Why Do We Dance?

A funny thing happened to me this week while hosting the Decades Dance Party at Adventure City Theme Park. There I was, outside on a break from theme park dance parties and a small human runs up to me.

Small Human: You were the one who showed us the dances?

Me: Yes, that was me. 

Small Human: Can I ask you a question?

Me: Of course. You can ask me anything.

Small Human: Why do we dance? 

Me: That’s a very good question. Why do YOU dance? 

Small Human: Well, when I turn on music, it makes me excited.

Me: Yes! That’s a great reason to dance. To show how we feel. 

Whether you are dancing for fitness and health, for culture and celebration and to bring the world back to balance, or just for fun, humans can always find a good reason to dance. 

Now I pass the question on to you, dear humans: Why do you dance?

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Tips for Filming your Dance Practice

Filming your dance practice is a great way to look back and reflect on what’s going well and what you could work on. However, there’s big a difference between getting the right shot for social media and useful practice footage. 

This post shares a few tips that you can incorporate into filming your practice to have a more useful tool for reflection.

Tip 1- Use Assistance

If you can hire a personal videographer, then by all means go for it, but for the rest of us, simply having something else to hold the phone and film is enough. Whether it’s a tripod or a designated phone stand, a portable and adjustable holder will allow you more control over the positioning of your camera. Yes, you can use a pop socket or lean up against something else in a quick fix, but you won’t have as much control over the direction and angle of your shot. The result will be based on those constraints, rather than your practice intention.

For filming my dance practice sessions, I use the Pivo Pod. It is a portable tripod that I can sync with my smartphone to track and follow my movements while filming. You can click here to learn more or purchase Pivo Pod.

Tip 2- Find your Space

Using an adjustable tripod or mounting system of sorts will allow you to shift the view of your recording. When it comes to filming your dance practice, location also matters. If you are filming so you can review choreography, for example, you’ll want to pull back so you can see the entire body and shape of the movements as a whole. If you’re working on foot technique, bring the tripod down to the ground level. 

Tip 3- Make Big Mistakes

Whether you’re filming your practice or not, it’s always a good habit to go full out consistently. Depending on your practice space, you may need to make adjustments and modifications to accommodate, but making big mistakes will allow you to better see what needs work, while a mark leaves you wondering.

Those are a few of my tips for filming dance practice sessions, would you add any to the list?

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Making it up as we go Along: Improvisation in Dance

In dance, improvisation usually refers to some spontaneous or semi-structured movements. Rather than learning choreography as a specific sequence of known steps to match critical points in the music, the moves are entirely random or prompted by a simple word or phrase.

One of my dance mentors shared an excellent concept that I will share with you now, with improvisation in dance, the goal is not so much to be interesting but to be interested.

…with improvisation in dance, the goal is not so much to be interesting, but to be interested.

In theory, improvisation is simple. Make up the movement as you go along. However, many dancers find it hard to make things up on the spot in practice. The number of steps a dancer knows has no relation to their ability to create movement and dance on the spot for improvisation. Dancers can learn new steps, but improvisation is an experience in presence. 

Playing prompt games is a great way to incorporate more improvisation into your dance practice. Working in groups can do something like Simon says, where one person calls out a movement dynamic, color, phrase, and dancers use that to inspire their movement.

If you are working alone, you can still provide yourself with a sense of spontaneity, but it might take more planning. For example, you could create a list of prompts to pull from, or even write out prompts on slips of paper and pull them out of a hat.

To help you out in the prompting, I’ve created a collection of words you can use to inspire your dance improvisation sessions. You can download it for free in my ko-fi shop.

I’m curious to learn more about your experience with improvisation in your dance practice. How do you approach the experience? Do you see it as more of a tool for choreography building or as an exercise in mindfulness? Please feel free yes to share your thoughts in the comments.

The Care and Keeping of Good Dance Habits

I believe every human is a dancer just as they are. If you want to build a solid foundation of physical and mental support for yourself as a professional dance career, however, it can mean a lot of training and practice. Developing consistent good habits is vital. 

Do your daily habits help you reach your dance goals? After my time on this earth as a human, I’ve accumulated plenty of habits. Some of my habits have helped me to thrive while others have evolved to protect me and end up holding me back. And the real kicker is some habits can do both!

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But what are good habits for dancers?

