Learning Curve THE SAME CLASS THROUGH THE EYES OF THE TEACHER AND A STUDENT

THE STUDENT: when I would actually experience dancing. covered that sometimes, as float, not fumble, through The course cultivated in waltzing, these dances Angela Renae Amarillas a fox trot. I was motivated a balance between the have the potential to liter- Senior by the challenge, and focused consciousness ally spin us into another s soon as I decided to stick with it. required for technically world. Social Dance arrived on the For a couple hours a complex ballet or flamen- Forms of North America Farm in the fall week, Richard invited the co movements and the dif- offered more than just a of 1993, I eagerly class to explore the non-lin- fuse awareness of my new set of steps to add to enrolledA in as many dance ear, kinesthetic, simultane- place in time and space my repertoire; it intro- division classes as I could fit ous, intuitive aspects of our- that enhances the intuitive duced me to an alternate into my pre-med schedule. selves. Combined with his connection between my way of experiencing my In addition to taking ballet insights into the historical partner and me. And I dis- dancing self. ST and modern dance, I decid- and philosophical back- ed to expand my dance grounds of the dances he world with a class called taught, this Zen approach THE TEACHER: Social Dance Forms of to understanding movement North America with engaged me not only physi- Richard Powers Richard Powers. I did not cally, but intellectually Lecturer in Drama realize it then, but this and even spiritually. For usie Cashion, senior lecturer in the dance division, would mark the beginning me, it was an amazing hired me thinking that Stanford’s program was of a transformation in the process of integrating body, gaining a dance historian who specialized in way I think about and mind and soul. Victorian social dance, my principal focus at the experience dance as move- By the end of the quar- time.S I thought the same. Neither of us would have guessed ment, and dance as a way ter I could spin a waltz, that within five years I would be spending most of my time of life. swing to all kinds of inter- studying history in the making. My colleagues in historic I have to admit that it esting music, survive a dance would probably be surprised to see the newer materi- wasn’t exactly love at first hyper-speed polka and do a al that we are now covering, such as street swing. They sight for social dancing and little tango. Since then my might also wonder why I allow, and even encourage, my me. This couple dancing passion for and commit- students to dance current vernacular forms to alternative, stuff just did not feel quite ment to social dance has techno and world music. The classes I teach cover tradition- right to my classically profoundly enriched my al couple dances, such as waltz, tango, salsa and swing. Yes, trained body. Ballet had time at Stanford. Soon after this is ballroom dance, in the most general sense, but not ingrained in me a very taking the class I joined the strictly ballroom as seen on televised international ballroom developed sense for my Stanford Vintage Dance championships. The International Style of dance is actually own center of balance, and Ensemble, a 19th-century British, founded in 1904 and overseen by the Imperial I was used to being solely and ragtime social dance Society for the fraternal safeguarding of the mutual interests responsible for making my performance troupe. of properly qualified teachers of dancing in the British movements happen. After Because the focus in Empire. the first few truly terrifying Richard’s classes is on the Americans, on the other hand, seem more intent on attempts at what was sup- simpler steps, performing bending the rules than adhering to them. But this emphasis posed to be a polka, I satisfies my cravings for the on creative personal expression has not always been a char- quickly figured out that more challenging and diffi- acteristic of American social dance. Until a century ago, we social dance doesn’t work cult variations. Now, as emulated the European prototype and did our best to dance that way. I had to reset my Richard’s partner in his and dress in the styles of Paris and London. We were balance to share a new cen- classes at Stanford and at painfully aware that Europeans considered us rough-hewn ter-point with another workshops in exciting and socially unskilled. body attached to mine, and places such as New York, This changed at the beginning of this century, with a learn a thing or two about Seattle and Paris, I have a prevailing American sentiment to make a clean break with following a lead. I remem- fuller appreciation for how the past and be progressive. The lore of American pioneers, ber wondering if, how and other people learn and with their independence and freedom, was popular at that

44 STANFORD TODAY March/April 1997 Social Dance Forms of North America I and II

time. Ragtime music of rural African Americans was rapidly tions and the personal affinities of young people. I try to gaining a wide audience. We grew less embarrassed about preserve the benefits of social dancing while providing a our differences from European culture and increasingly way for students to relate physically to their music; or con- proud of our uniqueness. We also began to feel comfortable versely, their music makes social dance relevant to their with our identity as a melting pot of diverse cultural influ- lives. The popularity of my classes as well as the monthly ences, and American music and dance became a synthesis of “Jammix” dances demonstrates the importance of this con- European, African and Latin influences. nection. The Jammix dances, originally designed to provide This American tradition is still alive today. Students practice sessions for students, have taken on a life of their soon discover that traditional dance does not necessarily own. The music ranges from very traditional to experimen- mean old because traditions continue to evolve. My classes tal and multicultural, usually with a strong dose of good begin with a thorough survey of ways that Americans have humor. Students dance swing, waltz, salsa, tango, cha-cha, danced in past generations (students have to master the twist, trash disco, punk polka, retro seventies, hiphop, basics before they can improvise); then I encourage them to country/western, hustle, rumba, blues and more. We even continue the tradition of innovation themselves. To merely do an acid rock version of the Hokey Pokey. collect the steps created by others, perhaps by learning a I am especially delighted to see students doing several swing step that Frankie Manning invented in 1936, is miss- different genres of dance to any given piece of music. They ing the point. The way to capture the authentic spirit of are clearly responding spontaneously to their own interpre- American vernacular dance is to participate in its ongoing tations of the music and to their partners, rather than trying evolution. To truly learn from Frankie Manning’s example, to conform to someone else’s tastes. one must emulate his creative process, not just his steps. The study of vernacular dance traditions is not uncom- American dance, whether it is social or theatrical, is innova- mon within academia, but other university dance depart- tive. It is multicultural in its influences. Creativity and ments tend to focus on vernacular dances from foreign cul- crossover are its trademarks. tures or historical eras. Stanford’s support of the study of These concepts extend to the music we dance to as well. rapidly evolving contemporary American social dance tradi-

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIK BUTLER; COLLAGE NEIL MACINTOSH Music is the most vital link between ballroom dance tradi- tions is rare and inspired. ST

March/April 1997 STANFORD TODAY 45