| “Become who you are.” –Nietzsche |
The distinction between dancer and non-dancer is as misguided as the one we make between dancer and
dance. There are many ways we employ this kind of distinction. One of the ways we do it as beginners is
by constantly telling ourselves we are not yet dancers.
But if you appreciate dance you are already a dancer. When we appreciate dance, we supply the energy
that creates it. On a simplistic level we can acknowledge that our love of dance supplies the necessary
resources for people to create dances for us to watch in theaters, in ballrooms, in nightclubs, and on
television. As lovers of dance, we help create all the dancing that exists. This is what being a dancer
means: to create dance and to give it life.
Also realize that taking a dance class means you are already a dancer. Without those who learn dance,
there could be no dance. To learn dance is to keep dance alive, and this is what being a dancer is: to keep
dance alive.
Furthermore, if you enjoy music you are already a dancer. Music is an expression of the natural rhythms of
life, and without these there could be no dance. A dancer is one who cultivates a connection to the natural
rhythms of life.
Many times in a dance class you will be tempted to think, “One day, I will be able to dance.” But all
dancers can dance. Approach every movement with genuine care, and you are a dancer. In fact, you really
must do this, because to learn to dance you must be a dancer. Only a dancer can learn a dance, just as only
a diamond can scratch a diamond. If a thing is fundamentally not a diamond, then it cannot scratch a
diamond, no matter how hard it is applied. Likewise, if we are fundamentally not a dancer, we can never
scratch the surface of dance, let alone dig deeply into it to experience the freedom and joy it uncovers in
the human soul. But all reasonably able-bodied humans can dance. So we cannot accept the distinction
between dancer and non-dancer. We must calm ourselves down when we are tempted to say, “I’m just not
a dancer. I wish I could do this, but I just can’t.” Every step we take can have rhythm and grace in it.
Allow yourself to experience this NOW, and life will always be more fun. So will dance practice, no
matter what your level of skill.
There are many aspects to this distinction that we might easily miss. For instance, it is worthwhile in a
dance class to understand how many people have conspired to help you realize your potential as a dancer.
The Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh points out that an apple cannot grow without the help of many leaves.
Not one or two, but many. Likewise, for your dancing to come to fruition, it takes the help of your teacher
and all of your fellow students.(1) And in turn, you go to dance class as a co-conspirator in their learning
(the teacher’s, too). But when we are learning, we sometimes get so caught up in our own problems that
others in the class become like non-dancers. This can also happen on a crowded dance floor, which is the
source of many collisions. Sometimes we even treat our partner as a non-dancer. We get so caught up in
learning a “move” that we are no longer learning dancing. We sometimes behave as if our leader or our
follower were an obstacle rather than a dance partner. In social dance we dance with a partner, so the two
of us must treat each other with the utmost respect. We usually do not. If Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers
were dancing with us, many of us would behave quite differently than we tend to behave with our regular
partners. We would demonstrate great reverence for them because they are dancers, whereas we think our
regular partner is not yet a dancer. This distinction may suit your intellectual desires, but it doesn’t help
your dancing.
We also forget many of the other forces that conspire to create every dance: the people who built the dance
floor, the people who wrote the music, the people who played the music, the people who perform and
teach, the people who keep the electricity working, the people who built the sound system, the people who
built the cars that got us here, and the invisible forces that created everything we see and fail to see. All of
this tight interconnectedness serves to question even more deeply the dubious distinction we make between
dancer and non-dancer. Your dancing will improve if you let go of making such a distinction and practice
wholeheartedly as the dancer you already are–in the midst of a whole planet full of dancers.
Our daily well being, our enjoyment of life, and our ability to inspire planetary change will benefit from
our rejecting the distinction between dancer and non-dancer. This is because non-dancer is an attitude
toward all of life. Even people who are supposed to be dancers can lose track of this dimension. But it is
the most important. To help yourself not lose track of it, you should pause sometimes to remind yourself of
it. When you go to move a bag of groceries, STOP. Say to yourself, “Wait, I’m a dancer. So I would
never try to move this bag of groceries. Instead, I will make sure my knees are not locked. I will find my
center of gravity, connect completely to my dance partner–in this case a bag of groceries–and I will let my
center move.” As if by magic, the bag of groceries moves. And you remain peaceful, you look graceful,
and maybe you enjoy that moment a tiny bit more than if you had simply tried to shove up against Life, as if
this bag of groceries and everything else you encounter were nothing more than obstacles instead of dance
partners. Life is to be enjoyed at every moment–danced with even. The majority of our life consists of
walking from place to place, sitting down and standing up, brushing our teeth, setting the table, picking up
objects, cleaning, talking. If we could only remember that we are dancers, we would approach each of
these activities in a totally different way. We would begin to understand how much listening we must do
to hear the demands of the subtle music playing everywhere we go. We would begin to understand how
each moment asks us to lead and follow, how each moment asks us to find our center and extend our energy
and our awareness, how each moment asks us to remain peaceful and integrated. Then we are constantly
learning how to dance.
The quote by Nietzsche at the beginning of this section hints at the overcoming of this distinction. Human
beings are built to dance. Movement is fundamental to learning and expressing ourselves, from birth to
death, which is why dance is one of the earliest ritual and artistic practices of human culture. We are
dancers through and through, if only we allow it. Since this is so, it can improve our well being and our
enjoyment of life to become who we are, to find the hidden rhythms in every action, to move gracefully, to
take the mop, the dirty dishes, the angry co-worker, and even the rushing attacker as dance partners. This
leads us directly to the next distinction.
NOTES
1. In fact it takes all the teachers and all the students of the past, present, and future.
dance. There are many ways we employ this kind of distinction. One of the ways we do it as beginners is
by constantly telling ourselves we are not yet dancers.