Your habits will ideally reflect your goals as a dancer. If you have not thought about your dance goals in a while, now is a great time. For me, the path to this awareness for myself is keeping track of my habits. When I pay attention to which habits I bring into my life regularly, I can make better choices of which practices I want to hold on to and which to avoid.

Keeping track of your daily habits is as simple as writing them down. You may find a journal method that works best for you, or maybe even a digital app. Once you have an idea of your goals, you’ll know which habits can help you get there. To help you with more brainstorming, I’ve started a list of dance-related habits to get you started. 

• Journaling
• Practice Technique
• Stretching
• Conditioning
• Drink Water
• Eat Healthily

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If you are new to logging habits, I made a simple worksheet you can use to start paying attention two how your lifestyle can support your dance goals.

Head on over to my ko-fi shop to snag your free download.

So tell me dancers, which daily habits are you going to keep track of?

Reflecting on your Dance Practice

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

Dancing is just as much of a mental sport as it is a physical one. It takes courage and confidence for anyone to attempt a step first, and self-doubt is a common enemy for many. This doubt usually comes from my feeling that my dancing might not fit in with professional expectations. One practice I use to combat this perpetual self-doubt is reflexivity.

Reflexivity refers to a process of reexamination of norms. While there may be cultural norms in the dance world, we are all individual dancers.  The benefit of incorporating regular reflection into your dance practice is that you can notice and understand which thoughts and stories may be holding you back from dancing confidently. When I am consistent with my reflecting practice, I feel much more accepting of myself as a unique dancer and more respectful of the history and tradition we are all a part of, even in our uniqueness.

Planning and journaling are two of the simplest ways to practice reflexivity. You’ll just need a place to put your thoughts. Your reflection space may be a blank notebook, digital notepad, post-its, or whatever media you desire for your archive. There are also many options created by dancers like myself who design custom journals and tools for tracking and reflecting on your dance practice. You may need to try a few different journaling styles before you find what works for you (which is just another chance to reflect)! I use a combination of written logs and journaling and bring a lot of reflexivity into my blogging.

Every dancer has their own unique body and soul, and a reflexive approach to dancing allows you to be fluid in developing your dance skills to your personal needs. As an anthropologist, I think it is essential for the people experiencing cultural moments to reflect on them. Your journals and dance logs will become part of the collective memory of dance. There are only so many ways we can preserve dance for the future, and leaving an archive of personal reflections is one of them.

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Dance Reflection Resources

I practice journaling and reflection regularly as a part of my dance practice. I’ve found that I feel more connected to myself as a dancer when I check in on my goals and experiences.

If you’d like to start your own dance diary journey, I’ve made a downloadable resource that is available in my Ko-Fi shop.

Welcome to Digital Wellness

You know the news is terrible, but you can’t stop scrolling.

A friend posts about their life, and suddenly yours pales in comparison.

Information is available at any time, anywhere. And now we are too.

We’ve all been there.

A massive shift to online work and learning environments in 2020 has only made us more aware of the negative impacts technology can have on our health.

How can we balance the benefits of using technology with the costs to our well-being?

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My Digital Wellness Story

When I started studying digital anthropology, I had no idea it would lead me down a path to burnout. The potential for learning with technology excited me, and I took to all of the social media and online courses I could get. As I learned more about working with and developing digital systems to do my research and learn many valuable things, I noticed some adverse effects. My sleep suffered along with my attention, and relationships became strained as digital communications became passive and filtered.

I found myself wondering if it would be possible to continue my career using technology while maintaining my health. After taking time for personal reflection, trial and error with boundaries, and a few digital detoxes, I learned a solution lies in mindfulness and a digital wellness lifestyle. In my personal and professional life, this manifests as regular learning about how digital systems work and then setting boundaries for myself and communicating those boundaries to others. Looking back, I wish there had been someone advocating for these practices as I was learning to be a researcher.

On that note, I’ve got some news to share with you: I am officially a certified Digital Wellness Educator! I took part in a 10-week program with the Digital Wellness Institute, where I learned concepts and strategies to help people overwhelmed with technology. I am one of those technology overwhelmed people myself, but now I am a technology overwhelmed human with some certified skills to make things better.

Building a better relationship with technology doesn’t happen overnight, and it can’t happen with one person alone. My goal now is to create online content mindfully and purposefully.