International Dance Day: Dancing for fun is a journey

WHEN we celebrate International Dance Day, we look at why dancing for pleasure can be a great benefit and why perfection is less important than the experience of learning and competing in dance.

What is International Dance Day and where did it originate? Also called World Dance Day, International Dance Day was started by the International Dance Council (CID) in 1982 in honour of the father of ballet, Jean-Georges Noverre. It is celebrated on April 29 every year as that was the day of Noverre’s birthday. The day is intended to highlight the significance of dance and encourage people to take part in the form of creative expression as it improves our physical and mental health and provides great pleasure.

I want to share about my experience as a Starter line dancer entering competitions and how I learnt that it’s all about the journey and not being the best or being perfect – that reaching a goal takes time and patience, and that’s the joy of it.

I’ve been line dancing for over five years, but I only started competition dancing this year at the Starter level. Line dancing is a form of dance where you dance solo in rows and follow a choreographed sequence of steps to music. It originally started with Western and Country music but now encompasses multiple genres and styles. The focus is more on the steps, but as you advance, you can add styling with your arms and body movements. I wanted to start competition dancing to bring some adventure into my life and learn how to improve my dancing technique.

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So, in early April, I took part in my second competition – Kaleidoscope in Amanzimtoti. We also have a Pro-Am section where we, as amateur dancers, get to dance with pro dancers in couple’s dances. I went up to do my Pro-Am East Coast Swing with our pro dancer, Kevin Ellis. I was psyched this time, less nervous than my first competition and ready to put into practice all the excellent techniques I’d learned. It’s hard work, and a lot of practice goes into getting ready for a competition – well, relatively speaking for the everyday person, not like the pros who dance for a living. I longed for a reward for my hard work and to do well.

But, alas, that wasn’t to be. A few seconds into my dance, the beaded collar that I had over my dress (which made me look glam) caught on my partner’s shirt button, hooking us together in one position and no other – facing each other. I panicked and didn’t know what to do. It eventually loosened – well, my partner loosened it – but that knocked me off my game, and after that, I couldn’t focus on the dance. All my psyched-up feelings to follow my technique to the T were forgotten, and I did the technique wrong. When I came off the dance floor, I couldn’t help chuckling at the odd mishap. Even my partner, who is a world champion, gave me a look to say, “Whoa, what happened there?”

But, by the end of the competition, I wasn’t so chuffed with the mishap because it had messed with my mood, amplifying my nerves and affecting the quality of my other dances. I didn’t score as well in this competition as my previous one.

I went home and decided that I was not doing any more competitions – it was just too stressful. But then, my dance friend persuaded me to stay. Thanks, Dorothy.

Thankfully, our kind dance teacher, Jerome, gave us a wonderful pep talk the following week, assuring us that sometimes, the bad competitions are the better ones for us because if we kept winning as a beginner, we wouldn’t work hard on improving ourselves. We would rest on our laurels, and well, as a beginner, that’s not a good idea. That helped ease my sense of discouragement. He also stressed that every competition is a learning curve and that the more competitions we enter, the more used to it we become. And that it’s all for fun, and we shouldn’t take it too seriously. Those words sank in.

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I like to see this as a metaphor for life. Life has its ups and downs – we win some and we lose some. It comes in cycles, but everything teaches us something – everything is a way to gain experience and grow as a person. It’s about the journey and the experience; it isn’t about perfection. Yes, a ballet dancer in a ballet company would strive for perfection as that is their career, but when dancing is your outlet, your hobby, your inspiration, it’s more about the experience and the journey along the way.

Dancing is a magical thing to do. There’s something so uplifting about moving your body to music – you feel the music in your soul, and your body relishes the flow. It’s something that can be enjoyed by people of all ages – there was a lady in her 80s who danced beautifully at the competitions, and there are some competitions where preschoolers take part. It teaches you patience, how to be brave and how to love yourself, and it provides you with the opportunity to make friends – and to exercise.

Why not try out dancing to celebrate International Dance Day?

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