On Basics

On Basics
by Yanqing, 30/3/2006

WHAAAAAT? Not Again!
The Importance of Basic Class

Yep, they say it's boring. They say they have already learnt the steps. They say they know it. They ask why they have to repeat the same steps over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over over and over and over and over and over again.

Well, now you're gonna find out why!!! lalalalala............

Yes, I got myself started on the Basics. Hey I'm a teacher, you can't fault me... Good teachers nag. Heehee....


Yep, we discussed this yesterday. And every time we talk about it, I get more clarity. The basics are something we cannot run away from. It's the structure from which everything derives from. Why do we have to take 300 basic classes? Issit a money-making facade? Obviously not, or we won't tell you to keep repeating the same classes 300 times! What do we want you to do? Die of boredom? If this were a money-making scheme, we'd give you a different class everyday until the end of your life, and I think it's possible with the amount of stuff there is in salsa. Curiously, I'm never bored with the basic class. Gosh there are so many things to constantly check and correct, how can I be bored? I've been doing piles in ballet since I was 5 years old, and I still don't like it... I just don't have a good turnout. I'm certainly not bored by it!

Alignment

As teacher ong so aptly put it, every dance has its "settings": where to place your hand, where to look, where to put your feet... Most people do not even know where is the right place to put their hands and feet, and how to hold their body in the correct position. They do the step, but don't understand where the alignment is. The basic training is for you to check your alignment and correct it. Obviously, if your alignment is wrong (e.g., your entire body is slanted to the left rather then standing straight, your footwork is wrong, preparation into the spin if lopsided), don't expect to dance nicely. If you can't even look nice when you're stationary (e.g., a hunched posture), I highly doubt that you'll look beautiful when you're moving to the beat!

An analogy: There are so many ways to step forward with your left leg: one foot-length forward, three foot-length forward, turned in, turned out, heel first, toe first... The nice ones are like 5 out of 1000 ways. If you don't check, what makes you think you're stepping nicely? The chance of hitting that is maybe a lucky 0.5%. However, if you consciously find the nicest way to step forward, the chances of hitting the mark is 99.9%.

The alignment is like an equilibrium you're trying to maintain. One little tilt of your arm and you're out of alignment and you don't look right, you don't spin right, you don't style right.... They are all cumulative because it's the basics. How can you look good if the foundations that hold your dance together is lopsided or weak?

Steps to be a Good Dancer

(1) You have to first know your "settings": where to place the step, how far to step forward and back, how high the hands are held, how the chest and posture should look like...
(2) After you know that, you have to align yourself to it. This actually takes a while to get used to.
(3) Next comes the part of sustaining that alignment. This last part requires discipline more than the previous, and it is the one that people don't understand ("I already know my basics, why do I need to do it 300 times?"). I have one thing to say for this. There are so many ways of doing a step wrong (ugly) and so few ways of doing it right (beautiful). One twirk of your finger can make everything look bad. Are you sure you're doing it nicely now? Or has one of your fingers "twirked"?

"Practice makes Perfect... If you practice the wrong thing, you'll perfect it."

A teacher of mine alwiz says this: "Practice makes perfect. If you practice the wrong thing, you'll perfect it." Such wise words... Hee hee...

Social dancing on the dance floor actually kills your alignment. Think about it. It's crowded, you step small steps, you slant yourself to avoid hitting someone, the music's too fast to follow... It's a madhouse. What are the chances of proper alignment if you can't do it in your sleep? Practically nil. And if that's all you do (social and only social), will your proper alignment remain in place? Probably not: remember, "Practice makes perfect". And you're perfecting messy dancing during social. That's why it's always important to go back and check your basics, to ensure that no bad habits has been created. I mean, it's very good to social dance and I nag people to go and dance, but you can't rely on just that to look good. If you realize, the things that teachers correct are your BASICS!!! Your posture, your line, your lead, hook and tension... No matter how advanced you are in your dancing, it will always be the basics that are to be corrected! So the shortcut is...... 300 basic classes. Where there are few distractions and you can focus on and check your alignment.