Dance is a lot like life . Here I bring forth a few simple pointers on Partner Dancing.
Important lessons in leadership are easily learned, on the dance floor…as you lead and as you follow.
They are very simple lessons and yet very powerful and contribute in making one a better dancer immediately. But more importantly it helps to know how to be a better leader in life too.
About two decades or more, Social dancing workshops and lessons in India were rarely common. We decided to do something about it and the Dance Concepts Latin &ballroom dance workshops began . We started with the basics :a Foxtrot , a Waltz , Jive , Rock n Roll and of course a Cha Cha Cha.
The idea was to teach as naturally and as simply as possible, so that the students made quick progress in learning the concepts of dancing rather than just a routine. Having had the privilege of sharing our social dancing skills with so many eager learners over the years we made a few observations … when the learners were learning the footwork side by side they would find it a breeze. But when we instructed them to join hands and dance together in an open hold some of them felt as if they were wrestling more than dancing with the lady pulling one way, while the man was pushing her another way Each had their ideas about how they should move and how it would look.
Social Dancing is a partnership, a partnership where there is a leader and a follower. Even if you don’t like to follow, to dance well together it is wise to respect the partnership rules. Learning to follow is a skill that one needs to develop and is not necessarily easy. It’s difficult as you have to do the same thing your partner is doing, except backward.
Just as important, you have to follow his lead even if it seems as if he’s going the wrong way. And thus if one learns to lead well, the partner may actually enjoy the feeling of being led than feeling yanked and shoved around.
Traditionally the man takes the lead on the dance floor. Yes, in ballroom dancing – even in these days -mostly the man leads. But roles can be and are reversed as well. After all it takes two to tango… if one leads the other follows.
Being a leader is more about sensitivity and definitely not about pushing your partner around, but to lead well, it is necessary to develop spatial awareness so you know exactly where your partner is at every moment, which foot their weight is balanced on without looking. You have to be aware of their pacing, and be mindful of the strengths, and weaknesses. And you have to take all that into consideration every time you move with a partner in your arms.
A good leader connects than controls.
Savvy
Sense what you are going to do before you do it. Just be aware of what your next step is going to be, and give your partner the signal at the right time so they can follow you gracefully. Like so in life: Having some foresight of what your life should become is like knowing what type of dance you want to do. But being a good leader requires more of you than that. It demands that you also have good ideas about the medium- and short-term tasks that are required to achieve that vision. And it means you have to communicate those ideas to your partners – those who are working closely with you to achieve your vision.
When dancing together it is very important to …
Signal your intentions with clarity. To lead well, and the way to avoid using force is to give strong, clear signals. The clearer your signals are, the easier it is to follow you. And the easier it is for your partner to follow you, the better you will look and feel together and the better they will like dancing with you.
In life: knowing what you want from your partners, colleagues etc is not enough. You have to let them know what you want them to do by communicating it to them with clarity. And most of all you have to develop the art of patience.
Lead to demonstrate your partner’s strengths.In dancing, the purpose of the leader is to lead – but the purpose of the dance itself is to enjoy the moment with your partner, each focusing on the bringing the best of each others strengths than the weaknesses…
Wise leaders hardly blame the follower when things go haphazard , which it might at times! After all exhilaration and excitement are a stones throw away from comfort zones that one might trespass at times , yet when ever the leader and the follower work in harmony … it is magnetic and mesmerizing indeed! It is then a dance beyond all expectations!
In your growing years, many emotional fluctuations of belief and disbelief will arise from curiosity to concern, from doubt to belief, questioning the purpose of our existence, questioning the powers undefined , the supremeness of it all ..!!!!
May my thoughts be well scrutinized by you in your quest to answers that resonate to your being . But hope to pass on a share of my simple understanding of the complexities of the undefinable ‘Faith’ in the name of God!
To me faith is the hope and strength of divinity in each of us …Without which we cease to exist as living beings .
Acknowledging the presence of divine compassion in our lives is about being able to receive as much easily as much as being able to give.
When we are focused on evolving deeper into our spiritual path of awareness , very often the body is neglected … it could be physically neglected, abused, deprived in more ways than one ,either out of sheer ignorance or due to assumption that austerity and overt practices of discipline over our body will only lead to salvation .
