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!
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.
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.
My Dedication in Celebration of the World Kindness Day yesterday.
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. – LAO-TZU
Such profound words of wisdom from the great master Lao Tzu!
Always believe that when you share kindness with another, more kindness springs up, whether it’s in your thoughts, in your deeds, or in stillness too. Whenever you give with a compassionate heart and the receiver accepts with gratitude and appreciation, you have both made a foray, knowingly or unknowingly, into the dimension of empathic living.
There is a great abundance of learning to share.
Learning is never limited, it is endless and ever regenerating in itself. What I perceive to understand and to confidently and gratefully share with the world in my unique way, will in itself become known in the hearts of the ones I shared it with. This is the power of positive change. They will eventually distribute their own interpretation of that knowledge in their own creative way with another, and so on.
Then the incredible happens! With every distribution, there will be depth and dimensions a new, which in turn will pave the path for greater clarity and wisdom. However, the choice of walking the path is one’s own!
When one person shares from the heart, the result is always a regeneration of trust, confidence, and love in abundance.
With increasing love, there is a decrease of needs, and with that, there is greater contentment and fulfillment.
A few things to keep in mind are:
Share without motive.
Share without ego.
Share with gratitude.
The ones who bestow with acceptance writ in their hearts are the ones who know the value of letting go to reap its rewards.
Rewards that cannot be measured by time or days, as they abound in the infinite wisdom; a circle of conscious connections.
Savvy Raj 
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