Comments on: Role Reversal: What has dance taught you about life?

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:17:47 +0000

Just wrote about this today on my blog, and then stumbled unto your discussion here!

Here are my thoughts on this:
http://www.8womendream.com/what-dancing-taught-me-about-life/

Dancing was my first “meditative practice” in that it took me out of my mind and truly into my body… Made me feel FREE from all my worries about the past or the future. Just have to focus on the moment.

It brings me such incredible joy and always reminds me that life is truly about living NOW…

Thanks for this discussion! Would love people’s comments on my blog post as well – love to hear from the lead’s perspective and the follow’s!

Happy dancing!
Lisa

By: danceadvantage

danceadvantage — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:31:46 +0000

http://dancingperfectlyfree.com/2009/03/19/quotation-of-the-day-3/

“Dance has asked me to define my individuality and to redefine my notions of beauty. It has made me aware of my ego and the complexities of having one. Dance has shown me the beauty of humility and has helped me develop a capacity for awareness. As dancers we work within an art form that lives and dies in nearly the same instant and, in this sense, offers us powerful lessons in mortality.” – Wendy Whelan

By: danceadvantage

danceadvantage — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:16:02 +0000

Thanks everyone for your great responses!

By: Jennifer Dance

Jennifer Dance — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:02:47 +0000

Dance has taught me self expression & that anything is possible whe you believe in yourself.
Now I take what have discovered & share my passion with my students. It is so rewarding to know that I have touched people’s lives forever with dance!

By: Charl

Charl — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:44:54 +0000

Hello… got here through the link provided by Maria on A Time to Dance… here is my contribution to the discussion.

My experience of dancing is very much on the leader-follower set-up — Argentine tango and lindy hop. As a follower, I had (and still have) a hard time figuring out what the leader is trying to make me do. Over time, I have learned how to really ‘listen’ and focus on the lead so I can execute the step in the way that was expected.

This mirrors real life in most sense, especially in relationships. One party needs to make sure that he or she is communicating properly and the other must be in the state of receiving and interpreting that in the right way. Of course, a relationship doesn’t have to have a leader and a follower but the roles should be practiced in order to achieve smooth understanding between the involved parties.

By: Terrence Taps

Terrence Taps — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:30:25 +0000

Great post!

I have a series of posts on this very topic at the Tap Dance Blog! It’s called the Tap Learning Series…

Here is one of them: http://www.tapdanceman.com/blog/?p=26

Taps

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:06:36 +0000

Dance has taught me that if you have enough passion for something, it doesn’t matter how hard it is or what your limitations are. If something brings you enough joy, what might have been a roadblock in another area of your life is nothing but a small speedbump. It has taught me that I need to take more risks in life and follow my dreams because life is too short to waste time doing something that does not fulfill you and help you blossom.

By: Jean-Pierre

Jean-Pierre — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 03:08:10 +0000

Oh my.

I dance for fun. I used to dance mostly at clubs but when I stopped going out past 10 pm I started taking recreational classes; which is not as fun but definitely more *ahem* character building.

Its taught me so much. Its taught me
1. perseverance
2. how to make a fool of yourself every week and love it
3. you’re only as good a dancer as how regularly you practice
4. good posture and strong abs are the basis of good dancing, for any type of dance
5. good teacher is a must