expression during dance

[Ahava_Melantha]

okay, I'm a lil confused bout this one, kay.

on one hand, my dance instructor shes very much about smile big, have fun, blah blah blah blah.

but on the other hand, I love the genuine look of passion, sadness, happiness glee that I see in egyptian and russian dancers.

and I love how some of them its not just choreography or dancing. how some of the they dance around and use hand expressions or face and gestures to excite the audience n stuff.

ideas here? should I just pick and choose with my instructor?

 

[Yame]

okay, I'm a lil confused bout this one, kay.

on one hand, my dance instructor shes very much about smile big, have fun, blah blah blah blah.

but on the other hand, I love the genuine look of passion, sadness, happiness glee that I see in egyptian and russian dancers.

and I love how some of them its not just choreography or dancing. how some of the they dance around and use hand expressions or face and gestures to excite the audience n stuff.

ideas here? should I just pick and choose with my instructor?

Not all music is happy. You should express what the music is about and/or how the music makes you feel, when you dance.

Certainly, if you love dance it makes you happy, so you might naturally smile, and an audience loves to see a performer enjoying herself or himself. BUT there is no reason to limit yourself to just that.

 

[Aniseteph]

What are you dancing to with your teacher, and is it a mixed level or beginner class?

If it's something that it's appropriate to smile to, then I think it's fine. I don't know about your class, but in ours it's hard enough getting people to lose the blank face or the "I'm concentrating on remembering the next move" face. Getting people to smile and relax enjoy themselves is a good first step IMO.

"Remember to smile" could mean she wants idiotic fixed grins no matter what - yeah, I'd be uncomfortable about that, and ignoring it . Or it could mean "relax, go with it, show me the joy in your dancing". Which for a mixed class dancing to happy music is great.

For me, and for other people looking at what I've seen in classes on expression and performance skills, expressing deeper things and relating to your audience in a genuine-looking way is a real challenge*. IMO you have to get it from inside for it to look real, which takes being pretty comfortable with yourself and confident about your dancing, especially as it's usually a solo thing. It's too much for beginners, and for students who want a weekly dance about rather than being made to stand up in front of other people and bare their souls :shok:. She might be deliberately avoiding the scary if it's that kind of mixed class.

* this is for a bunch of uptight Brits however.

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

okay, maybe shes doing it remind them not to have grotesque looks on the face.

thax. I appreciate.

and its NOT beginner. I've been dancing since 15, another for 8 yrs, one for 2 yrs and one just started. Not beginner. sort of mixed/integrated learning and mostly egyptian style I beleive.

its fun. but thanx for input. I appreciate it.

 

[indrayu]

Only just saw this thread, so a bit late on joining in, but my 2 cents' worth... I really dislike that pasted-on smile! Unless it is genuine, it is scary. BUT I know dancers and teachers who want everything to be upbeat and entertaining, and think that the audience will lose interest if the dancer looks serious. In my opinion, this may be sort-of true for inexperienced dancers performing to happy pop songs for a general audience, say at a community event. But as soon as you get a bit more experienced, use more complex music or perform for a more discerning audience, surely you have to convey a greater range and depth of emotion.

Every professional show, play, movie, recital, whatever, moves the audience through an emotional journey. That's the point of it.

 

[Ahava_Melantha]

thanx for your input. it helps. but I also don't see myself when I dance. so have NO clue what that looks like. I don't smile so much in dance class and when I do, its a nervous smile cuz I'm like "is she gonna critque me as I walk/hip lift across the floor" ummu mm, i'm free, yaya, lol

 

[Shiyii]

smile is useful

 

[Zumarrad]

I smile like a maniac when I am dancing, especially if it's choreo, especially if I know it extremely well. It is something that took me a long time to learn to do. I get compliments on my smile when dancing, so it can't be all bad. But it does come and go, I have plenty of pix of myself looking idiotic.

Smiling in general makes people like you and unafraid of you. A lot of the time we think we are smiling enough when we are not.

There are times when the music will tell you to be sad, and you can go with it. But don't underestimate the power of a smile.

Unless you are really, really, ridiculously beautiful, really, really ridiculously confident and really, really ridiculously good, you're going to need it.