ZEN, AND THE ART OF BALLROOM DANCING - or: how to improve our dancing

ZEN, AND THE ART OF BALLROOM DANCING

(or: how to improve our dancing)

Ballroom Dancing has often been marketed and sold to the public as frivolous, tantalizing and light-hearted dance entertainment. Often portrayed in the media as the cut-out “I Dream of Jeanie” or compared with Fred Astaire and the movies from the time of “The Silverscreen” in 40ties and fifties. Ballroom Dancing is anything but superficial once you pass through the allure of the beginners’ stage. For some of us who are devoted to its study, practice and presentation, Ballroom Dancing is a deeply meaningful artistic and spiritual path that leads towards self-discovery, self-actualization and an essential understanding of nature and life.
In his ground breaking book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig says that “the real cycle you’re working on is a cycle called ‘yourself.’” In its profoundest sense, to really Ballroom Dancing one has to know oneself. To this extent, Ballroom Dancing has certain elements in common with the Eastern spiritual practices of Zen Buddhism and Yoga. These qualities include a commitment to expanding one’s consciousness, an absolute presence in the moment, a focus on the breath, a daily discipline, a meditative outlook, a pursuit of quality and truth, a compassionate and loving attitude, and a love for Divine Union. [To explain: Christian mysticism (in Christianity: The union with God)
Christian mystics claim that the soul may be lifted into a union with God so close and so complete that it is merged in the being of God and loses the sense of any separate existence. Jan van Ruysbroeck wrote that in the experience of union “we can nevermore find any distinction between ourselves and God” (The Sparkling Stone,); and Meister Eckhart (http://www.umilta.net/godfrien.html) (brilliant German Dominican, Meister Eckhart taught Theology, the 'Queen of the Sciences' at Paris.)