When the very dwelling place of our being is neglected how are the roots going to dig deeper… wisdom is not intellectual understanding alone.
True wisdom is acknowledgement of the divinity in every living being … being able to understand the union of the heart and the mind , and in the awakening of the wisdom one finds the balance in the union of action and thoughts.
Caring for our body,is a prerequisite to spiritual growth .. if you don’t love yourself, how can you love others .Eastern philosophies extoll the virtues of equanimity and the consciousness of the intuitive intellect, a sense intelligence than just rational thoughts … And when we learn that you and I are simply one… the connectedness of consciousness becomes easy to unravel . We are also able see and to accept the reality of the shades of grey in between the black and white of human behavior .
When we are able to do so , the so called negative traits of reaction , rebuttal to an action converts itself to a mindful response with equanimity .
This method invokes a sense of balance in the living being .
Simply adding an element of gratitude to all that we are blessed with will only let us ingrain a spirit of gratefulness in whatever we do …as we learn to respect and love another being as part of the same source … AND THAT TO ME IS ….
BEING HAPPY WHERE YOU ARE, AS YOU ARE, WITH ALL THAT YOU ARE …. LOVING THE SELF …AND CARING ENOUGH TO LOVE THE WORLD AROUND YOU !
AND THEN THE FAITH IN THE GOD -NESS IN YOU AND ME IS ONE !
Love
Mom
Savvy
This is an excerpt from a few reflections written to my daughter in her growing years.
Often as artists there is much at stake ingrained individually.
But to move beyond these narrow means is an awakening to the arising and ever expanding horion of truth in its infinite potential. And that is what gives the shape of things to come.
To see beauty in creation is to know its strength and weaknesses as they are …
knowing it is the divine creators touch that makes it unique even in its very falliability.
No matter then, the elements the energy chooses to express with… for in the very enterprise of creation is a divine transcendence.
To my loving child.
The Bond
Who says the umbilical card is severed.
Never, it can be so.
The bond of blood,
Sculpting every day
With ur flesh and blood.
Never a moment
In those nine months
Was careless or thoughtless
Of the growing life inside.
The miracle of life energies
To continue its cycle on earth Seeps in every cell in its own synergy
A bond that lasts a lifetime.
Age, time and distance doesn’t matter,
A child will ever be a child in the eyes of a Mother,
A continuation of her life
A source of her joy for ever.
A child’s misery bleeds her heart
All the foibles are erased without effort
How nice this world would be
If all have a mother’s outlook towards others.
Putting her child first comes natural, not by intention,
The only love that expects nothing in return.
Everything else becomes a shadow
When the child comes in a Mother’s vision.
A mother is a messenger of God
Not confined to humans alone
Look around to see this motherhood
In all the Species of Nature around.
Selfless and pure ,unconditional love
Caring and sharing comes untold.
The bond is in the senses and soul
Who says this cord is severed at birth.
Anjana
I am touched by the above verses that my mother has penned. I share this here with all my heart and soul, knowing every mother andchildout there will relate to this beautiful poem from the heart of my dear mother Anjana.
Here is a beautiful story that is worth a read and share.
A young woman was sitting at her dining table, worried about taxes to be paid, house-work to be done and to top it all, her family was coming over for Thanksgiving the next day. She was not feeling very thankful at that time. As she turned her gaze sideways, she noticed her young daughter scribbling furiously into her notebook. “My teacher asked us to write a paragraph on “Negative Thanksgiving” for homework today.” said the daughter, “She asked us to write down things that we are thankful for, things that make us feel not so good in the beginning, but turn out to be good after all.”
With curiosity, the mother peeked into the book. This is what the daughter had written:
“I’m thankful for Final Exams, because that means school is almost over. I’m thankful for bad-tasting medicine, because it helps me feel better. I’m thankful for waking up to alarm clocks, because it means I’m still alive.” It then dawned on the mother, that she had a lot of things to be thankful for! She thought again… She had to pay taxes but that meant she was fortunate to be employed. She had house-work to do but that meant she had her own home to live in. She had to cook for her family for Thanksgiving but that meant she had a family with whom she could celebrate.
Moral:We generally complain about the negative things in life but we fail to look at the positive side of it. What is the positive in your negatives?
