10 lessons I learned partner dancing
**10 Life Lessons I Learned Through Partner Dancing**
Partner dancing is a captivating and comprehensive activity that demands a blend of mental, physical, emotional, and social skills. These are the reasons why dancing is celebrated for its brain-boosting benefits!
Over the past 20 years, I've engaged in both social and competitive dancing. Each has imparted invaluable life lessons that I'd like to share with you.
Competitive dancing emphasizes technical skills, body awareness, and the ability to collaborate with a consistent partner. It can be challenging when you need to communicate both verbally and physically, yet find yourselves not on the same wavelength.
Social dancing, on the other hand, encourages you to stay present with a temporary partner. You have just one song to create a unique dance and forge a memorable moment with someone you hardly know.
Here is a brief sample of the life lessons I have learned:
**...in Social Dancing**
1. **Letting Go of Perfection:** Mistakes are inevitable when you improvise. Laugh them off and turn them into something enjoyable!
2. **Developing Social Skills:** Don't be shy to invite someone to dance, interact with strangers, and make new friends.
3. **Accepting Others as They Are:** Every partner is new, even if you think you know them. Never take anyone for granted; remain attentive, aware, and sensitive.
4. **Breathing, Listening, and Feeling the Music (in that order):** Each song is distinct, so you need to determine the appropriate dance style, tempo, and energy level.
5. **Engaging in Daily Physical Activity for Enjoyment, Not Obligation:** Yes, it is possible to have a workout that is both enjoyable and keeps you in shape!
**...from Competitive Ballroom Dancing**
1. **Developing Discipline to Practice Daily:** Repetition of routines is rewarding, allowing us to explore and refine a single move repeatedly. One action can take on a different feel, look, and perfection each time.
2. **Enhancing Communication Skills Within the Couple:** Effective communication fosters better teamwork. Be kind to one another and willing to meet halfway.
3. **Honing Organizational Skills:** Managing time, practice, travel, coaching, finances, and more is an art in itself.
4. **Cultivating Patience:** Progress isn’t always linear, and the more readily you accept this, the smoother the journey becomes.
5. **Letting Go of Results:** Most of the work is done in practice; there’s little you can do once you’re on the competitive floor.
I've found that evolving in both social and competitive dancing has brought balance to my understanding of partner dancing. In recent years, I’ve aimed to integrate the lessons I've gleaned from social dancing into competitive ballroom (and vice versa) to fully grasp the expectations of each discipline.