Literacy Profile: Ballroom Dance

I am very proud to say I am literate in ballroom dancing; though until recently, dancing wasn't something I boasted about to others. The reason becomes obvious when looking at my motive for doing ballroom. When I entered the URI Ballroom Dance Club my freshmen year, there wasn't much thought put into the decision. As a requirement for all incoming classes, URI makes students participate in at least one extracurricular activity. Since mock trial and parliamentary debate were unavailable, I really didn’t have a strong desire to be an active member of anything. I later asked my friends what they chose (there answer being ballroom) and I thought, “sounds as good as anything else. I am in.” So off I went for an hour long class Wednesday evening.

  

I admit, following the crowd was not a good reason to dance and it highly impacted how skilled I became as a dancer. Since I was forced to join an activity, I did the bear minimum.  Whereas, the more passionate people attended the club from 5-9 PM, during which time six dances and some technique was (and still is) covered. At technique classes more one on one time was offered and the teacher really discussed how to make the dance look good. Since, I opted out of that last hour I didn’t know how to follow my partner's lead correctly, count music, stay on beat, or how to position my body during the dance. I had a general understanding that I should be on the right of the leader, but that was only because my partner would push me over there every time.

The better dancers also made more of an effort outside of the classes. Be it by themselves, with a friend, or at a social dance they put in many practice hours on their own time. Then they would come back with questions that they would converse to the teacher about thereby increasing their “declarative and procedural knowledge” as Wilhelm would say (47). Without much practice, all I could do was follow the steps, but typically only when my teacher was saying what should be done next. I say typically, because I even struggled to follow the sequence of moves since I didn't know all of the names of the steps. The last day of class when there were numerous complex steps that built of the basic, I did horribly. Since I had a thin grasp of the dances foundation I couldn't keep up with what my teacher was saying much to my partner’s displeasure.   

Despite my low interest and lack of practice, I continued to attend dance intermittently and performed in a subpar manner until my senior year. That year many of the experienced dancers were no longer in the club and the leadership changed. Now I know I am most at fault for not growing as a dancer earlier, however, I didn't end up caring about the club to put any effort into the skill until the change in members occurred. Under the old group the club was unwelcoming to new comers. On my first day of class many of the participates were frustrated that new comers didn’t already know how to dance. Furthermore, the skilled members didn't make much of an effort to include beginners in their conversations during class either. Really, it is a wonder I even went back sometimes. Luckily I did, and the club changed around the time I did too. Simply put the new president and younger dancers started to be more sociable and were helpful to everyone. With more of a connection to the club, I started staying later, practicing with others outside class, and attending socials.  One of our teachers, who owns a professional dance studio, even offered us discounted class rates when it became apparent the club, myself included, didn’t want to stop dancing during the summer (See below link for studio information).

Aside from having an increased appreciation for a variety of music generas and a wide knowledge of ballroom, I have gained some practical skills that impact my life on a daily basis. For one, becoming involved in dance has made me more personable. In any dance situation you have to be in close proximity with your partner. Because I dance so often at socials and other events, I meet many new dancers constantly. To minimize the incredibly awkward feeling everyone has when being in close contact with a stranger, I have learned the art of small talk quite well. Not everyone is receptive to polite conversation nor are people more skilled than I nice about dancing with a person below their capabilities. Before that bothered me, but now I know to just brush it off and keep dancing. They are only a small thorn when it comes to the overall picture, which is an attitude I keep in mind for anything I try now. So I have also developed a pretty thick skin due to dance.

 The importance of “humane” practice for increasing engagement will also translate into my teaching (Wilhelm, 21). When Wilhelm described how to teach reading during chapter two his support for Vygotsky’s learning-centered teaching showed he thinks a large part of the equation falls on the teacher’s method (31-53). My ballroom teacher used this same method, but as my early experience showed that wasn't enough. What I needed was to have someone create a safe and welcoming environment for me, which could have simply been done by being caring and patient. This clearly relates to the classroom. Wilhelm once said in an aside such an environment can increase new interests (21). With the experience of a poor atmosphere still fresh in my memory, I think atmosphere is more than a footnote. That feeling still makes me go out of my way to be nicer to the freshmen when I dance at URI. The current President does the same too, which is great because membership retention has increased with the introduction of this new club culture. So hopefully like dance retention, I can increase student retention (i.e. interest) through the use of my “humane” ballroom practice.

Links

1. Studio Information: http://dancinfeelin.com/

2. Video of Most Recent URI Performance: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=920111361337853&set=o.2200019120&type=2&theater

*The people in the second video are the people I currently practice with. There technique is a bit better than mine, but I can typically keep up with them during lessons.