Look at the better part of life this day and make it a great day”
All is in a days work ?
I wonder if the world could see
The simplest truth of life and work.
Work has its place in life But it must not takeover life
Treat work well meet and greet
On its terms but dont get bound by it.
The canvas of life is expansive
And yet inclusive
And work is not all.
Many facets of life bring on the shine
Each facet carrying its purpose of being.
An experience of each begets the wisdom
Make time for it all.
Work is work only if work is treated like work.
Dont abuse it. dont disregard .
Treat it with dignity own up to it
Value it as an opportunity .
Give it your best shot
Take nothing for granted
For every bit matters.
Respect work as it t comes as it is tough to live without work
Life is life only if you care to live it well
What use is life if you are not even able to
Live it
All you have is one life.
Heartbeats in every now
Every moment matters for its your life
To do all that you truly can
Every day is fresh with all the possibilities
Make life work for yourself
As you gear up to step up to life
Life will open up the path for you.
Is the truth of Creation
Bound by laws
Or is creation a product
Of union and collisions.
Every act of creation
Is a manifestation of a reality
A dimension of truth
A matter,a shape, a form
In the envisioning of the ultimate oneness
What is the nature of creation
Is it continumm of intentions
Giving rise like phoenix
To the alpha and the omega
Is it the begining to end
Or the end with infinite beginnings
Not yet fathomable.
As man seeks to understand
The order of things
Life creates disorder
It shakes things up a bit
For all to settle for a while
Back into place .
And man thinks
He has deciphered
Finally the meaning
Of his own self
Amidst the others.
Only to be stumped by chance
Once again by stepping in
To another dimension
In the making, and yet again
Is left pondering over
Another reality in the illusions
We are mirrors of our existence
For no answer is the perfect answer
No truth, the perfect truth.
We are interweaved beings
Interpolating our individual
Versions of truth as it appears.
In so doing we refine our versions
In inclusivity and exclusivity
In trial and error
Searching and discovering
Learning and sharing
Our paths in crossing and in sensing
Accepting and acknowledging
The Infinity of truth
It is the conversation of souls.
A consoling touch, a supporting hug,
An unconceited hand of help,
A heartfelt look to show that ” I’m here for you”
Can heal a hurt.
It has the magical power to convert
The curve of the mouth upwards.
To strengthen the heart ,
To induce the power to fight back,
To erase the dark clouds of the mind,
To view hope in the horizon,
To see the brilliance of happiness shine again.
Tomorrow is Another Day.
Another step to move forward.
There is dawn after every dusk.
Anjana
Tommorow is Another Day indeed!
This is a reflection that came my way as a response from my dear mother after reading my yesterday’s post on Power of the Human Spirit.
I remember as a young kid the day when my father took us all to watch a very beautiful movie called’ The day of the Dolphins’. It was the first time I saw these beautiful creatures of the sea. Since then I have always been mesmerized by the effortless grace in their movements. Dolphins truly move gracefully and yet are active and fast in water. Indeed they are capable of astounding feats of great speed and agility. The reason for their ability to propel themselves well is not only because of a streamlined body but also due to their ability to use the positive pressure field generated by a moving body to their benefit. Their tails are strong, muscular and powerful. This explains their ability to swim on their sides turn quickly and also change directions fast.
That dolphins take big leaps off the water is well known. Many reasons can be attributed to this behavior. One of the reasons is that dolphins leap out of water while travelling to conserve energy as moving through air consumes less energy than moving in water. Others reason out that the leaping may be a signal ofcommunication with others of its own species. Or, perhaps the act could possibly even give them a better view of food options available. Believed to be the most intelligent of all animals, dolphins are comparably as intelligent as a two year old human being. Along with their intelligence comes a finely developed sense of touch as their nerve endings are close to their skin. This also could be the reason as to why they are able to bond closely with the human species.
It seems so that dolphins spend the better part of their day indulging in social interactions. In fact the actions distinctly exhibited by them make for interesting observation. Talk of the manner in which they pop their heads out of the water, touching and rubbing pectoral fins, breaching, bows and more. Synchronous movements such as these seem to work so much like signals of communication in bonding between a pair… quite like a beautiful waltz !
Savvy Raj 