The Edge: Choreography and Dynamics (EXCP Bronze)

This is an “improve your performance” DVD with a dual focus on improving your thinking about how you move, and, about how you look when you move. The idea here is that your “edge” personally and competitively comes through self-awareness – which leads to personal improvement, and, audience-awareness - so that what is seen of your dancing is more what you mean others to see.

There are three sections to the DVD, none tied exclusively to any one dance in any big way. First, Motion/Movement – Factors: space, time, weight, and energy. Second, Rhythm Concepts: impact, impulse, rebound, swing, suspension, constant, percussive, and, vibration. And last, Focus – about focus… Everything presented is well thought out, delivered earnestly, and tends to support the other sections well.

For most of us, a great deal of this, as “concepts,” is above our pay grade, yet what Susan says on the disc is true, you do come away with better ideas about how to talk to each other about dancing, and practice, because just having the concepts and vocabulary in common is helpful in communicating how things, for example, “feel,” using key words and ideas instead of only complaining, “I just can’t tell what you’re trying to do on 6…”

Also, there are at least two kinds of social dancers: those convinced everyone is looking at them - and those very sure nobody is paying any attention. The truth is nobody is invisible, but that most people either see you and don’t care, or, they see you and draw conclusions about you, personally, based on what they see you doing - and how. Being smarter about what you do and how you do it, as offered here, has to be a good thing…