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Dance As One - The Brief Definition of the Dance-Sport

Two completely different individuals dance as a single unit. A manifestation of two halves coming together for the "completeness". A celebration of the enlightenment of the interdependency on all around, what the scientists call as the ECOLOGY.

Dancing is primarily done for ones own self, which is the foremost principle to be borne in mind. One may dance alone, or in pairs, or a group, or whatever the case may be, yet it is primarily an individual activity. This attitude starts from the infant stage, and nonetheless it remains throung out the life of an individual. If one is able to derive pleasure from it, then the grace and style automatically develop, and the fun of it passes to others automatically without the necessity to put up an additional display.

The second part necessary for the various dances in the Dance-Sport section, is the requirement that each and every movement is due to interdependency. This is live itself, demanding our deppendency on various living and non-living thing around, for ones survival. This requires mainly a good teamwork and tolerance.

In real life there is normally never a competition between the two sexes. Whatever the competition, generally speaking, is within a particular sex only. Exceptions to this are there, however they form a very tiny fraction, when a male competes with a female or vice versa. Within this tiny fraction the competition is rarely arduous or the "cut-throat" kind. This necessitates the team to be of a male and a female, thus reducing the chances of conflict between the team members; or else the phrase "to many cooks spoil the broth" becomes applicable.

For a team to succeed one leads and the other follows, thus the man assumes the responsibility of leading, and the lady the equally tough responsibility of following. By nature mans gets the strength at the cost of flexibility. And a woman tends to retain the flexibility for longer duration, which helps her to perform with more flowing movements and dexterity. Thus the rigidity in the man and the flexibility in the woman get combined to give the proper strength, as dictated by the nature for the survival of the species.

The third and the last part, is the continuous effort of self-discovery and the re-enforcing of ones emotional foundation through the touch, warmth, heartbeat and the rhythm.

These three points make up the entire range of the ballroom and the Latin American dances.

The Attitude Required
The leading and the following can also be compared to a certain extent, to the game of chess. Both are tremendously busy thinking of the various permutations and combinations of moves possible. The only difference is that continuously the man makes the moves and the lady reacts in accordance.

The belief underlying the Indian philosophy, and more so as far as the various Indian classical dances are concerned are concerned, is that to control ones own self for a better future. So the dances are based on the five qualities of which three are common to both the sexes, and those are jealousy, anger and greed. The other two qualities are sex and attachment for the male and female respectively. What it means is that one should control these qualities. However these are the very qualities that are also responsible for ones progress. So the idea is to understand firstly, ones limit such that one is comfortable and so also the society in general. However to exceed and explore the limits within a framework such that one is able of benefit and learn more without causing harm to others. Various activities and dance being one of them give this framework.

Since such pair dances give a larger framework for better exploration of ones self, it in return demands tremendous amount of mental and physical discipline.

Mental discipline. Many have an opinion that a married couple only should perform such dances of the Dance-Sport. Many people have been brought up with such ideas, and films are one of the culprits. The modern Indian films sometimes show ballroom dances, in which the dancers are invariably, lovers to be married soon, and while dancing they are incessantly talking to each other through out the dance number. The modern western films are no different. These have the theme of dance, the partners need not know each other, and soon after the dance the couple is bedding each other in the most amorous fashion. What the films show is not entirely the truth as perceived however it simply leads the dance to be associated with sex, sex and nothing else but sex.

Sex is wonderful, very sacred, and a necessity of a balanced life. But so are these dances. Although it has movements and positions that seem common to both the subjects mentioned above, yet these are totally different activities with it's own philosophies and cultures. Both require the understanding of the essence of "Master and Slave", before being able to tread on the correct path for the "ultimate climax" or the fulfilment or the "nirvana", in both these activities.

Sex is a tremendous subject, a very vast one, and since time immemorial like the Indians (Kama Sutra, Khajurao temples), Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese and many others, have tried to study it. It requires a very special attitude and a lot of efforts; the attitude of being a "Master and a Slave".

Master-an-Slave
Master-an-Slave attitude is when two or more individuals as the case may be, when engaged in an activity is both, a master and a slave. This means that each of the individuals is the master and the slave at the same instant of time. One is the master and wishes to get all that one need or wishes regardless of anything, yet the same person is a slave at the same instant and caters to the responses of the partner. This way everyone taking part in the particular activity are able to maintain the identity, self respect, pride, satisfaction and both are able to achieve fulfilment to ones capacity. This is a continuous process that tastes sweeter with the passing of time; however it has a small bad side to it, which is also a challenge, and that is the realisation of the fact.

This is easily evident in many older couples. A majority of the times at a social dance when the professional dancers are not dancing, it is mostly the older couples that are viewed with great admiration and respect. It is through their natural and unhurried movement that they unintentionally display and affirm the their experience of the attitude of "Master and Slave" and the control of ones self.

Another example is the attitude when one watches a person of the opposite sex. Many have different views, yet there is an underlying feature that is more noble and sacred, especially for the features that can attract conflicting ideas. It is an effort that pays of well, to inculcate such a noble habit.

When a male of any age watches a female, the parts that immediately catch the eye, many a times subconsciously, are the face, breast, hip and the legs. The face shows the personality, the breast tell of how well the child would be fed, the hips speak of caring carring the child in the first nine months of the baby, and the legs of her movements and independence.

Similarly the parts the women see in a man are the face, shoulders, chest and stomach, and legs. The face shows the personality, shoulders signify the responsibility one can bear, chest and stomach especially the hair on it of the necessary brute animal instinct, and legs for the mobility and independence.

Above are some general points. However the fact is that both the sexes are just one half of an entity required for our balanced survival. So by nature the two halves are created equal when considering the values of all the properties in a man with that of a woman's.

For a team to progress one has to lead, which does not in any way undermine the status of the follower. Thus in the Dance-Sport the man always leads and the lady always follows. This can be reversed in case of a teacher.

Because of the master-and-slave attitude, there is independence for both the dancing partners to perform independently in the framework of the Dance-Sport. However this requires a quite a mastery in the field.

One needs to keep changing partners to learn more. This is similar to changing many jobs to learn more for a particular job. Thus all the other jobs are used as a model, without actually going deep into it.

Physical discipline. This is same as that required for any and every sport. It is simply being healthy and fit and the exercise required for its maintenance, with a difference. The difference is, to be comfortable in the kind of body one has and without regards to altering it consciously. The body moulds itself automatically to suit a particular need, in due course of time, of course.