Holistic approach to dance training

Let's talk about the holistic approach to growing as a dancer.

I believe in body-mind-soul alignment. It might sound like too much — but is it, really?

From my ballroom background, I know first-hand how all the little details and pieces shape the whole picture. We are all in different seasons of life, health, money, circumstance — all chasing different goals — but I believe dancing (especially WCS) is a road of self-discovery, of reflection, and of growing as a human. The more seriously you go into dance, the more you notice it. And if you already spend so much time and money on dance, why not look at it seriously and take the full benefit?

My intention for my Friday classes lately has been to expose you to different disciplines, different activities, for your body, mind, and soul. You can take an honest look at how things are going for you, and pick up an opportunity to grow your mobility, flexibility, stamina, creativity — whatever is asking for it.

It all matters and it all makes a huge difference — how much and what we drink, how we nourish the body, how we move, how we sleep. Your body is your temple. Do you take care of it with love? There is almost a hundred-percent chance that if we don't care about our own body and soul, it will leak out into how we treat the people around us. The outside is a reflection of the inside.

Life moves us through so many experiences that sometimes we aren't even in our body. We don't notice what we put in it. We don't feel it, we don't listen to it. We just act on autopilot. Sometimes we are simply in survival mode. But when we start listening to the body as a wise friend, the benefit is huge.

We have so many talented teachers in DFW who can help, who can share knowledge, who can guide you. I just want to bring your awareness to the fact that you can feel better by using that knowledge.

Often, when we admire someone's dancing, we forget how much extra work — outside WCS or whatever style — they are quietly doing. Working out. Stretching. Trying other styles. Etc, etc, etc.

And of course, the internal work is probably even more important than the bodywork. Whatever is on your mind and on your heart will be expressed in your movement and your dancing. Dance is a reflection of life. So working on mindsets, healing your traumas, and finding affordable, quick resources to drop your nervous system back into calm-relaxed-creative mode will help your dancing more than learning new patterns ever will. Life can be crazy and it can keep us in fight-or-flight mode, which drains us. Are we even aware that we are in fight-or-flight? Has it become our norm?

My intention is to help you, my friend, through dance lessons. But the intention is much wider than dancing. For me, flexibility is not about getting you into the splits in two weeks — it is about showing you that it can help you sleep better, live better. And of course you will feel your body in a new way, and that will let your dance and your personality grow.

I will keep teaching Fridays myself, and I will keep bringing in the people who can share about nutrition, mobility, flexibility, pilates, life coaching; we will talk about performance, creativity, how to be an artist.

I absolutely love doing this. My dream for my Friday classes this year is to make a special, safe place for all of us to grow — as dancers, and as humans — and I believe it will make your daily life a little more calm, a little more peaceful, a little more joyful.