn by breaking down the dance into the count and the various turn and open shine patterns, many of which have names

Learn the moves 1st by counting, don't worry too much about musicality. i.e. we need to have our alphabets before we can form words and then sentences and then paragraphs and then to poetry!