The Right Stuff?
- Thread starter toan-hoang
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timberamayor
Son Montuno
If you like figuring out how things work
And if you speak Spanish let me introduce you to some of my non-salsa favorite groups and maybe you'll become as passionate about them as I am LOL.
But in terms of dancing we all should dance for our own reasons and no one else's and it always seems to me that the assumption is that everyone who dances should really aspire to being a world champion competitive dancer or performer. All the algebra and talent + work + luck etc...what is the assumption about what the goal of taking salsa lessons is? So the right stuff for what? To be an enjoyable dance partner at clubs and parties? To be a professional salsa partner on Dancing with the Stars? To win the coveted WSF gold medal
Maybe this has already been covered in a post or two that I missed.
you should start looking into the complexity of salsa music and you would have plenty of technical details to figure out and might start loving it but for a different reason than others
And if you speak Spanish let me introduce you to some of my non-salsa favorite groups and maybe you'll become as passionate about them as I am LOL.But in terms of dancing we all should dance for our own reasons and no one else's and it always seems to me that the assumption is that everyone who dances should really aspire to being a world champion competitive dancer or performer. All the algebra and talent + work + luck etc...what is the assumption about what the goal of taking salsa lessons is? So the right stuff for what? To be an enjoyable dance partner at clubs and parties? To be a professional salsa partner on Dancing with the Stars? To win the coveted WSF gold medal
Maybe this has already been covered in a post or two that I missed.
I think the 10,000 hour thing has been pretty well debunked, at least the figure has. The principle remains and while you need to put lots of hours in, the number required seems to be much more variable.
I found this blog article a little while back which may contribute to the discussion http://rebeccabrightly.com/15-skills-succeed-newbie-dancer/
My understanding that the wiring is not a fixed thing. Over time you rewire as you learn. So people who've danced before learn salsa easier. Those who haven't may be slow starters who later accelerate, assuming they haven't given up in frustration.
I found this blog article a little while back which may contribute to the discussion http://rebeccabrightly.com/15-skills-succeed-newbie-dancer/
My understanding that the wiring is not a fixed thing. Over time you rewire as you learn. So people who've danced before learn salsa easier. Those who haven't may be slow starters who later accelerate, assuming they haven't given up in frustration.
bailar y tocar
Son Montuno
True.
This year's Nobel winner in Physics is proof.
Peter Higgs (of Higgs-Boson fame) published one critical paper describing the mathematical concept that led to the prediction of what was later termed (by others) to be the "Higgs field". They could have called it the Brout-Englert-Higgs field, but the name seemed to long and difficult to pronounce. The people who worked out why the Higgs filed is important (Steven Weinberg, Sheldon Glashow, Martinus Veltman) already have their Nobel prizes.
So, Peter Higgs had 1 stroke of genius that put him in the top field.
John Nash (the movie 'A Beautiful Mind') who was schizophrenic and discovered game theory in one of his lucid phases is in the same category.
Breakthoughs in theoretical concepts are actually more likely to come from 1 time champions than from people who slog through mounds of data to try to find the pattern.
Not sure these things are comparable with dancing
There are many things about how individual body is made that are hard to measure or evaluate and were probably not a part of any study, many of them not visible or at least not to untrained eye but having big influence and could be a part of what we usually call "talent". For instance balance is important for a dancer. Now, people have different positions of centre of gravity. Not just height of it in comparison to the height of the body. There are other things. Our spine is not ideal like in the book, it is 3D curved even in healthy person, usually not measured but having big influence to balance and affecting other things. Proportion of masses and dimensions of various body parts - making many things harder or easier for the dancer. Did you notice that top ballet dancers have pretty much the same body type? Obviously there is a reason why we don't see some different body types there. These things are numerous and in many cases, you can't compensate with bigger or much bigger number of practicing hours. You can gain more muscles or train them to work better, but you can do very little about bones etc.
In addition to that, my experience is telling me that younger girls are generally much faster learners than older ladies. With aging, things wear out, bones are losing elasticity or even deforms, muscles are losing strength etc. So the same person could be entitled as talented at age of 15 but non talented if she were to start dancing at age of 40 instead
So stop with this talent = myth BS with examples from nuclear physics please
There are many things about how individual body is made that are hard to measure or evaluate and were probably not a part of any study, many of them not visible or at least not to untrained eye but having big influence and could be a part of what we usually call "talent". For instance balance is important for a dancer. Now, people have different positions of centre of gravity. Not just height of it in comparison to the height of the body. There are other things. Our spine is not ideal like in the book, it is 3D curved even in healthy person, usually not measured but having big influence to balance and affecting other things. Proportion of masses and dimensions of various body parts - making many things harder or easier for the dancer. Did you notice that top ballet dancers have pretty much the same body type? Obviously there is a reason why we don't see some different body types there. These things are numerous and in many cases, you can't compensate with bigger or much bigger number of practicing hours. You can gain more muscles or train them to work better, but you can do very little about bones etc.
