Allowing the art to speak and acknowledging its flow is of essence, to sense and enjoy the art itself.
Learning to dance & dancing socially comes along with many lessons and learnings…
In any partner dancing its important to respond than simply react to the movement direction from the partner in the flow.
The cultivation of the ability of any dancers acknowledgement & appreciation of their dance partner or other dancers, differences in movement speed or artistry not merely as tolerable, brings on the required humility and grace in the dance.
This is in itself the essence of a rich and rewarding social dancing experience.
The Antwerpen Christmas Market is spread out over several streets and squares lighting up the entire historical centre of Antwerp beautifully into a huge and happening zone to stroll around in…
Glowing in the night! Beating the winters chill Sitting by warm fire pits… Sipping hot glühwein!
And the mistletoe? Well its no small branch But a giant one indeed! Fit for all the crowd that gather under Just to share their love for each other….💞
Dance is one of the most revealing forms of expression. Body never lies. Movements unmask the truth within. And that is precisely the way it heals you.
Healing Art of Expression.
Self awareness through self-expression articulates the suppressed emotions. It unravels the depths of your being. Dancing can lift you from where you are and transform your heart and mind to seeing beyond the bare visible. It reflects the profound truths within. Dancing awakens the spirit of life.
Movements matter...
Often it is the neglect and disconnect with our body, as we grow that alienates us from ourselves.
Dancing works to stay aligned body mind and spirit. It is one of easiest, practical and effective ways to connect with oneself.
Dancing regularly alleviates stress anxiety disease and depression. Dance integrates and invigorates every cell in the body and consistency is the key to great health and happiness.
Movements matter.
When you dance you sense who you are.
Savvy
Personally in my life, my way to deal with lifes challenges has been with movements ranging from walking to dancing.
Post a good walk or a dance session most of our so called brewing unrest in the mind and body settles down.
Our body provides us tools through movements for self expression but it needs sustaining and support.
Our body needs acknowledging acceptance, respect recognition recovery and regeneration time as much as stimulation and activity.
Dancing movements presents itself in many forms and every form has an advantage worth exploring.
Do you love to dance?
What kind of dance is your kind of dance?
Do you feel different after dancing?
How so?
Have you experienced mood changes post dancing ?
Are you ready to dance at any given moment?
Do you need to have a particular music or a partner to get up and dance ?
What’s dancing got to do with management
Everything!
Oh, she is a dance teacher!
What will she know about managing a business?
This is the common perception of people in business setups. They have a dismissive attitude towards anyone who comes from a non-aligned field like arts for example.
Personally speaking, as a dance professional for more than two decades, I can certainly say that the experience trains you into a lot more than dancing. It helps develop & cultivate people skills, culture and mindsets, and the ability to empathetically understand attitudes that can be observed in life and living.
Besides, there are common skills that go beyond business management and enter life skills that one needs to navigate life effectively.
Here are a few skills that come to mind immediately…
Time Management
Code of conduct
Space management
Body language awareness
Self Expression
Discernment
Discipline and Focus
Alertness
Respect
Collaboration
Teamwork
Mindfulness
Authenticity
Precision
Adaptability
Planning
Creativity
Dancing movements can open channels of flow which translates into greater energy optimization.
And each dancer may have explored the art of dancing in different forms and its application would have the potential to create a greater depth of understandings.
The value of art may be high, yet the possibilities and the potential application of art are yet undervalued and undermined.
There is so much scope in the art of movement that we can realize. It’s high time to accept that dance education and application has much to offer the world beyond just a stage performance. Great to see radical shifts in the way dance is being perceived across certain parts of the world. But it has to percolate to where all it can matter.
Time to think beyond and open up to these yet underutilized but valuable life management skills.
Hi all, To all my dear readers followers and friends.
I will be conducting the Weekend Dance workshops series begining this October 2019 @Pune India . Will be kicking off with the Jive Basics & Beyond Workshop starting this Sat and Sun 19th and 20 th Oct.
No prior dance experience is required for this workshop.
Dancing the Jive is one of my personal favorites. And yes this music makes you feel happy and alive. You can’t help feeling great!
What it entails.
The course is spread over two days . Focus will be of course be building on basics of the Dance and partnering skills . Beyond the basics we will also be focusing on tips and tricks to make your dancing not only easy but enjoyable for you as well as your partner .
