Dancespiration: Unlimited Expression

In every dance genre there exists the same steps over and over again.  Rarely does anything change about the barre exercises in classical ballet, or the floor work in Latin technique.  Dances that have existed for a long while have a constancy of movement.  Newer dances, like hip hop, have more freedom and room for development.  This is because they are expressed differently by each person.  They are danced more expressively because their technique is less strict (granted hip hop does have a fair amount of technique).  

     If a dance step is added or the technique is changed, it's often because of someone who decided to push the limits to their own interpretation.  They danced so hard and so deeply in that dance that it caused a change in the development of that genre.  Examples of this today in Latin ballroom are Michael Malitowski and Joanna Leunis.  Their dancing can reach extremes sometimes, but it sets the bar for future Latin dancers.  

     So, as this quote says (credit to Jean Dorff of Dancing Mind Conscious Body), "I have seen these steps, I would like to see how you dance them."  When you turn that music on, go through your routine with all its basic steps, and then go through it again the way you like to dance it.  Check yourself in dance practice or class, push yourself to go that extra mile with every execution, and make sure above all you dance the movement.  Get to the point where you can dance it expressively and technically…then you will truly be on top of the world!  And who knows?  Maybe you'll set the bar higher for the rest of us.  In the least you will have raised your standards for yourself.                                                    -RumbaQueen             

             Check out a video of Michael and Joanna 'pushing it' in samba!