Catherine

Glinskaya Engl 1101 Mr. Anthony Borrero 11/27/12 Ethnography Research Revision: How Do I Become a Dancer? When we were children, we have been asked who do we want to become. Many of us answered that they want to become a pilot, a doctor, a teacher or a policeman. Why not a dancer? In fact, a question that now appears is how to become a dancer and what type of the dancer to become? There are various styles and techniques of dancing, offered by multiple dance schools and clubs. I chose to base my research on observations of 49er Charlotte Dance Sport Club. Through the research I will trace the steps of learning how to dance. I will primarily focus on the procedure and daily routine of the Club in teaching its members the aspects of a dance. In addition to that, I will point out main aspects in the process of teaching a dance for Charlotte Dance Sport Club at UNCC. The research will help the members and the instructors of the club, as well as any dancer, to polish their dancing and training skills. Before I plunge into the discussion of any specific dance, I would like to speculate on the thought of what dance itself means. Dance is an inseparable part of society. It has become an aspect of its identity. Humanity uses dance as a means of expressing itself and as a means of experiencing pleasure and enjoyment. Therefore, dance may or may not convey any meaning that one may be seeking in the performed movements.
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Since humanity is in a constant state of change, so is dance. As a result, it has led to various forms and styles of dance. Within this research I would like to focus on Ballroom dancing. Ballroom dancing is usually referenced to International Standard and International Latin styles of dancing. In the United States, American style is also included in the scope of Ballroom dancing. (Wikipedia) International Ballroom is considered to be a cleaner, stricter and tighter dance style. It is more focused on the techniques, as opposed to American one. Therefore, one dancing International looks much better in comparison to one performing American style. (Bland) Cohen states that in the International Standard dance position the woman stands slightly toward the mans right side. This permits the couple to move on separate tracks. (Cohen, volume 1, 356) The mans right hand is placed outside the womans left shoulder blade. Her right hand is in his left. The woman places her left hand on the mans upper right arm. The elbows are held parallel to the floor, creating breadth in the couples outline. (Cohen, volume 1, 356) International Standard includes five ballroom dances: Waltz, Fox Trot, Tango, Quickstep, and Viennese Waltz. (Savoy, 1) The word waltz is derived from German wlzen, which means to turn, to revolve, to wander. (Cohen, vol 6, 359 ) The main characteristic of Waltz is the rise and fall movement, accomplished through yielding up- and-down motion by bending the knees. (Cohen, vol 1, 358) Cohen claims that the Viennese Waltz is the fastest of all the competitive dances (Cohen, vol 1, 358). It consists of left and right turns that are performed along the line directed counterclockwise around the ballroom. (Cohen, vol 1, 358). The Waltz can be observed in the Charlotte Dance Sport Club, which, along with other dances in its curriculum, teaches Waltz.

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By this token, I would like to introduce the Club upon which my research is based. The Charlotte Dance Sport Club is open for anyone who is interested in Ballroom Dancing. No experience or knowledge is required to be able to start the lessons. The President of the Charlotte Dance Sport Club, Willie Frazier, shares that the goal of the club is to teach people many different types of dance, be it Latin or Standard and to prepare them for current day social dancing outside of the club. Another purpose is to prepare willing students for dance competitions and have them compete all over the states. (Frazier) In addition to that the Club helps to build up the confidence in the performers, and, no doubt, offers to simply enjoy the dance. (Bland) To use effectively all of their time and resources, including instructors, the Charlotte Dance Sport Club divided the proficiency in dancing techniques into several levels. The first one to enter is Social level. There the instructors, who most of the time are advanced members of the club, teach the beginner basic steps, so the members can dance to the music. The second level is a Newcomer Team, where the beginner continues to learn basic steps, spreading the variety of dances and techniques. The opportunity to enter competitions opens on this level of proficiency, as the member is supposed to know enough to compete with others. The level up is a Bronze Team, where the basic steps are brushed in to more advanced techniques. I find that the main advantage of this level is the fact that the members are taught by professional coaches, who also teach the Silver Team, an even more advanced level of proficiency. (Charlotte, 6) When talking about the levels, it may seem that it is very hard to move up the ladder. It, definitely, requires a lot of work and patience, but, as Teghan Bland, a bronze member of the club, shared, no timeframe is set for one to learn all the routines required on each level. Its really just learning and getting down and feeling comfortable with

