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Advice to Ballroom Dancers |
Advice to Dancers by Fred Astaire
Above
all, be yourself! Dancing should be a form of self-expression.
Whatever else you may do, don't make the mistake of being an
unimaginative copyist. Don't be a slave to steps or routines.
After you have been dancing for a time, you will find that you do the
Foxtrot, the Waltz or the Tango just a little bit differently from
anyone else. You have developed your own individual style.
That is nothing to worry over. On the contrary, there would be more
cause for worry if you did not develop a style of your own. Styles in
dancing are developed just as inevitably as styles in writing or
painting. The dancer without individual style is no more than a
mechanical robot.
For ballroom dancing, remember that your partners have their own
distinctive styles also. Cultivate flexibility. Be able to adapt your
style to that of your partner. In doing so, you are not surrendering
your individuality, but blending it with that of your partner.
— Fred Astaire from THE FRED ASTAIRE TOP HAT DANCE ALBUM, A COMPREHENSIVE COMPENDIUM ON BALLROOM DANCING, 1936
Louis Van Amstel "What is your personal contribution to [the dance], [this move]..." One of the most profound statements a coach ever made to me.... Carrie Babcock
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