Dance: a Fundamental Philosophy

The following essay explores my general philosophy regarding dance.
Sources mainly involve oral history given to me by countless people, as well as the blurred memory of countless articles and books I have read in my constant research. These opinions may not be necessarily shared with any particular dance community or instructor, including those sourced, and they are simply my opinions and my own conclusions on the subject. You may or may not agree with the information and opinions given, and you are welcome to express your feelings on the subject matter in a contributive manner. This essay will be a working piece, and will continue to grow as I learn more from lessons from teachers, experience with dancers, and the feedback of others.

The exploration is intentionally very general as to make it as fundamental and universally applicable as possible. However, this essay primarily is focused on vernacular jazz dance.
For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to the lead with male pronouns and the follow with female pronouns.

Dance: a Fundamental Philosophy
A working piece- An expressional essay on dance
Inspired by the teachings of Ria Debiase, Peter Flahiff, Frankie Manning, Nick Williams, and Audrey Wilson

I believe dance serves as a social function and an art form.

As a social and cultural function- society gathers around cultural activities- let's just use football for an example. An activity becomes considered part of the culture when virtually every person in the given society plays a role in the activity- from the players on the field, the advertisers funding the game, the cheerleaders and band raising spirit, to the viewer at home.
Dance is likewise so- the dancers, the musicians, the hosts, the audience all serve their part to make the culture of the dance, and make dancing a part of the general culture of the society.
As everyone contributes to the subculture, everyone bears certain responsibilities in their roles. There should be a staff responsible for maintaining a suitable venue for dancing. There are the musicians and DJs that produce sound. These individuals and groups support the dancers with their skills and abilities. In return, the dancers should support these people in return through regular attendance of venues, introduction and inclusion of new individuals to the community, and patronage of supporting facilities and services. In this manner, all sides of the dance community are supporting each other, and a dance community is able to support itself, thrive, and maintain growth.

Dance was probably created around the music associated with the particular dance, and enabled people to play a more active role in the engagement of the music. This allowed people to express themselves in response to the music*- creating a visual art to complement the musical art, as well as to serve as a social activity- allowing members of the society to interact with each other when they would not have in any other circumstance. (*Of course, there is dancing without music, and that is the pure visual art aspect of dance, and there are other forms of dance in which sound is an essential part, such as tap, which is an amalgamation of the visual and musical aspects of dance.) Since it serves a social function, dancers should primarily seek to entertain each other, and enjoy the social company of another. Etiquette of social functions should apply to the dance event as of any other social functions, but one should be mindful of the different cultures that dance brings together, and be accepting of the differences- the colour that is bound to appear.

In regards to the act of dancing itself, I believe that dancing is a conversation between the lead, the follow, and the music.

The lead and the follow are communicating with each other and should seek to constantly improve that communication and remove barriers to that.
To expand on the conversation metaphor, when a couple dances together for the first time, they are two strangers engaging in conversation with one another. They may not be speaking the same language, meaning they do not know the same dance, they may not be speaking the same dialect, meaning the same style of that dance. They also may not be using the same vocabulary, meaning the same skill level.

It is the lead who should initiate each conversation and make the follow comfortable. This has far-reaching implications and responsibilities for the lead. It means the lead is ultimately responsible, with few exceptions, for the success of the conversation- the dance. The lead should do his best to make the follow feel comfortable and to entertain her. The lead initiates the dance, and the follow should do her best to follow him; try to speak his dance language, attuned to his dialect, speak with the same vocabulary. Meaning, the follow attempts to perform the same dance, with the same style, and dance to the same level as the lead.

Of course, perfection is rarely achieved, so the couple must find a middle ground. If one dancer is not able to perform the particular dance and style, he or she must try to do something that is compatible with what the other can dance. It is not likely to find this compromise through dancing in a more specialized or advanced manner, so inevitably, this involves returning to basics. The importance of strong basics cannot be stressed enough, and every mature dancer will attest to that fact. Basics do not only include knowing the basic steps, but dancing in a matter that maximizes communication with one's partner.

Clear communication is a persistent goal that can be pursued through becoming a more efficient dancer and being more knowledgeable of one's body and one's partner's. This involves maximizing energy towards leading or following, and minimizing movement and energy not directly related to that purpose. Balboa dancers have an old maxim they strive to achieve- to be smaller and tighter dancers. This holds true for any dance which is to be done with efficiency. Each weight change should be a clear driving lead to the follow to fuel her movement, and excessive movement should be limited to provide a pure lead to the follow. Stylizing should be done to accentuate the lead and should be done in a manner that provides information contributing to the lead’s message. Ultimately, good dancers will dance in a manner that maximizes useful communication yet minimizes energy used to dance it.

When two dancers communicate well together, they are like two fluent speakers of a language together, and are capable of conversation on a deeper level. They are able to explore the dance with flexibility and discovery without breaking connection, hence remaining in communication with their partner. Their conversation with the music and with each other flows seamlessly from one subject into another. Therefore, their conversation is conducted fluently, and the dancers have achieved an acme of the dance’s social function.