I have a theory about dancing... I trained as a dancer from a tiny person - lots of form based styles like - ballet, tap, modern, latin and ballroom. Then as a young adult I picked up contemporary - which was form based but also lots of improvisation. Now - over all these years, when I've been out socially with other dancers trained in those styles - it's not a given that they can just dance freely - but I've always been able to. My theory is that my dad taught me how to do that - because he doesn't give a hoot when he dances (and doesn't need to be drunk). Not caring about what you look like is significant in how free you’ll feel when you dance.
I think learning different forms can help discipline the body, and can build range to some extent, but it also can be just as much of a straight jacket as that fear of 'I can't dance' which the average person has. (Maybe because when you only know how to dance a form then the fear of failure/looking stupid can still be at large) So my deduction is that we have to let go of fear more than anything to truly dance from our hearts. There is nothing more attractive than someone just letting loose to the music, it’s carnal and instinctive rather than rehearsed and beautifully presented, it might look messy and mad but maybe that’s exactly what we need sometimes. Culturally the British are renowned for being a bit stiff when it comes to self expression…(#notallbrits) but you’ll notice the difference in say Brazil where their physicality and their comfort with dancing is quite obvious. We’re not born awkward though - children dance with abandon but somewhere along the line, we become more inhibited and self conscious.
Having taught Latin and Ballroom to adults for a few years I realised that I love building bridges from ‘I can’t dance’ to ‘oh I’m dancing’ and the form based styles are great safe space for this...AND if we only dance set steps then how can we really feel freedom - so I had to build something bold, bodacious and wildly liberating - this is how F**k Yeah Dance was born.
F**k Yeah Dance launched in May 2018 - find the latest dates for upcoming monthly workshops and book your place. Check out the growing community of F**k Yeah Dancers at www.fb.com/groups/fyeahdance Book your place on the next workshop