Monday, December 29, 2008
Israeli Partnership Dancing
Am working on a companion to Partnership Dancing called Israeli Partnership Dancing. This book is specifically for Israeli Dancers to help them dance more easily with their partners. This book applies the principles of Partnership Dancing to Israeli Partner Dancing.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
I have written the book Partnership Dancing (www.partnershipdancing.com) to explain how to dance with a partner.
This book defines the communication method you can use to unambiguously communicate with your partner.
With only three rules and three signals, you can communicate all the choreography in every partner dance.
We have tested this method since 2004 and it works perfectly for every step in every Israeli Partner Dance with few exceptions.
Our ladies who have learned the method of Partnership Dancing can do every Israeli Partner Dance without learning any choreography.
They can do every Israeli Partner Dance better than most advanced Israeli Dancers who know the dance perfectly, even dances that they are doing for the first time without instruction.
By better, I mean they can create a more enjoyable experience for their partner by creating a better experience of two people dancing as one.
This book defines the communication method you can use to unambiguously communicate with your partner.
With only three rules and three signals, you can communicate all the choreography in every partner dance.
We have tested this method since 2004 and it works perfectly for every step in every Israeli Partner Dance with few exceptions.
Our ladies who have learned the method of Partnership Dancing can do every Israeli Partner Dance without learning any choreography.
They can do every Israeli Partner Dance better than most advanced Israeli Dancers who know the dance perfectly, even dances that they are doing for the first time without instruction.
By better, I mean they can create a more enjoyable experience for their partner by creating a better experience of two people dancing as one.
Our Solution to Struggling with Your Partner
In Israeli Partner Dancing, people tend to struggle with their partner. This happens because we do not learn how to dance with a partner, so everyone thinks what they are doing is right. Their opinions are enforced by a battle for control during each dance.
In our little group, we have solved this problem by teaching people how to dance with a partner. We have the Social Dance Contract which is the man goes first and the lady follows.
Tests of will are not allowed in our group. The lady is to follow the man at all times, whether he knows the dance or not. She is to follow his mistakes too. The lady's job is to complete whatever the man started. She is to make what they are doing a pleasant experience.
The man has the option of disengaging and not signaling the lady, in which case, if she likes, she can dance her part. This works well if the man does not know the dance and wants to follow what the lady does.
In our little group, we have solved this problem by teaching people how to dance with a partner. We have the Social Dance Contract which is the man goes first and the lady follows.
Tests of will are not allowed in our group. The lady is to follow the man at all times, whether he knows the dance or not. She is to follow his mistakes too. The lady's job is to complete whatever the man started. She is to make what they are doing a pleasant experience.
The man has the option of disengaging and not signaling the lady, in which case, if she likes, she can dance her part. This works well if the man does not know the dance and wants to follow what the lady does.
Our Solution to Gender Imbalance and People Left Out of Dancing
In my tiny group (see http://gainesville.israelidance.info) we have addressed all the issues that we know of regarding Israeli Partner Dancing and solved them to our satisfaction.
The first issue is people being left out.
People are left out because they do not have a partner. We solved that problem in these ways.
1. We rotate partners so everyone gets to dance with everyone.
2. We do a dance more than once so everyone gets to do the dance.
3. We switch gender roles as needed. If there are more women, women that want can dance the man's role. If their are more men, men that want can dance the woman's role. Yes, this does mean that sometimes women dance with women and men dance with me.
The first issue is people being left out.
People are left out because they do not have a partner. We solved that problem in these ways.
1. We rotate partners so everyone gets to dance with everyone.
2. We do a dance more than once so everyone gets to do the dance.
3. We switch gender roles as needed. If there are more women, women that want can dance the man's role. If their are more men, men that want can dance the woman's role. Yes, this does mean that sometimes women dance with women and men dance with me.
Israeli Partner Dancing Issues
In Israeli Partner Dancing we have some major problems. These problems are the same, as far as I know, for all choreographed dance styles like Contra Dancing, International Folk Dancing and Square Dancing.
The first problem is when there is not an exact gender balance, people are left out and do not get to do any partner dances. The second problem is dancing with a partner is often a struggle and much less enjoyable than it could be.
The cause of these problems is in Israeli partner dancing we learn choreography. We do not learn how to dance with a partner.
Most Israeli Partner Dancers have little or no experience with any other kind of partner dancing, so they do not know the conventions for social partner dancing. Since there are no rules, everyone is on their own as to what they think is best based. This results in every dance being a test of wills.
To solve this problem, people find regular partners with whom they have managed to resolve, somewhat satisfactorily, their communication issues.
If your regular partner is your spouse, wonderful.
For the rest of the people, regular partners is somewhat anti-social, leaving some people unable to participate, and preventing others from dancing with one another.
See http://www.israelipartnerdancing.com/ for more information.
The first problem is when there is not an exact gender balance, people are left out and do not get to do any partner dances. The second problem is dancing with a partner is often a struggle and much less enjoyable than it could be.
The cause of these problems is in Israeli partner dancing we learn choreography. We do not learn how to dance with a partner.
Most Israeli Partner Dancers have little or no experience with any other kind of partner dancing, so they do not know the conventions for social partner dancing. Since there are no rules, everyone is on their own as to what they think is best based. This results in every dance being a test of wills.
To solve this problem, people find regular partners with whom they have managed to resolve, somewhat satisfactorily, their communication issues.
If your regular partner is your spouse, wonderful.
For the rest of the people, regular partners is somewhat anti-social, leaving some people unable to participate, and preventing others from dancing with one another.
See http://www.israelipartnerdancing.com/ for more information.
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