Every dance style has a special effect on us as dancers and this dance worshop will certainly keep you happily dancing.
If you are a beginner and want to learn to dance the basics and get dancing confidently on the floor this is just right you. If you are a solo dancer but would like to learn to dance with a partner this is just perfect for you.
If you are the kind who sits out at parties for the fear of not knowing how to dance, may be this simplifies it all! If you are looking to put on your dancing shoes and dance your heart out… Make sure you are there.
If you are looking to brush up your concepts and skills, this would be just right for you too. Age is no bar to learn to dance.
Dancing is not just about the steps or how you dance but how you feel and how you make another feel as you dance.
So put on your dancing shoes and let’s meet on the dance floor!💃🙂💃
Savvy Ps. If you are looking to have a session at your city in a new venue Kindly connect and we can also create and conduct special group dance workshops.
Cos I would love to know more about you, my dear reader.
Would you be so kind as to share if you are fond of dancing…
Do you dance?
And if the music is right …
Would you prefer to dance solo or with a partner?
I do believe dancing from the heart has much to do with your wellbeing.
As a dance trainer over the years, I have come across many people to whom movement and music have made a huge difference in their lives.
Have always seen that it is not about the level or the intricacies of the steps or advanced techniques…
Rather it is about how you feel as you dance from within and how you make and leave another feeling even after the dance is over.
A few minutes of enjoyable dancing can leave lasting impressions on every cell of the being for the better.
Whatever the music or dance style that appeals to you the point is it integrates your healing mode and brings forth a positive transformation in the mind and body.
This is my humble attempt to bring the like-minded together and motivate you to take a step and dance some more.
As you dance you are creating health in and around you.
Do share if you feel dance has touched your life in any way…
Would be great to hear your insights and experiences.
Have shared many of my personal experiences over the years with my Dance for wellness workshops.
Just like the sounds of music in the spaces between the notes, there is dancing in the spaces between the steps. It is only when we become aware of the value of the spaces between the thoughts that we can truly reflect, revel and live with ease through our lives.
The pinnacle of access to our realization of the creative entities at work would actually be in the silence, in the intentions, in an emotional journey of profound fulfilment. The trick is to find that point of the immense creative surge and be able to nurture it.
Rest and activity go together just as much as night and day… and like the yin and the yang, the pauses in between two breathes, inaction in between the action, brings forth the clarity, purity, and the intensity of that which is evolving.
It’s disheartening that our world has become so hyperactive. Multitasking has become the order of the day, people spend time having dinner in front of televisions, reading is done with music, and very often we have mobile phone calls that cut through a real conversation. So much has there been an abuse of our bodies and mind that we truly have forgotten the importance of non-activity and quietude.
The stillness between your actions or movements are the bridges to our conscious experiences and the greater your awareness the greater the creative potency of the action itself.
Savvy
Dancing socially de-stresses the body mind and spirit holistically. Taking a momentto value the steps you dance together, valuing the music you are dancing to, appreciating this moment & appreciating the partner you have at this moment will only cultivate the value for oneself and will help in centring oneself deeper in the action with a joyful heart and soul.
When you dance, if you still your thoughts to simply learn to flow with the partner, the atmosphere, the music you will undoubtedly enliven yourself in the process and what you have is a beautiful dance of togetherness bridging the spaces between the steps with a conscious awareness …… And that is when dancing feels like a miracle that’s happening!
Start the day with a few minutes of silence and observing the breath
Take time to pause and watch nature and try to be one with it . .. Maybe a sunrise, a sunset, a beach view watching the waves, the stars in the sky, the moon, the sky, or a rose or any flower or potted plant, or maybe a tree in your garden.
Make sure to have moments where you are free of your cellphone, tv, computer, or any electronic appliance.
Make a point of actually listening and understanding as others speak and allow the other to speak as much as yourself.
Accept every moment in the life you have now and cherish it for what it is…cultivating an attitude of gratitude.
This note above has a true story that happened with me…. I have published it in my earlier article called the Magic of Movements. This is one of those moments when writing and sharing stories from our lives bring us a deep sense of connection… with our readers and ourselves in gratitude for the learnings. And there is that sense of magic through words. This is an old story but to me, but sharing it evokes the same poignant feeling of fond memories of the people that are attached to it
Here is the story if you would like to read.
