Sharing The Joy Of Dancing

SINGULARITY - THE "TWO-HEADED FOUR-LEGGED ANIMAL"


The goal of Ballroom Dancing is to take two dancers (two, two-legged animals) and create a single animal (entity). Currently, there is no such animal of this description roaming the earth (as far as I know). The mythical "two-headed four-legged animal" is the only entity that fits our needs. Ballroom Dancing is unique among sports because the primary object is to become one single living physical entity, not two entities just co-existing. Now, how do we create this four-legged entity (the Singularity)? The "Singularity" is created by evolving two individual dancers into a "Partnership" and then finally evolving them into a "two-headed four-legged animal".

The first objective is to synchronize the movement of two individual dancers. This is usually done by teaching each dancer their own part of a dance pattern, then having them execute their part of that pattern with a partner connected to each other through a Ballroom Dance frame. This arrangement encourages each dancer to move in somewhat of a mirror image of each other. The dancers now have a hint of what it is like to move in a partnership.

The next step is to develop a trained "Partnership". A trained Partnership is two dancers that understands and can execute the functionality of a Ballroom Partnership. The intent of a "Partnership" is simply: "Communication". What is the communication between two dancers? In the above paragraph, the synchronization of movement was a result of each individual dancer's execution of a pre-taught dance pattern. In a "partnership", the lady dances one step at a time, what she can feel. The leader dances "dance elements" because he has to plan ahead. Communication is the key to making this partnership arrangement work. The communication comes in many forms. The Ballroom Dance frame creates a physical connection between the dancers. This physical connection communicates a wide variety of information. The frame defines and maintains the relationship between the two physical bodies of the partnership. It also communicates the direction of movement, what foot to be on, how much power is to be used, vertical and rotational movement, interpretation of the music, etc. etc. The leader must create the feelings to be communicated and the follower must be aware that these feelings exist and translate them into movement. All of this allows a physical communication between the two dancers in the "Partnership". Each dancer is aware of the other and can respond to the physical interactions that are taking place. At this point the two dancers are a "Partnership". However, the final goal is to evolve into a "Two-Headed Four-Legged Animal" (the "Singularity").

The "Singularity" consumes the two dancers in the "Partnership" and melds them into one single dancing entity. The "Singularity" is one entity physically, logically, and seemingly spiritually. It has all of the attributes of a "Partnership" except there is no perceived communication between the two dancers. Here are a couple examples of this perceived "non-communication". As an individual person, there is no perceived communication when you "Lift your arm over your head". It just happens when you want it to. Another example would be when a couple says the same thing at the same time and it happens over and over again. There must actually be some kind of communication but it just feels like an individual person's action. This is what a "Singularity" feels like.

From a physical standpoint, the "Singularity" has one core (center of gravity) and the "Partnership" has two cores (one for each partner). The core for the "Singularity" is a single point in between the dancers, whereas the cores of the "Partnership" are two points physically separated from each other within each dancer. The "Partnership" cores co-exist with each other during movements but the "Singularity" moves from a single core. The mentality of being two dancers does not exist in a "Singularity". Movement is a single thought/action.

Logical connections are as real as physical connections. An example would be logically moving (initiating power) from the core of the body instead of through the dance frame. In a "Partnership", your partner can feel the difference when the power is initiated from the core instead of through the frame. However, in a "Singularity" the power is initiated from the common core of the "Singularity" just as naturally as an individual moves from its single core.

It is hard to separate the physical from the logical, from the seemingly spiritual. They all seem to meld into the same entity, the "Singularity". There is no boundary between the two dancers in a "Singularity". The feeling of being an individual is what the "Singularity" feels like (an individual "Singularity").