Posted by Ryan
June 13, 2007
So if you didn’t know, I’m on a swing team. Currently we are called the Salt Lake Jitterbugs, thought that’s likely to change, or not. Website coming soon. Anyway, on Monday of this week we performed at Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City. The occasion was for “From Past to Future: The Israeli Experience.” An Israeli folk dance troupe, Havazalot Netanya Dance Troupe, came to Salt Lake City and performed. And we were the opening act.
Yeah, I know. A swing dance performance was the opening act for an Israeli folk dance concert? I don’t think anyone would match the two up normally, but one of our team members happened to be involved with the people putting this thing on. I thought it was pretty cool: two cultures, two types of dancing. We only danced once, as the opening dance to start it off. It was really fun.
My favorite part! So this routine we performed starts out with the girls on stage with us guys off stage waiting. The girls do a short routine and then we come on and the girls go off, and then the girls come back for the last part of it. While the girls were doing their part I was on the opposite side of the stage, across from the Israeli dancers. It was really fun to see them all start groovin and bustin moves back stage to the music our girls were dancing to. I’m not sure why it was my favorite part, other than perhaps that I just enjoy watching people enjoy music, and I could tell that they were enjoying it. It’s even more exciting for me to see a bunch of dancers enjoy music, especially when they’re as good as they are.
During intermission I overheard someone telling someone else that while they were good dancers, the BYU folk dancers or something like that were a lot better at the Israeli folk dances. He did say that this troupe had more real soul and energy, but the BYU dancers have better technique, are more together, etc. etc.
Whatever. My opinion is that the dancer with the most soul, energy, and true love for the dance is the better dancer. I don’t have anything against any of the BYU dancers and I’m not saying that they don’t love the dances they do and have a ton of energy, but it’s different. The BYU dancers are good, but I have a hard time believing that they’re better than this particular group of dancers just because they’re more together. I’d probably think they were too stiff, too together, overly choreographed, overly trained, and lacking what makes a dance real… at least in comparison. As an example, there are people who would say that they’re really good at swing dancing, but ask anyone who’s any good at lindy hop and they’ll tell you that they’re not.
Only the skilled can judge the skillfulness, but that is not the same as judging the value of the result.
- C.S. Lewis Preface to Paradise Lost
So I’m not skilled in Israeli folk dances. I’m not sure the person who was saying that stuff is either, but he certainly knows more about it than I do. I do though like to think that I am skilled at lindy hop, so I think I can judge the skillfulness, at least on the surface.
What I do know for sure is that I thought they were great. Full of energy, passion, excitement, skill, and endurance. They must have been exhausted by the time it was over.
So what is perfection? To me, when it comes to dancing, perfection is skill combined with visible passion and the Havazalot Netanya dancers had both. Are there dancers “better” than them? Probably, but who cares? That’s not what matters. Too many people get so caught up in “perfection” that they forget to enjoy what they’re experiencing. I participate in a weekly public speaking club, Toastmasters, and I see the same thing there. People who are so concerned with “what a public speaker is” that they miss a lot of really good speeches.
Always strive for perfection, but don’t let it keep you from enjoying life’s simple pleasures.
Posted by Ryan
June 6, 2007
Me: i’m gonna go play ultimate frisbee!
Her: nice!
Her: i love that game!
Her: i didn’t think you played anything athletic…
Me: dude, lindy hop is athletic
Her: no, it’s not.
Me: is too!
Her: dancing is not a sport.
Me: so what… I get tired when I dance therefore it’s athletic. I am an athlete.
Her: whatever
Me: okay maybe not an athlete, but it’s still athletic.
Her: uh huh
We’ve had this argument several times, and she still refuses to see my side of the story. I think she’s blinded by my obviously superior arguments.
For those who don’t know what lindy hop is, from wikipedia:
Lindy Hop is an African American dance that evolved in New York City in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was an organic fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development, but was predominantly based on jazz, tap, breakaway and charleston. Lindy hop co-evolved with jazz music and is a member of the swing dance family. It is frequently described as a jazz or street dance.
I’m an avid “lindy hopper,” and like to go to events and competitions all over the USA (perhaps someday I’ll go out of the USA for dancing). Most recently, I went to Seattle, Washington for a camp called Camp Jitterbug. The photo is from that weekend. Anyway…
As I mentioned, I’ve argued several times with this friend that lindy hop is plenty athletic. I still think it is, but after going and playing Ultimate Frisbee last week, I’ve decided that lindy hop isn’t all that athletic after all. I thought I was gonna die running around on that green stuff called grass. Okay, I still think dancing is athletic, but it’s different. Very different. After nearly dying on the field I’ve determined that I’m in what experts everywhere would call “so out of shape you should be dead.” No, actually it’d probably be more along the lines of “moderately out of shape.”
Dancing has been, for the last few years, practically all of the physically demanding activity that I’ve done. I’ve hardly done anything else. I’ve played basketball a few times, gone on a few hikes, but mostly I’ve sat in front of a computer and gone dancing. Had it not been for dancing I doubt I’d have been able to make it across the field even once. Of course, had I not been dancing all the time maybe I’d have gone out and done other things.
Dancing is great, and regardless of what anyone else says lindy hop is (or at least can be if you dance fast enough) quite athletic. Maybe it’s more like aerobics. heh. I don’t know. Whatever it is, it’s really fun. But I also need to get out more and run around under the big blue sky. It’s really bright out there, but I hear you get used to it…
Posted by Ryan
March 27, 2007
So I was in Sacramento over the weekend for the Sacramento Lindy Exchange. Though you won’t hear me admit it very often, I really do like lindy hopping in Utah, really. It’s just that the scene is pretty small and I get burned out quite often. I used to go out swing dancing 3-4 times a week, if I could. Now I just go twice a week, once for a team practice and once for fun. Why do I bring this up in a post about the Sacramento lindy exchange? Because dancing with all of the really good dancers in Sacramento (I’ll give credit to the OC lindy exchange as well a few weeks ago, which I forgot to post about), as cheesy as it may sound, got me excited about dancing again. I’m not sure how it goes for other forms of dance, but as far as lindy hop is concerned, if you don’t travel, you’re only gonna get so good. Traveling to other places to dance, meeting lots of new people, dancing with people you may or may not see again, watching lots of really good dancers, and the excitement of being on vacation all contribute to a better learning environment. Of course, the hard part is maintaining that excitement and new level of dancing when you return to your normal dances with all of your normal friends. Don’t take me wrong. I’m really not complaining about “normal dances” and “normal friends.” While I learn a lot and am inspired through my travels, I really get to put things into practice at the “normal dances” with my “normal friends.” If it weren’t for the “normal friends” you practice with, who you critique and who critique you, you’d be pretty limited. Of course, there are other aspects that come into how fast you can learn such as if you take group lessons, private lessons, watch videos, etc., but my point today is that traveling is fun, but don’t eat the oranges off the trees at the State Capitol building in Sacramento in late March. They were really, really gross.
I can’t wait to practice and solidify all the crazy ideas I got over the weekend.
