Dance is Conversation
When I first started ballroom dancing, it was all I could do to keep up with where my feet were supposed to go next and what step or pattern I wanted to execute next.
As I progressed, I came to realize something fascinating. Each dance wasn’t just a series of patterns intended to maneuver my partner around the floor (without running into anybody), but was acutally the medium for communication. With each partner, I found I was engaged in a three minute converstation.
No Words Required
It is very important to look at dance as a conversation — it’s an invitation and a response. The leader chooses a course for the conversation and invites the follower to come along. The follower is not obligated to join the conversation, but may choose to respond in a number of ways. If all goes well, then the follower responds by willingly accepting the invitation and off we go into a wonderful dance. Words need not be spoken and are not required. Everything that needs to be said can be communicated with our arms, legs, bodies, eyes and smiles. Don’t forget the smile.
For three minutes you can be lost in the moment, forgetting the world around you. Focused solely on the person in your arms.
Hopefully you have a wonderful conversation and not an arguement.
How important is the conversation to the dance? What have you experienced?
[...] With no matching resistance, the follower will simply collapse into the leader and there is no communication and no way for him to lead at this [...]