Front hand warmer pocket.The difference between the Basic, the Intermediate and the Advanced levels of dancing proficiency are defined by more than just their core curriculums. In the aviation world, for example, it is the difference between driving an airplane and flying one! A basic pilot can fly straight and level, climb, descend, and turn. An intermediate pilot can combine these basic "stick and rudder" airwork fundamentals with good airspeed control and make acceptable take offs and landings; however, only an advanced pilot can take full advantage of his airplane's capabilities by being able to fly it safely to the edge of its performance curve. Switching our focus now from the cockpit back to the dance floor, let's put the Basic, Intermediate and Advanced levels of swing dancing into their proper perspective by looking at them within the context of the four stages of awareness in the process of learning to dance.
1) UNCONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE: At this first stage of awareness, a dancer has never given the subject of swing dancing any conscious thought. He has never been formally introduced to it and, although he may be quite adept at other styles of dancing like freestyle or Country and Western, for example, until he takes his first Basic level swing dance class, he is really at a stage of unawareness because he is simply unconscious of his incompetence.
2) CONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE: At this second stage of awareness, the new male dancer or "leader," has been formally introduced to swing dancing at his club and he now fully appreciates its social and recreational potential. He has taken several Basic level classes but he realizes that his performance is marginal at best and that he needs to take many more swing dance classes and workshops to sharpen his skills. He is grateful for any helpful tips that might improve his dancing; for example, he may determine his lead hand by looking to see which thumb and forefinger form the letter "L." This is the awkward stage for the new swing dancer. His hand-leads are generally too strong and his body movements tend to be too stiff and mechanical to suit all but the least experienced of his female partners or "followers." At this point in his training, he is more prone to be repeatedly answering the question: "how long have you been dancing" rather than "where do you dance." All in all, the conscious incompetent clings to his patty-cake, the think-step pattern like a new western horseback rider clings to his saddle horn.
3) CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE: At this third stage of awareness, the male dancer has completed all of the Basic and Intermediate level classes offered by his club, and he is now an accomplished, well rehearsed dancer. He almost always executes his triple step footwork flawlessly in every direction to varying tempos of the music; he seldom misses that important "3 and 4" count of his footwork that often eludes less experienced dancers, and he has developed a gentle yet firm lead that guarantees him a willing partner for every dance. All in all, he has developed into a smooth dancer who confidently performs the different swing patterns that he has learned over the years. The conscious competent leader knows what he is doing!
4) UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE: At this final, fourth stage of awareness, the male dancer has achieved the highest level of proficiency where he has cultivated a signature style that transcends being well rehearsed; instead, he has become just as intimately familiar with each inherent part of the patterns that he has learned over the years, as he is with the overall patterns themselves. As an advanced dancer, he can intuitively "mix and match" the specific handwork and footwork elements of different patterns to create new patterns, and he has the versatility to frequently intersperse steps from other dance disciplines to physically embrace the beat of the music. His extensive knowledge of the dance, combined with his fluid lead authority enables him to maneuver his partner to the edge of her capabilities so that as a couple, they are able to consistently deliver award winning performances. Simply put, the unconscious competent is the dancer that the dancers enjoy watching!
TEACHABILITY INDEX: How quickly a new dancer progresses through these four stages of competence depends upon how "teachable" he or she is! All of us may compute our own Teachability Index (TI) which is the product of the following two variables that are rated on a scale of "1" (lowest) to "10" (highest): our Willingness To Learn (WTL) and our Willingness To Change (WTC). If our willingness to learn how to "dance centered," for example, is a 10, but our willingness to change our body positioning to accomplish this goal is just a "5," then our Teachability Index is only 50% (WTL x WTC = 50)! In other words, the maximum effort that we made in class to LEARN the correct way to "dance centered" is half wasted if we are not willing to CHANGE the way we lead our partner! Always remember that both learning and change are the inseparable, twin handmaidens of dance proficiency.
Copyright 2008 by Skip Culver, Certified Swing Dance Instructor. Member of the West Count Swing Dance Club and author of the manual: Imperial Swing Dancing - visit: http://www.ImperialSwing.com
Henry H. "Skip" Culver, Jr. is a member of the West County Swing Dance Club in St. Louis Missouri. He is a Gold Seal Instrument Flight Instructor and the author of the bestselling book on navigation titled: IFR 'Pocket Simulator' Procedures that was selected as the Main Selection of the Jeppesen Aviation Book Club. In 2000 Skip turned his attention from aviation towards the dance floor. He became a Certified Swing Dance Instructor in 2004, and then with over seven years of detailed notes from various classes and workshops in hand, he began assembling the Imperial Swing Dancing manual which he published in June of 2007. Skip is a frequent contributor of articles on swing dancing to different club newsletters throughout the United States.
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