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those routines, and trying them out in competitions. When youve learned all those routines, youve basically learned your level, says Teghan. (Bland) How does the learning occur in the club, then? Based on my observations, an extensive amount of the time in the class is dedicated to learning the basic steps, especially, on the beginners level. The instructor starts with the basic steps of the dance. In Waltz the man steps forward with his left foot, a lady steps back with her right foot on the count four and. This is called the preparation step. Its basic purpose is to help the dancers to feel the rhythm and to start the dance. After that move the pair may continue on dancing the basic step, where the man steps forward with his right foot, and the lady steps back with her left foot on count one. The knees are bent. On count two the couple is making a move that helps them to complete a half-turn: they are stepping to the side, the male partner with his left foot, the female partner with her right foot. On this count the knees of the partners are stretching out, allowing the performers to rise. After the step is competed, the couple finishes the move by bringing the stretched out (mans right, ladys left) foot to the other one on the count three. In this position the knees are bent again. The male partner starts the second half of the basic step with his left foot, by stepping forward, the lady with her right foot by moving backwards. The man uses his right foot, and his partner uses her left foot to step aside on the count two with the rising movement, and on the count three both feet are placed together; the knees are bent. (Harris, 340) The members of Charlotte Dance Sport Club practice the move alone, then with the partner until the movement seems to be settled and the dancers are comfortable with performing it. A couple can dance just this basic move throughout the whole dance, but in that case it becomes a boring interpretation of the Waltz. Not to let that happen, the instructor introduced to the group the natural turn. With its help the dancers can move around the
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floor with more ease, using the ballroom space to its full capacity. As Waltz is danced along the ballroom in a diagonal manner, there is the time when the dancers reach the corner of the ballroom. Natural turn is an aid for the couple to avoid the corner and continue the dance. To perform this move the male partner steps forward with his right foot, the female with her left foot. The man uses his left foot to step aside, the lady her right foot, like in the basic move. But instead of bringing the feet together on the count three, partners step aside, turning their bodies in a diagonal direction. This move is called close change. It is followed by the natural turn itself, where the lady steps forward, toeing, with her right foot, and the man moves backwards with his left. (Harris, 340) A couple performs it twice, changing legs accordingly, so they turn to the position where the man is able to step forward, and the lady to step back, being led by her partner. Once the natural turn is completed, a couple can continue to dance diagonal along the ballroom. During my observations of the Charlotte Dance Sport Club, I noticed that the members of the club carefully practice the same move again and again alone, and then paired up with a partner. Why is so much time spent on learning techniques, on getting the move settled down? Isnt the dance about expressing emotions and talking to the audience through body movements? Isnt the dance about having connection between the partners, so the audience reads the meaning without hearing the words of the story being told? Teghan Bland shares her viewpoint: You may have good connection and fail technique wise. She asserts that some partners have that instinctive chemistry with each other, but most of the time the connection was developed through extensive practice. Therefore, I can state that techniques are the main aspect of dancing. Moves of a dance can be compared with the words of a foreign language in which one pursues knowledge. If one does not know the words, they are not able to speak. Similarly, if one
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does not know the basic techniques, they are not able to dance. The president of the club shares in his interview: Drills are at the heart of dance. Sure, anyone can dance their favorite dance till the cows come home but without the proper technique one can never really improve to the point of being competitive. (Frazier) While teaching and polishing the moves of a dance, the instructors of Charlotte Dance Sport bring to attention other important aspect of a dance, such as understanding the body language of the partner. Dancing in a pair is viewed as a dialogue, where the man happens to have the leading part. (Green, 53) In Standard dancing, which includes Waltz, Tango, Quickstep, Fox Trot and Viennese waltz, the dancers are not looking at each other. Therefore, a female dancer should use body language to listen to her mate, paying close attention to his body movements and palm pressure. (Green, 53) The members of the Club call it a frame, which is a fixed position of the partners that helps them to be connected and improves the ability to feel the body movements. By pushing or pulling the female partners arm, the male partner asks her to do certain figures, or gives her a hint which direction he is intending to go. Correct interpretation of the partners movements is extremely important. Misinterpretation can lead to stumbled feet and a ruined dance, the same way misunderstanding in the dialogue can result in confusion and a spoiled relationship. During my observations of the Bronze level of the Charlotte Dance Sport Club I noticed several couples were still struggling to reach the connection level where they can understand each other without saying words. Another important aspect for the female partner is to learn how to let the male partner lead her into the move, and not try to control the flow of the dance. Based on the observations of the Charlotte Dance Sport Club, it seems to be very difficult to achieve, especially when the female partner knows the move better than the male dancer. Teghan supports this idea, saying when she dances with the partner of a lower level, and,

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therefore, he does not know the figure that well, she is tempted to lead the partner into the move. She calls that a back lead. It is not beneficial to the male partner, as he needs to learn the move and build up the confidence of using that figure and confidence in controlling his partner, therefore the direction of the dance. (Bland) By backleading the female partner takes the initiative in the course of the dance. As a result, the male partner is lacking confidence and lags behind in learning the technique. After observing Charlotte Dance Sport Club as an ethnographic group, and conducting several interviews with its members, I can indicate that the Club puts emphasis on, first of all, getting the techniques down, polishing and improving the performance of the basics of the dance. The basic movements are compared to words in the language. If one does not know the words, they are not able to speak. The members of the Club also underline that simply knowing the techniques is not enough. They should be put together to dance phrases, as the words are put into sentences, to compose a dance. Based on my research of the Charlotte Dance Sport Club and interviews with its members, I analyzed the importance of structuring the dance and breaking down the proficiency levels. Breaking down the dance into structural parts helps the dancers to learn how to dance more effectively and in a short period of time. The result of close attention to the dancers on all levels of the Club is a marvelous performance.
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 Used Sources:
Bland, Teghan, Personal interview. 13 Nov. 2012 Charlotte DanceSport d/b/a/ 49er Social & Ballroom Dance Club http://www.charlottedancesport.org/faq/ Cohen, Selma J. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print. Frazier, Willie. Personal interview. 20 Nov. 2012 Green, E R. Four Dance Forms I. Dubuque, Ia: Kendall/Hunt, 1973. Print. Harris, Jane A, Anne Pittman, and Marlys S. Waller. Dance a While: Handbook of Folk, Square, and Social Dance. Minneapolis: Burgess Pub. Co, 1978. Print. Savoy, Sharon. Ballroom!: Obsession and Passion Inside the World of Competitive Dance. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2010. Print.
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