Posted in Articles
The What-How-Why Gap
Have you ever seen a dancer with flawless technique, but who just didn’t grab you?
Maybe she didn’t seem in touch with the music
Maybe she seemed distant and unemotional.
Or maybe her dancing just seemed “flat”.
You admire her perfect hip drops, and you want to love her show, but you just don’t.
It’s because her dancing is all about the “what”.
There’s a gap in our training
Belly dance education focuses on the “what”
Choose a belly dance class or DVD at random, and you’ll almost always get stuff:
Technique: moves and physical skills (like layering and balancing)
Repertoire: pre-made combinations and choreographies.
But very few classes teach the “how”
A simple and creative way to add nuance and texture is not to add more stuff, but to focus on how we use it:
Dimension: how you use space, shape, time, and energy to give your moves nuance and texture.
Stage Presence: how you carry yourself on stage and express yourself to the audience.
And even fewer cover the “why”
To captivate the audience, we need to have a purpose for our “what”. We can use it to express:
Musicality: what you hear in the music, how it makes you feel, and how you respond with your body and expression.
Culture: what traditions and conventions apply to this music, what your audience expects, whether you follow or break with tradition.
Audience Relationships: who you choose to interact with, how you do it, and when.
Why isn’t the “what” enough?
Belly dance isn’t about the moves.
It’s about expressing what you hear in the music, and how it makes you feel.
It’s about nuance, and how delicious it feels to move your body.
And it’s about sharing all of that with the audience.
Without the “how” and the “why”, belly dance loses it’s heart.
For great dancing, we need to bring the “what”, “how”, and “why” into balance.
So how do you incorporate the “how” and “why”?
1) Pick just one thing to work on.
Choose one aspect of “how” or “why”. Choose something specific like timing patterns, or ways to interact with the audience.
(You can use the definitions above to help you choose one.)
2) Explore that idea.
Depending on how you like to work, you can compose some combinations, or just put on some music and play.
(I like to do both: I play around to generate ideas, and then I make formal combinations to cement the idea and help me practice.)
3) Practice.
One session helps, but if you want to get these ideas into your bones, practice is key. You don’t have to do hours of drilling. Even a few minutes, when done frequently, will keep them fresh in your mind.
For example
Here’s an example of how you could do that:
1) Pick just one thing to work on.
Let’s say you wanted to work on traveling patterns.
2) Explore that idea.
Brainstorm different patterns you can trace on the floor as you travel.
Plug in different traveling steps, and see what works.
Invent some combinations that use that pattern. (Or learn someone else’s combos.)
(Tip: I have a free mini-video on traveling patterns that you can download right now.)
3) Practice.
Make traveling patterns your theme for the week. At every practice session, include some work on traveling patterns. That could be improv/playtime, learning or practicing combinations, or just walking the pattern to get it in your muscle memory.
(Even a few minutes in every session makes a big difference!)
Dos and don’ts
Do: Narrow it down
Work on the smallest aspect you can imagine. “Traveling patterns” is much more focused than “space”.
Don’t: Bite off more than you can chew
To avoid overwhelm, work with just one aspect at a time. You can always choose another one later.
But technique is important!
I agree – technique is very important!
But only competent technique is required.
You don’t need to be a technical virtuoso to be a great performer.
Many great performers are competent all around, but excel in only one or two areas.
Virtuoso technique is a perfectly good way to excel. But when we forget that it’s not the only one, we neglect our “hows” and “whys”.
That’s how we end up with perfect hip drops, but very little heart and soul.
Summary
Most belly dance education focuses on the “what”, but we get very little help with the “how” and “why”. Without those aspects, we lose much of the nuance and meaning of the dance.
To incorporate the “how” and the “why”, choose just one aspect to work on at a time. Focus as tightly as you can, to avoid overwhelm. Explore and practice until you get it in your bones.
Technique absolutely is important, but only competence is required. You get to choose where you want to excel.
What you can do right now
We’ll look at “how” and “why” in future articles, but don’t wait to get started!
For students and performers: choose an aspect of “how” or “why” to explore, and schedule a time to work on it.
For teachers: brainstorm some ways to teach the “how” and “why” in your classes.
What do you think?
Have you noticed the what-how-why gap?
What areas do you need to work on the most?
Where are your strengths?
Leave a note in the comments.
Want More?
We’re also going to be covering the “why” and “how” (exclusively!) in my new online program, Rock the Routine.
We’re starting on Monday, July 16th, so registration closes on Sunday, July 15th.