Inner Motivation: The Connection between You and Dance
In my last article, I mentioned 5 different ways to help yourself stay motivated to learn Salsa. Today I want to talk about inner motivation, which I think is key to determining if you’re going to keep learning or not: The connection between you and dance.
Whether dancing salsa/bachata or any other social dance, we learn basic steps and connection with our partner, train our body and our natural flow, and learn about the culture of the dance. While we are discovering dance, however, we might just figure out who we are through this unexpected journey.
Why did you start to learn dancing?
No matter what your motive is, when we are standing in a classroom looking at ourselves in the mirror, what we’re actually doing is starting a conversation with ourselves:
“How do I feel today?”
“How do I express what I feel through my body?”
“How do I feel when I’m looking at myself in the mirror?”
“Do I appreciate, or judge myself?”
“What do I feel through the music and movement?”
…
And in social dancing, your partner is just like a mirror, which reflects your relationships with people:
What are your boundaries?
Do you have counterbalance/equal energy with your partner?
How much do you trust your partner?
How much are you willing to give off yourself in this dance?
Do you really feel your partner?
Do you feel seen by your partner?
…
Dancing is interaction and communication. While leading/responding to your partner, are you aware of your inner process?
Other than connecting with people, many people are connecting to themselves, experiencing pure joy, or expressing their true self through salsa. Dancing is the expression of oneness, where our body, mind and spirit can be aligned, which allows us to express our thoughts and feelings.
Have you ever observed yourself while you dance?
Everyone has different needs and motives for dancing, and I think that ‘Finding Your Why’ is what matters most to maintain your practice.
Maybe through dance, you could feel real.
Maybe through dance, you could forget who you are.
Maybe through dance, you could evolve yourself.
Once you can feel the connection with dance and the reason why dancing is so special to you, you can transcend the frustration and tediousness of practice, because dancing is no longer just a skill for you, but a factor that makes you you.
So, what is dancing for you?
You may have your own answer, and I hope that on this journey we could all keep going, keep growing, and may dance lead us together, and lead us home.