Learning to dance – a story
Ten years ago Luis decided he would learn to dance. Along with three friends he hired a room did some stretching exercises, played a YouTube video of professional dancers and tried to copy them.
Initially his “lessons” would last an hour and follow the same format. As the years went by he extended the hire for the evening and after the lesson dimmed the lights and the dance continued till late.
The room is an old village hall with a polished timber floor set in the leafy suburbs of the city. Used by day for community get togethers where people talk, drink tea and share the goings on of their lives. In the corner of the room there is a neat stack of books that people leave for others to read and pass on or return once finished. The room is hired out for various functions and for the last six years twice a week by Luis for his dance lessons
In the first year or so it was just Luis and his small group of friends plus a few work colleagues, who then brought some of their friends and the numbers grew. Nowadays Luis has two classes a week, each capped at twenty dancers and there is an eighteen month waiting list for people wanting to join.
Five years ago Luis met Carla at his dance lesson; their relationship blossomed and they married sometime later. Luis and Carla are now accomplished dancers, though continue to learn in each lesson.
His dance lessons still follow the same format though obviously now he is more polished. He starts by loosening up his ankles, then gently moves up through knees, hips, shoulders, arms and neck including pivots, bends and stretches. Other people simply follow what he does. Then with some backing music he walks round the room in time to the beat. Again everyone follows him; there is no instruction.
Once limbered up Luis plays a four minute YouTube video, projected onto the wall, of professional dancers and the group shares what they noticed during the performance. Luis then puts on some music he likes, invites a partner to dance with him and they then try to emulate what they observed. After each ‘dance’ Luis and his partner share what they are noticing and then try again emphasising the moves they enjoy, that seem to work and also make adjustments where necessary. This is how Luis is learning to dance. The rest of the group joins in and follows his general approach. After every few dances people swap partners and continue until the hour is up. Luis then sets going a string of dance tracks he has collected over the years, dims the lights and people dance and talk and dance for the rest of the night. This is how Luis practices what he has learnt.
Luis’ lessons have built a reputation locally and are in demand, they are also cheap – cost of the venue divided by twenty. For his part he has invested in a decent sound system; he sees that as a small price to pay for learning to dance, making friends and finding and marrying his beautiful dance partner.
This is how Luis and others are learning to dance; no instruction given.