Not “Dancing With the Stars”…Dance Like a Star!

It is said that public speaking is the most nerve racking and scary thing for most people. The reason for this is that dancing in front of an audience isn’t given as a choice. I am fresh off of my “Dancing with the Teachers” fund raising event in Georgetown. While going through the competition I noticed how much better the teachers did on the night of the show than they had done in practice. Everyone rose to the occasion and had the dance of their life! This got me to thinking.

Even though each of the competitors where dancing for the very first time in front of a live audience, even though their palms where sweaty, their knees where weak, and their mouths were dry, and even though they were scared to death they would forget the routine and disappoint their coach…They ALL where so happy they did the event! Not one of them would go back in time and trade with someone else and every single one of them wishes they could get picked to do it all again next year. 

Performance (not competition) makes you a better dancer. It is a fact! Public speaking makings you a better speaker…Public nudity makes you a better nudist (sorry couldn’t resist). There is just something about putting it all on the line for one performance that solidifies where you are at in your dance. From that point forward you have a new high that you can’t drop below in your learning curve. 

 This Friday we are going to get as in depth as you want to get, as dancers volunteer to go under the watchful eye of the video camera and the rest of the class to have their dance coached up by my self and anyone who can offer an opinion from a constructive place. The dancer will get better through the constructive offerings, watching the video, and hearing the feed back. The folks watching will also get better because you will be watching the dance with the responsibility of offering your point of view.

We are all friends in class so their should be no worries that someone is going to say something hurtful like “You should try growing some hair cause then we wouldn’t be blinded by your baldness Mr. J” (although I do love a good bald joke) We all want to get better which is why we report to class every week. We all dance at different levels so the coaching will be for your level and not for the one above or below you. None of the videos will be viewed outside of class. 

This is being used a an exercise to make us all level up and dance better. No one has to dance on camera if they don’t want to. You may chose to dance with me instead of a fellow student (this means I will also be evaluating your connection as well as your appearance). You can even chose to be someones partner so they can be critiqued while you stay out of the hot seat. The question is:

Can you step out of your comfort zone for 1 full minute, let your self be vulnerable, and hear what people think about your dancing?