But if you appreciate dance you are already a dancer. When we appreciate dance, we supply the energy
that creates it. On a simplistic level we can acknowledge that our love of dance supplies the necessary
resources for people to create dances for us to watch in theaters, in ballrooms, in nightclubs, and on
television. As lovers of dance, we help create all the dancing that exists. This is what being a dancer
means: to create dance and to give it life.
Also realize that taking a dance class means you are already a dancer. Without those who learn dance,
there could be no dance. To learn dance is to keep dance alive, and this is what being a dancer is: to keep
dance alive.
Furthermore, if you enjoy music you are already a dancer. Music is an expression of the natural rhythms of
life, and without these there could be no dance. A dancer is one who cultivates a connection to the natural
rhythms of life.
Many times in a dance class you will be tempted to think, “One day, I will be able to dance.” But all
dancers can dance. Approach every movement with genuine care, and you are a dancer. In fact, you really
must do this, because to learn to dance you must be a dancer. Only a dancer can learn a dance, just as only
a diamond can scratch a diamond. If a thing is fundamentally not a diamond, then it cannot scratch a
diamond, no matter how hard it is applied. Likewise, if we are fundamentally not a dancer, we can never
scratch the surface of dance, let alone dig deeply into it to experience the freedom and joy it uncovers in
the human soul. But all reasonably able-bodied humans can dance. So we cannot accept the distinction
between dancer and non-dancer. We must calm ourselves down when we are tempted to say, “I’m just not
a dancer. I wish I could do this, but I just can’t.” Every step we take can have rhythm and grace in it.
Allow yourself to experience this NOW, and life will always be more fun. So will dance practice, no
matter what your level of skill.
There are many aspects to this distinction that we might easily miss. For instance, it is worthwhile in a
dance class to understand how many people have conspired to help you realize your potential as a dancer.
The Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh points out that an apple cannot grow without the help of many leaves.
Not one or two, but many. Likewise, for your dancing to come to fruition, it takes the help of your teacher
and all of your fellow students.(1) And in turn, you go to dance class as a co-conspirator in their learning
(the teacher’s, too). But when we are learning, we sometimes get so caught up in our own problems that
others in the class become like non-dancers. This can also happen on a crowded dance floor, which is the
source of many collisions. Sometimes we even treat our partner as a non-dancer. We get so caught up in
learning a “move” that we are no longer learning dancing. We sometimes behave as if our leader or our
follower were an obstacle rather than a dance partner. In social dance we dance with a partner, so the two
of us must treat each other with the utmost respect. We usually do not. If Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers
were dancing with us, many of us would behave quite differently than we tend to behave with our regular
partners. We would demonstrate great reverence for them because they are dancers, whereas we think our
regular partner is not yet a dancer. This distinction may suit your intellectual desires, but it doesn’t help
your dancing.
We also forget many of the other forces that conspire to create every dance: the people who built the dance
floor, the people who wrote the music, the people who played the music, the people who perform and
teach, the people who keep the electricity working, the people who built the sound system, the people who
built the cars that got us here, and the invisible forces that created everything we see and fail to see. All of
this tight interconnectedness serves to question even more deeply the dubious distinction we make between
dancer and non-dancer. Your dancing will improve if you let go of making such a distinction and practice
wholeheartedly as the dancer you already are–in the midst of a whole planet full of dancers.
Our daily well being, our enjoyment of life, and our ability to inspire planetary change will benefit from
our rejecting the distinction between dancer and non-dancer. This is because non-dancer is an attitude
toward all of life. Even people who are supposed to be dancers can lose track of this dimension. But it is
the most important. To help yourself not lose track of it, you should pause sometimes to remind yourself of
it. When you go to move a bag of groceries, STOP. Say to yourself, “Wait, I’m a dancer. So I would
never try to move this bag of groceries. Instead, I will make sure my knees are not locked. I will find my
center of gravity, connect completely to my dance partner–in this case a bag of groceries–and I will let my
center move.” As if by magic, the bag of groceries moves. And you remain peaceful, you look graceful,
and maybe you enjoy that moment a tiny bit more than if you had simply tried to shove up against Life, as if
this bag of groceries and everything else you encounter were nothing more than obstacles instead of dance
partners. Life is to be enjoyed at every moment–danced with even. The majority of our life consists of
walking from place to place, sitting down and standing up, brushing our teeth, setting the table, picking up
objects, cleaning, talking. If we could only remember that we are dancers, we would approach each of
these activities in a totally different way. We would begin to understand how much listening we must do
to hear the demands of the subtle music playing everywhere we go. We would begin to understand how
each moment asks us to lead and follow, how each moment asks us to find our center and extend our energy
and our awareness, how each moment asks us to remain peaceful and integrated. Then we are constantly
learning how to dance.
The quote by Nietzsche at the beginning of this section hints at the overcoming of this distinction. Human
beings are built to dance. Movement is fundamental to learning and expressing ourselves, from birth to
death, which is why dance is one of the earliest ritual and artistic practices of human culture. We are
dancers through and through, if only we allow it. Since this is so, it can improve our well being and our
enjoyment of life to become who we are, to find the hidden rhythms in every action, to move gracefully, to
take the mop, the dirty dishes, the angry co-worker, and even the rushing attacker as dance partners. This
leads us directly to the next distinction.
NOTES
1. In fact it takes all the teachers and all the students of the past, present, and future.
| Beginner's Mind Tango |
| Dangerous Dualities: Dancer or Non-dancer? |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| By Nickolas Knightly |
| Nickolas Knightly Alexander Technique, Argentine Tango, and Sutainability Resources Based in San Francisco, CA and serving the Bay Area and beyond. |