Dancers are the Athletes of God
Dancing is not easy. I’m not talking about club dancing, dancing in your pajamas, or anything of that sort. I’m talking about strictly dancing – the good, the bad, the ugly. Nobody really speaks of the hardships strung alongside serious dancing. This article goes out to all the dancers out there who have had their lives meticulously sculpted by the world of dance.
Growing up, almost every other girl I knew attended ballet classes. I, for one, at the age of five or six, did not enjoy ballet. I found it too constricting and technical. However, ballet is the basis of all dances. Then again, I’m not here to expose the debilitating hardships endured by ballet dancers, as exposed through the movie, “Black Swan”. This being because I have yet to take up ballet again, so I really have no say in the matter. I am a Latin dancer, a beginner if you will. I will be the first to confide in you that I am not a good dancer. No, I am not trying to undermine myself or feign humility. I just know that I have so much more to improve on to even be considered a good dancer. I do not wish to mar the perception that all you need is passion to dance well, but someone’s got to concede – dancing is technical. Yes, the best dancers need to have talent but technique is just as important.
I was exposed to the world of Latin dance when I was fifteen years old and I was left gob-smacked after watching my friend compete in an international Latin competition. There are 5 official Latin dances included in Latin dancesport – Cha Cha, Rumba, Jive, Samba, and Paso Doble. As if the names of the dances aren’t intimidating enough, Latin dancers are often pressured to pull through the sweat, blood, and tears with grace and sexiness. Yes, it is irrefutable that Latin dance is comparatively sexual and suggestive to ballet or any other dance, but many do not understand that the women’s Latin competition outfits are short, fitting, and often backless because dancers need to show their appropriate use of muscles in their backs, arms, legs, and feet. Latin dance is often perceived to be rather provocative due to the constant swaying of hips, but many are unaware that even the swaying of hips in an “eight figure” (or more commonly known by Latin dancers as “cucaracha”) is a technique itself. Even striking a foot forward entails a display of technique, let alone the over-the-top choreography displayed in dancing shows like “Dancing With The Stars” or “So You Think You Can Dance”.
I mustered the courage to learn Latin dance seriously as a dancesport only at the end of 2010. When I started training for Latin dance examinations and competitions (which I never got to participate in because my partner migrated elsewhere), I was exposed to a rather archetypal world of dance. Dancers are probably one of the most inexorable human beings in the world. Yes, the technical world of dance is irrefutably cumbersome on so many different levels, but a true dancer is willing to dispel such thoughts and devote time completely to improving herself.
With my dance instructor’s patient guidance, he slowly moulded me into the dancer that I am today. I slowly began to understand the technicalities of Latin dance – pointed toes, muscles flexed, feeling a pull upwards from the core muscles, head upright, shoulders relaxed … The list goes on. Even a lesson of basic weight transfer from the left leg to the right leg easily eats up 30 minutes. Nevertheless, if you truly enjoy dance, you will still be able to revel in the pain of technical dancing, albeit in a masochistic manner. Choreography and music are just the tip of the iceberg for dancers. Passion and dedication are the fuel for dancing well. Oh, a good dance partner also helps you improve tremendously! It takes two to tango anyway, so you get the point. I stick by the saying, “Your first partner’s the dancefloor”, and although everyone is entitled to their own interpretations, you can’t exactly stray far from the meaning embedded in the saying.
Dancing entails agility coupled with fluidity, strength complemented with grace, reality mixed with reveries, technique coupled with talent, and passion fueled by dedication. Most importantly, you’ve got to enjoy dancing. I was elated when Gatorade, in collaboration with the television hit series, So You Think You Can Dance, recognised dancers as athletes in the year 2010. Cheers to dancers everywhere who face verbal chastisement that dancing is a frivolous, non-athletic activity. No matter what dance you find yourself passionately entrenched in, bear in mind that dancers truly are the athletes of God.
BY ALISON TAN KWAN HWA
Growing up, almost every other girl I knew attended ballet classes. I, for one, at the age of five or six, did not enjoy ballet. I found it too constricting and technical. However, ballet is the basis of all dances. Then again, I’m not here to expose the debilitating hardships endured by ballet dancers, as exposed through the movie, “Black Swan”. This being because I have yet to take up ballet again, so I really have no say in the matter. I am a Latin dancer, a beginner if you will. I will be the first to confide in you that I am not a good dancer. No, I am not trying to undermine myself or feign humility. I just know that I have so much more to improve on to even be considered a good dancer. I do not wish to mar the perception that all you need is passion to dance well, but someone’s got to concede – dancing is technical. Yes, the best dancers need to have talent but technique is just as important.
I was exposed to the world of Latin dance when I was fifteen years old and I was left gob-smacked after watching my friend compete in an international Latin competition. There are 5 official Latin dances included in Latin dancesport – Cha Cha, Rumba, Jive, Samba, and Paso Doble. As if the names of the dances aren’t intimidating enough, Latin dancers are often pressured to pull through the sweat, blood, and tears with grace and sexiness. Yes, it is irrefutable that Latin dance is comparatively sexual and suggestive to ballet or any other dance, but many do not understand that the women’s Latin competition outfits are short, fitting, and often backless because dancers need to show their appropriate use of muscles in their backs, arms, legs, and feet. Latin dance is often perceived to be rather provocative due to the constant swaying of hips, but many are unaware that even the swaying of hips in an “eight figure” (or more commonly known by Latin dancers as “cucaracha”) is a technique itself. Even striking a foot forward entails a display of technique, let alone the over-the-top choreography displayed in dancing shows like “Dancing With The Stars” or “So You Think You Can Dance”.
I mustered the courage to learn Latin dance seriously as a dancesport only at the end of 2010. When I started training for Latin dance examinations and competitions (which I never got to participate in because my partner migrated elsewhere), I was exposed to a rather archetypal world of dance. Dancers are probably one of the most inexorable human beings in the world. Yes, the technical world of dance is irrefutably cumbersome on so many different levels, but a true dancer is willing to dispel such thoughts and devote time completely to improving herself.
With my dance instructor’s patient guidance, he slowly moulded me into the dancer that I am today. I slowly began to understand the technicalities of Latin dance – pointed toes, muscles flexed, feeling a pull upwards from the core muscles, head upright, shoulders relaxed … The list goes on. Even a lesson of basic weight transfer from the left leg to the right leg easily eats up 30 minutes. Nevertheless, if you truly enjoy dance, you will still be able to revel in the pain of technical dancing, albeit in a masochistic manner. Choreography and music are just the tip of the iceberg for dancers. Passion and dedication are the fuel for dancing well. Oh, a good dance partner also helps you improve tremendously! It takes two to tango anyway, so you get the point. I stick by the saying, “Your first partner’s the dancefloor”, and although everyone is entitled to their own interpretations, you can’t exactly stray far from the meaning embedded in the saying.
Dancing entails agility coupled with fluidity, strength complemented with grace, reality mixed with reveries, technique coupled with talent, and passion fueled by dedication. Most importantly, you’ve got to enjoy dancing. I was elated when Gatorade, in collaboration with the television hit series, So You Think You Can Dance, recognised dancers as athletes in the year 2010. Cheers to dancers everywhere who face verbal chastisement that dancing is a frivolous, non-athletic activity. No matter what dance you find yourself passionately entrenched in, bear in mind that dancers truly are the athletes of God.
BY ALISON TAN KWAN HWA
