Multiple classes a week to progress, or nothing?

azzey said:
Yeah but the people who are scared to go social dance are even more scared when they get to a congress.
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Correct. Honestly, there really is no reason to be scared, but I just am. I'm funny that way. Congresses should be nothing but fun, yet I can't help but feel terrified when I really shouldn't feel that way.

MacMoto said:
But in the meantime good luck with your exams! Hope all the work you're putting in will pay off so you can start doing fun things again soon :)
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Thanks. :)
I have one exam this Sunday, in fact. I can only pray that my hard work pays off so I can live a normal life again.
 
suitz said:
The point being that progression is not predictable and not linear. But the obvious still applies... as you get better and better, it will take more effort to make that step up again...

So... in short... it depends!
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Suitz - thanks, good answer ;) Yes, agree that it depends and progression not predictable. However, as you get better it will take more effort. So if now 1 lesson/dance a week is barely enough for slow progress then eventually progress will stop at all unless the person dedicate more time? :eek: It is kind of sad to realize but it is probably true.

azzey said:
Depends on your goals ; What and how much you have to work on to get where you want.

In the beginning you are only working on a few things; like basics, timing, fundamental moves and leading/following to get social dancing. So progress seems relatively quick.

Often as you improve your eyes are opened to many more possibilities of aspects of dance to work on.
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Yeah, agree with that of course. And all your other advices are spot on. For me it feels like that after soon to be a year of dancing it gets more difficult to continue improving with average of one class - one social a week. I believe (I hope) I've got solid fundamentals and at this stage I continue to work hard trying to improve those. Of course I'd want to dance more - both taking classes and especially dancing socially but I just do not have time for that. It is unlikely I'll have more time in the future so I guess I'll have to continue with whatever I can get - I like it regardless. And maybe try harder to find those 30 minutes at home couple of times a day :D
 
stevensman said:
However, as you get better it will take more effort. So if now 1 lesson/dance a week is barely enough for slow progress then eventually progress will stop at all unless the person dedicate more time? :eek: It is kind of sad to realize but it is probably true.
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Not necessarily. A lot of people stop progressing because they don't know what they should be working on outside of moves... being a member of SF means you will already have many ideas on what you could work on.

Most beginners don't see what is happening 'under the hood', they just focus on how many moves or patterns someone can do. If you start working on musicality or body movement for example you will progress but it takes time to show up in your dancing and to get the balance right (you could even look worse for a while)..

stevensman said:
Yeah, agree with that of course. And all your other advices are spot on. For me it feels like that after soon to be a year of dancing it gets more difficult to continue improving with average of one class - one social a week. I believe (I hope) I've got solid fundamentals and at this stage I continue to work hard trying to improve those. Of course I'd want to dance more - both taking classes and especially dancing socially but I just do not have time for that. It is unlikely I'll have more time in the future so I guess I'll have to continue with whatever I can get - I like it regardless. And maybe try harder to find those 30 minutes at home couple of times a day :D
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Micro practices (5-10 mins a day) are sometimes much more effective. Particularly if they give you 'break-through' moments of realisation where you see a whole other avenue of progression to walk down.

Think "if I keep working on moves I get this much for my time", whereas "if I focus the same time on catching the breaks in the music" or "straightening my posture" it may improve your whole dance. Just learn what you're interested in.
 
stevensman said:
Suitz - thanks, good answer ;) Yes, agree that it depends and progression not predictable. However, as you get better it will take more effort. So if now 1 lesson/dance a week is barely enough for slow progress then eventually progress will stop at all unless the person dedicate more time? :eek: It is kind of sad to realize but it is probably true.
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azzey said:
Not necessarily. A lot of people stop progressing because they don't know what they should be working on outside of moves... being a member of SF means you will already have many ideas on what you could work on.

Most beginners don't see what is happening 'under the hood', they just focus on how many moves or patterns someone can do. If you start working on musicality or body movement for example you will progress but it takes time to show up in your dancing and to get the balance right (you could even look worse for a while)..
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I would definitely agree with azzey here, as this has been the case for me. I've not taken many (if any at all) formal class lessons in over 4 months... I have had a few here and there, but it's sporadic, and often not particularly challenging stuff (nevertheless I can still find some small nugget of learning from the lesson!)

And although in terms of moves, turn patterns and combos to use on the dancefloor I feel rather limited (the one self-criticism I have of myself is that I keep doing the same stuff over and over - not like a routine, as I vary the order, but in terms of what I do, it's the same set of moves... and it's been like this for MONTHS!) I actually do think I have improved a lot in terms of musicality, executing my leads, correcting leads, sometimes emergency disaster recovery leads(!), freestyling, body movement and all that jazz...

