Jai Chavan's "Dance-Sport" Email : [email protected] Or General Mailer

Student Writes

There's a lot more that does not meet the eye initially and many will never, which are equally responsible for a project or an undertaking of practically any sort.

1. Puritan Ballroom Dancer
Whenever I go for a dance, irrespective of the occasion or the type of music, I always dance one of the ten dances of the Dance-sport. I insist the same from my students. When doing choreography the base and aim still remains the Dance-Sport, and nothing else.

2. Totally dedicated
Although I specify that the dance class will last for a specified time, in actual it exceeds many a time, more than double the time. This happens usually when my students show sincere interest.

3. Wide spectrum
Basically when it comes to social dancing a majority of the people wish to learn Ballroom dancing to relax their mental blocks. Here I teach them to use any one of the dances of the ten dances in the Dance-Sport to express almost any kind of emotion.

4. Extensive knowledge
I normally give information free to any one interested. There is no limit to the extent of information to be given. This part has two reasons. One is that if I keep giving then to maintain the lead I need to work harder and so I will progress further. The second is that how much ever I give the communication gap will still remain, and so I will still remain ahead and be able to maintain my identity.

5. Source of movement
Since quite some time, my aim has be the propagation of this art form in India.

6. Non sequential mode of dancing
I do not teach sequence dancing. I normally lay a stress on the basics of a particular dance, and to be able to play around with it in a certain specified framework. This pattern help a person to express emotions as one would wish. I advocate the philosophy of dancing the Ballroom dances primarily for one's own self, with the subtle underlying part of teamwork. So one would dance these dances very similar to individual dances that come so easily, yet with a certain subtle discipline such that one's dancing partner is also comfortable, and so also the spectators. This is achieved when one is able to be a master and a slave at the same instance of time.

7. Conviction of dance as different from the technique
This part I cannot explain as it is still not clear to me. My student has tried to explain it to me at least on three occasions with various examples. Yet I am still unable to relate the subject with the examples.

8. Loose one's self, in terms of time, space and self
Dances, the way I see it is for the achieving of tranquillity. A state of mind when one can loose one's self totally. And travel into a different phase when one sees only a blur of colours, hears nothing but one's own heartbeat, feels nothing, and all the movements are surprisingly rhythmic and in harmony, and one moves in the very framework of ballroom dances. Yet one is at such heights of alertness that recalling all the events in vivid details is very easy.