The Magic of Movements
‘Life is a dance’….A painting by Savvy Raj
As a Dance Educator and a Creative MovementTrainer using Ballroom and Latin dances to improve health and well-being through various Dance for Wellness programs, it has been an enriching experience watching the learners revel in the simple joys of movement.
I have witnessed complete shifts in self esteem, confidence and agility among learners of all ages.But to cite a very recent instance …there is a small group of senior learners at one of my workshops who are gradually changing their mental makeup to being extremely enthusiastic about life and learning to dance. I still remember that Sunday morning about four years ago when I was almost through with teaching a Waltz class and I saw this slender, elderly elegant woman walking in and standing quietly, keenly watching the students who were practicing their steps from the sidelines. She was waiting to speak to me ….In that first moment of contact instinctively I knew there was an instant connection.. I gave her a listening ear and noticed she spoke softly and clearly . She said she was heading a group of Senior citizens she would like me to come over and meet the group and also teach them to dance . Her request seemed just right up my alley as I had been intending to conduct some workshops for seniors myself but hadn’t had the opportunity yet . This seemed as if my intentions were slowly finding a way to fulfillment . We fixed up that I would come over and meet them the following Monday at the local church where they all meet up for their weekly meeting . This I came to know later,was the only activity they had together every week .
Soon enough in a week or so I got a call from the lady who initiated it all saying that they need some time for permissions to use the same space of the church for the dance lessons . And that was that … nothing happened . Meanwhile I continued with my Dance workshops , and facilitated training’s of corporate clients . I would remember that meeting once in a while but left it to time to decide the outcome of that meeting.
A few years passed and I was returning back after finishing a children’s workshop in Chennai when I received her call again . Her clear and determined voice was cheerful and hopeful . She said she had two things to say , the seniors have agreed to join in and the church had given them the space to go ahead with the classes . Fantastic …. I knew in my heart it was no coincidence that it happened at all . After all the connects that we established that day were just moving to affirming itself !Well I got Godspeed on my side this time around … things moved on smoothly and we were well into rolling out the first class of Swing Dancing and more .
When I had first met up with them, I remember them huddled in chairs, quite apprehensive and some of them unsure about their ability to learn dancing . But today they have a spring in their step , glint in their eyes and a smile on their lips as they Swing and Cha Cha to their hearts content . And guess what… they love to dance the Merengue and Bachata too and are waiting to learn some more.So happy to have had the opportunity to make a difference in their lives.
The first time I met them they were a group with lots of concerns. They heard me patiently and asked a lot of questions , ranging from whether they would be able to learn at all as most of them were well over sixties and seventies or so .They also mentioned that though they have danced earlier in their lives, they don’t remember much. Some said they know all there is to know, a few others brought out their health issues which were bothering them so much that they cant possibly exercise let alone dance, some questioned what is the point of learning to dance …
Well to be frank I had an interesting and enjoyable time clearing their doubts and addressing their concerns . I knew most of their concerns were common to most people at their age in India.I spoke to them addressing each of their concerns and finally mentioning instances of my own intention of wanting to work with a group of Seniors.
The initially reluctant let their defenses down and an interactive session followed, where I got some understanding of them and they of me . It was one of those fulfilling days a wonderful memory now which I hold close to my heart .Though at the end all they said was that they will get back to me in some time…. somehow as I drove back home that evening I knew in my heart we were all certainly going to meet again in time .
Today as I write this its been six months and more.Dancing together they say they have realized the values of the human connection and the strength of community . They mention to me how they eagerly wait for their dance workshops .They speak of how dance steps into their lives , in moments of loneliness and makes them positive and alive again. They know dancing now is so much more about valuing that equal partnership between the leader and the follower and that the bonds of the dance floor leaves lasting and empowering impressions in their hearts and lives .
This experience as well as many similar incidents has left me even more confident about my beliefs …C ultivate Patience. Dream selflessly. Positive things are waiting to unfold if only we continue to dream our unique dream and believe in it !All you need is the strength of intention and the dreams realizes itself , just trust in the process!Do what you do with all your heart !Like minded people will arrive somehow and help you actualize it !
In this endeavor I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of appreciation to some of my dear students who assisted me at the workshops who took time out to be with me at these sessions and I know they shared with me equally the joys of making a positive difference in people’s lives.
Savvy Raj 
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