In addition to that, my experience is telling me that younger girls are generally much faster learners than older ladies. With aging, things wear out, bones are losing elasticity or even deforms, muscles are losing strength etc. So the same person could be entitled as talented at age of 15 but non talented if she were to start dancing at age of 40 instead
So stop with this talent = myth BS with examples from nuclear physics please
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But he graduated with a first class degree in Physics in 1950, got his masters in 1952 and was awarded his PhD in 1954. It was ten years after this in 1964 that he published his three famous papers. Higgs himself said it "wasn't a eureka moment". At a glance he seems to fit the model.
You seem to be comparing learning abilty, with age. The abilty to perform as well as ? thats a different story, and, even then its not always the case.
Ive discoverd over the many yrs that, there seems to be a correlation in ones profession and aptitude... notably in Engineers, Teachers and I.T. types.
The slowest ? Doctors...maybe pre-occupied ?
Yup, I also noticed (and some girls also told me) that number of engineers among male dancers is higher than average in the population. These things seem to be connected ...
I mentioned age because in my venue we have people from 20- to 50+ and the average dancing progress speed of the person is clearly connected with age. However, it's not age only, it is complex relation - in different age, people also behave differently (usually becoming less physically active due to job, family etc), people think differently etc ... other typical example is learning foreign language - if you learn it young, you will have no strange accent, if you learn it when older, very little chance for it ... or in competitive ballroom dancing, someone starting at 10 has chance to be quite good at 20, while someone staring at 20 has very little chance to be at similar level at 30 ...
I mentioned age because in my venue we have people from 20- to 50+ and the average dancing progress speed of the person is clearly connected with age. However, it's not age only, it is complex relation - in different age, people also behave differently (usually becoming less physically active due to job, family etc), people think differently etc ... other typical example is learning foreign language - if you learn it young, you will have no strange accent, if you learn it when older, very little chance for it ... or in competitive ballroom dancing, someone starting at 10 has chance to be quite good at 20, while someone staring at 20 has very little chance to be at similar level at 30 ...
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So how do you explain that lots of latin people are dancing? Is their social life also low ?
Just because a lot of engineers have that as a reason does not mean a lot of latin people have that as a reason. Latin also does not automatically mean high social life lol, it's not like they are magicalSo how do you explain that lots of latin people are dancing? Is their social life also low ?
MAMBO_CEC
Son Montuno
I am an engineer, I think Salsamarty in an engineer, Salsastudent in an engineer, Groovymambo is a scientist, and we all have awesome social lives!!! I think it's more to do with the complexity of the dance, intricate turn patterns etc. that attracts engineers and people with analytical minds to this genre, as for our "Hermanos Latinos", they too have awesome social lives, and because of their awesome social lives and skills, we benefit as a salsa community.......
bailar y tocar
Son Montuno
I thought NHS doctors had the good life, regular hours, regular salary etc.
I know many female doctors who are excellent salsa dancers and would easily be among the best in the scene if they didn't have to work so many hours.
I have met only 1 or 2 female engineers that dance salsa but many male engineers who do - more a reflection of the gender disparity in the profession than anything else.
Ive taught mainly ( it seems ) specialists, like for e.g Surgeons ( once had a regular class with about 12 of them ), and more recently, a very high profile plastic surgeon and wife ( also a Dr. ), same problems, concentration ,and lack of practice time. I could go back many yrs with similar situations. This, by the way was States-side .
SnowDancer
Son Montuno
I'm an engineer too; and you're right, it's the complexity that keeps me going. But also, there's something about the rhythm. The first time I practiced the basic in my first class, I found something very appealing about the 1-2-3.... 5-6-7..., and knew it was something I liked.
The social life improvement was also a big plus: I have a good one new, but it's all due to salsa. (For the previous 4-5 years, I snowboarded regularly and hardly knew a soul.)
salsamarty
Son
Yes I'm an engineer. Having an analytical mind does dominate my approach to learning the dance but I think that only takes you so far. At some point you need to develop a more intuitive and non-analytical aspect to your dancing. After many years of dancing I think I'm well along this path.
I'm not drawn to salsa dancing because of it's complexity. While I can appreciate the challenge of learning to dance it was really the stress relief that kept me going. It has been a way to relax from a very stressful job.
The social aspect is a big plus for me though I wasn't lacking in a social life prior to salsa dancing.
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