Have I put any more effort than before to improve? I don't really think so... unless you count dancefloor minutes during socials - 'cos that's all I've been doing in the absence of regular lessons.

I don't think lessons = progress necessarily, you do NEED some lessons especially at the beginning - as you advance you need a different mix of things, and all depending on what you are looking to work on... It's not possible to quantify any of this, so you can't generalise and formulate an equation to say by X months, in order to progress into stage Y, you will require Z number of lessons per week...
 
suitz said:
And although in terms of moves, turn patterns and combos to use on the dancefloor I feel rather limited (the one self-criticism I have of myself is that I keep doing the same stuff over and over - not like a routine, as I vary the order, but in terms of what I do, it's the same set of moves... and it's been like this for MONTHS!)
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Yeah but that's the moment of opportunity for breakthrough right there... your mind is telling you you're ready to do something else or think about things in a different way. This begs the question 'how many moves are enough?'. Is it the number of moves you have that are limited (surely that will always be so - a finite number -, even if you're a pro) or your ability to dance to the music with the moves you've got that is limited?

I use cross-body, right turn and copa a billion times during social dancing but I don't feel 'limited' because my focus isn't really on the moves (as long as lead/follow is working well), it's on the music and interplay with my partner.
 
azzey said:
Yeah but that's the moment of opportunity for breakthrough right there... your mind is telling you you're ready to do something else or think about things in a different way. This begs the question 'how many moves are enough?'. Is it the number of moves you have that are limited (surely that will always be so - a finite number -, even if you're a pro) or your ability to dance to the music with the moves you've got that is limited?

I use cross-body, right turn and copa a billion times during social dancing but I don't feel 'limited' because my focus isn't really on the moves (as long as lead/follow is working well), it's on the music and interplay with my partner.
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Fair point, this is something you and I have raised before...

I guess I didn't mean limited in it's absolute sense... I think I would just like to learn something new now and be able to incorporate into my social dancing.

Or rather... I think I am getting 'too comfortable' in my social dancing... I'm pulling of a 'safe' set of moves and not challenging myself to use/try out anything new I've seen either in a lesson or a video. It's a mindset thing more than anything...

I can dance with the same girl three or four times throughout the night and even if the lead, timing, musicality is good and we have a good dance - I know that I am doing the same stuff again, which as you say is my mind saying "Oi! Isn't it time you tried that move you saw the other night?"

How does one break out of this 'comfortable safe zone'?
 
suitz said:
And although in terms of moves, turn patterns and combos to use on the dancefloor I feel rather limited (the one self-criticism I have of myself is that I keep doing the same stuff over and over - not like a routine, as I vary the order, but in terms of what I do, it's the same set of moves... and it's been like this for MONTHS!) I actually do think I have improved a lot in terms of musicality, executing my leads, correcting leads, sometimes emergency disaster recovery leads(!), freestyling, body movement and all that jazz...
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That is exactly how I feel. Well, with one exception - I do not think I improved much in terms of musicality but all other apply.

azzey said:
I don't feel 'limited' because my focus isn't really on the moves (as long as lead/follow is working well), it's on the music and interplay with my partner
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That seems to be like a right thing to do. I'll make an effort to remember this tonight. At the moment I feel like it is difficult to me to concentrate on connection with the partner when I have million other things to concentrate on. Maybe with time when "other things" like propper basic steps, body movement and leading becomes more authomatic it could be easier to get to play with music and partner?
 
What you said is spot on.

suitz said:
How does one break out of this 'comfortable safe zone'?
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By taking a little risk and improvising now and again. 90% safe, 10% risk. Risk as in doing something you aren't completely familiar with, not as in risk to your partners health haha. Sure you know this just saying for others who may be reading.

It can be as simple as:
- Doing a regular move but using the opposite hand to normal.
- Faking something to trick the follower.
- Hitting an accent on a different part of the music you've never tried before.

Actually I'd rather use the word 'play' than risk because you get the idea better.
 
azzey said:
What you said is spot on.



By taking a little risk and improvising now and again. 90% safe, 10% risk. Risk as in doing something you aren't completely familiar with, not as in risk to your partners health haha. Sure you know this just saying for others who may be reading. It can be as simple as doing a regular move but using the opposite hand to normal.

Actually I'd rather use the word 'play' than risk because you get the idea better.
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Haha! Yes I know what you mean. while we're sort of on this topic, I would say for the OP and others looking to progress (as we ALL always are!) that you have to take some 'safe risks' sometimes with the moves... i.e. experiment with how different moves interlink, with how changing a hand hold to another might lead you to another move...

