Dance for the Mind & Body

For my STEP Signature Project, I took ballroom dance lessons, choosing to learn foxtrot, swing dance and rumba. I attended professional dance performances after learning that, when studying dance, watching performances is an important aspect of learning showmanship. By the end of my project, I learned a dance routine, and though I was unable to perform it due to the pandemic, I have gained a new skill and hobby that I hope to continue with in the future!

This project has developed my understanding of dance. While watching and practicing dance to perform, I realized that dance has many different forms. For instance, performance dance has a much different purpose than informal dance at a wedding. Ballroom dance has also shown me a new way of approaching teamwork. As a follower in dance, I must trust my dance partner’s ability to lead the routine. Though ballroom dance labels each player as a leader or follower, both are teammates striving for the same goal. Both the leader and the follower play important roles in ballroom dance, and neither can replace the other. Without trusting each other’s abilities in their respective role, a routine cannot be carried out. Just as in ballroom dance, teamwork in any setting requires the trust and confidence in each other to achieve a common goal.

During my first ballroom dance lesson, we focused on the relationship between the leader and the follower. As the follower, I was required to close my eyes while the leader pushed or pulled on my hands to lead me around the room. This exercise focused on teaching me to react to my dance partner’s cues and trust their ability to lead. As my dance lessons continued, I was periodically reminded not to lead while playing the role of follower in dance. Trying the exercise again, my instructor and I switched roles – I acting as the leader this time. Periodically, my instructor would try to lead – mimicking what I had been doing the past couple weeks. Repeating the exercise as the leader helped me understand the difficulty of leading the dance while the follower tries to lead as well. I realized that to be a good dancer, I needed to trust in not only my abilities, but also my dance partner’s abilities.

Before watching dancers perform, I was unsure how the basic steps I had been learning could be translated into a performance routine. While learning to dance in the studio, dancing seemed much more limited to the traditional steps I had been practicing. Hoping to perform a routine in front of an audience, my instructor suggested I watch a professional performance and attend a dance recital to understand the concept of showmanship. I quickly realized that watching dance is an important part of learning about dance.

After watching performances, I began to understand how dance is composed. It showed me how basic steps can be modified to create a more exciting performance. After getting familiar with the dances I would be working on and watching performances, I began working on a performance to showcase what I had learned. When putting together my own performance routine, we combined rumba and swing dance, adding unique elements to make the dance more interesting. While first learning the basic steps of rumba and swing will help me dance in future informal settings, putting together a dance performance routine has helped me understand the artistic aspects of dance.

This experience has given me an appreciation of the art of dance and helped me find a lifelong hobby. Throughout the past eight months, dancing has acted as a great stress reliever and is something I hope to continue doing as I move on to medical school. Ballroom dance has also taught me the importance of trust when working in a team. As a future healthcare provider, a job that requires interdisciplinary teamwork, successfully working in a team is an important skill that I have been able to strengthen through my experiences with ballroom dance.

One thought on “Dance for the Mind & Body

  1. Hi Sravya,

    Thank you for sharing this reflection of your experience with ballroom dance lessons! I’m sorry you did not get to do your performance, but so glad to hear you enjoyed your project and clearly took a lot away from the experience. I think it would be so fun to learn ballroom dance, and think it is great you have a found a hobby for life!

    Best to you,

    Caleb – STEP Team Member

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