I did this the other night and ended up 'inventing' something I have never done before (maybe I have seen it in a video or saw someone else do it, but it would have been subconsciously on my mind at most) - the trouble I have is that I can't for the life of me remember what I did or how I did! It ended up being a sombero with a travelling left turn for the follower but from my left side rather than the usual right side... nothing groundbreaking but it's just a variation to the usual!
 
DancingGuy said:
Just to clarify my situation, the 1-class per week thing was just temporary; it was not something I planned on doing long-term. I've been studying for a bunch of professional licensing exams for my career (which takes MONTHS to study for) and that's why I've been so busy these past several months. Once those finish, I plan to become a hyper-active Salsa dancer again. For now, while I study, I wanted to take 1 class per week just keep myself dancing and to, at least, maintain my Salsa skills while I'm studying. Then when my exams are finished, THEN I will go back to 2+ classes a week. I did not plan on taking 1 class a week for the rest of my life. In fact, I never wanted to because I found Salsa very addicting. :)
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Ok, most of you saw in the other thread that I failed my last exam by just one point and was bummed. I'm now stuck to crack open my book again and retake this test next month. Just to clarify where I'm at, I have to pass 4 exams to get this license for my career. I passed 3, but am struggling to pass the 4th one. Neither exam is easier than the other one (they can be taken in any order, in fact), so I'm not sure why I can't get this last one done. Oddly enough, I passed my very first part back in April when I was still going for classes at SR. I passed with flying colors, in fact. I then told myself to stop dancing for now so I can finish the last 3 parts asap and then focus on dancing as much as possible when I finish. That's obviously not happening as I was hoping to be all done by now.

Anyways, what I'm getting at is.... I was able to pass my first exam while study and dancing, so quitting dancing has not helped me since I'm failing my last exam. So, after thinking things through over the past few days, I've decided to go back to dancing again. BUT, it will have to be once a week. Maybe dancing before has help clear my mind and therefore, it helped me with my studies, which is why I was able to pass my first exam and it was my highest score out of the 3 that I passed. So, I'm going to give dancing a shot again, but it will have to be once a week only. I will go to walk-in classes, not cycle classes, because I can't commit right now. I'll start next week, give it a try for a couple of months and see how things go. Based on my progress so far with my exams, it seems like dancing has actually helped me with my exams rather than hurt me. So, I see no harm in going back.

Thank you all for your support. I'll try to have fun this time around and not whine about things like I have in the past.
 
IMO, there's no difference between giving up salsa and giving up sex just because you have exams. both sounds stupid. you cant study 7/24

BTW, do you need any salsa school suggestion? :lol:
 
Hurrah!!!!!!!!!!! Hurrah!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can totally imagine how having a stress reliever and scene changer such as a controlled Salsa habit, could benefit your academic career.

IT certainly hasn't harmed mine (well it got a bit out of hand during my PhD but I pulled it around :P)

Go for it :)
 
DancingGuy said:
Maybe dancing before has help clear my mind and therefore, it helped me with my studies, which is why I was able to pass my first exam and it was my highest score out of the 3 that I passed. So, I'm going to give dancing a shot again, but it will have to be once a week only. I will go to walk-in classes, not cycle classes, because I can't commit right now. I'll start next week, give it a try for a couple of months and see how things go. Based on my progress so far with my exams, it seems like dancing has actually helped me with my exams rather than hurt me. So, I see no harm in going back.

Thank you all for your support. I'll try to have fun this time around and not whine about things like I have in the past.
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Great to hear this DG :D Yes physical activity help your focus and salsa at an easy pace would be ideal.
 
olamalam said:
IMO, there's no difference between giving up salsa and giving up sex just because you have exams. both sounds stupid. you cant study 7/24

BTW, do you need any salsa school suggestion? :lol:
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No, please!!! I have a school in mind.

And what does Salsa have to do with sex? :P
 
DancingGuy said:
And what does Salsa have to do with sex? :P
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"I cant do salsa until december as I have exams"
"I cant do sex until december as I have exams"

both doesnt make sense.
well, you can say that I'm spending 5mins for the second one, so it doesnt take much from my study time, it's another matter to work on.
 
olamalam said:
"I cant do salsa until december as I have exams"
"I cant do sex until december as I have exams"

both doesnt make sense.
well, you can say that I'm spending 5mins for the second one, so it doesnt take much from my study time, it's another matter to work on.
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Yes, because Salsa required multiple classes a week @ 2 hours per class. Sex does not take multiple 2 hour sessions per week.

But let's not start that again. I'm going for lessons and I'm going wherever I want, whenever I want, and however I want. If I'm not progressing because of that, then so be it. Just as long as I have fun. :)
 
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