To expand one’s consciousness the Ballroom Dancer must at a very fundamental level become aware of dense places in his/her body. Imbuing these areas with feeling and sensation is a never-ending process of constant refinement, integration and balance. This is similar, in approach, to the execution of the third limb of Yoga which is the physical postures, called Asanas. A successful way to bring consciousness to dense areas is to allow the more open parts of the body to teach the less aware parts.
Another example of unblocking blocked areas is the particular awareness that Ballroom Dancing brings to the unloved abdominal area. Ballroom Dancers work on gaining specific control of the various stomach muscles by isolating them individually. When an audience experiences a dancer who is connected to all parts of his/her body, the door is opened for them to become more connected to their own bodies.
Sometimes becoming conscious means objectively assessing one’s deficits and assets in all areas of performance. The dancer must develop the deficits and enhance the assets. Often, in fact, a deficit can actually become an asset. For example, there is the dancer who initially cannot spin without getting dizzy and nauseous. He/She diligently and methodically works on her spins and, over time, eventually becomes known for his/her fabulous spinning. Then there is the dancer who moves beautifully but her face is blank and static. This dancer becomes aware of the fact that he/she blocks her emotions and with the guidance of a good teacher is taken through a series of emotion-releasing exercises. He/She journals her process, often accessing her dreams and childhood experiences, and continues to perform with the prevalent thought of allowing his/her emotions to flow through her dance. Eventually, they perform and their presence is riveting. In the stipulated cases, the Buddhist idea of right thought and a Yogic love for the refinement process is necessary.
Another quality that assists the dancer on his/her spiritual and artistic path is for them to increase the awareness by being present in the moment. Most individuals live in the past or future or are distracted somewhere else in the present, i.e. talking on a cell phone while trying to drive, or sitting and watching TV. They are not directly experiencing their bodies in the here and now. Zen Buddhism might be defined as “waking up in the present” and much of its discipline is designed to shake its practitioners out of a dull, absentminded state. The dancer, as well, must train themselves to be ever-present. They need to avoid the trap of thinking in numbers while doing choreography and looking as if they are demonstrating the movements as opposed to living and breathing them.
A key to being present in the moment is to develop awareness of the breath. A cornerstone of Zen Buddhist meditation is Zazen, literally meaning “the mind that sits.” While sitting, the practitioner counts the breaths to quiet the mind of extraneous chatter. One is to observe the mind as it wants to jump from the present to the past to the future. Focusing on the breath encourages the mindfulness of being present in the moment. Yoga, too, works deeply with the breath. The fourth limb of Yoga, called Pranayama, concentrates on the art of breathing by regulating and refining the inhalation, exhalation and retention of breath.
The Ballroom Dancer, as well, must develop a heightened awareness of their breath. While being mindful and inwardly centered, they use their inhales, exhales and dramatic retentions to encourage the audience to breathe with them as they explore the moment. At its best, the great Ballroom Dancer embodies their own self-evolved archetype and takes the audience along with them on a movement journey. The moment is no longer experienced in the past, future or as a dulled present, but rather is supercharged, visceral and electrifying.
Yoga and Zen practices insist upon daily discipline. The same is true for the Ballroom Dancers on their path toward personal integration and excellence. To say the least, a dancer needs the discipline to eat well and to be healthy and fit. They must constantly practice their movement isolations, combinations, awareness of the Spine, headweight. This is necessary for a beautiful and professional execution during performance.
A daily discipline of meditation is also favorable. Although Zazen and Pranayama are excellent practices for the Ballroom Dancer to adopt, their meditation need not be as formal. At the very least, she will reap great benefits by developing the ability to sit and objectively visualize their dance and its connection to life. A dancer should ask themselves, “Why do I dance? How does my dancing affect others?” Having contemplated these questions in a quiet and focused state of mind, the dance gains more depth and meaning for the dancer and this is perceived on an unconscious level by the audience. Overall, by meditating on their dance, the dancer aligns his/her thoughts and actions and this translates into a more profound effect when performing.
Equally important are disciplines that involve a moral and ethical code of behavior. To be most effective, the dancer who aspires to be great should follow what Buddhist philosophy calls the Eightfold Path: right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effect, right mindfulness and right contemplation. Similarly, there are a code of ethics and behavior that are the first and second limbs of Yoga, called the Yamas and Niyamas that help instruct the Yogi in how to live a life conducive for soul development. In short, the Ballroom Dancer should conduct their life truthfully and be the best person they can be. Those who aspire have a sense of something noble and good about them. There is an unselfish longing from the heart to embrace love, truth and compassion. If the dancer is self-deluded, critical, overly lusty, greedy, indulgent, lazy, conceited, and ignorant or full of ill will, a “muddled” quality is often sensed about them during performance. That is why there are dancers whom we do not care to look at and others whose presences awe us so much that we cannot take our eyes off of them.
If they are Beginners these lesser attributes are generally apparent within the first few seconds of their entry and they are often unconsciously dismissed by the audience. Things get more complicated, however, with the advanced dancer who has achieved a high level of technical expertise but who needs work on their interior life. This dancer is good enough to garner attention and praise and they may even be beloved, but the potency of their transformative effect is curtailed. Although their discipline is apparent in their dazzling technique, their lack of inner development lessens the depth of their impact. An example is the excellent dancer who is haughty and full of themselves. Some audience members will be impressed with the show of what they perceive as great confidence and will applaud them for it; but they are appealing to a baser instinct in others. It is the difference between art that has a flashy, short life and art that lasts in the hearts and minds of people for years because it has positively nourished and uplifted them.
Both Yoga and Zen have as their aim a transcendent state of mind in which duality ceases and bliss is attained; these are called, respectively, Samadhi and Enlightenment. Although not the direct experience, the great Ballroom Dancer evokes the essence of these transcendent states when an audience has a group spiritual experience of Divine Union. They are the living conduit between the music and the audience and it is through their physical presence that a deep connection is made and a personal transcendence is attained. For sure, the audience’s claps and verbal encouragements that often accompany performances help contribute to the heightened group experience. Yet it is the dancer, themselves, who is the focal point, the vortex in which each individual feels the connection to him/herself and the whole. In these times, when it is easy to feel disconnected, isolated and distinctly separated, the great Ballroom Dancers provides an exquisite and vital community healing. Their love, beauty, truth and compassion which they have fostered in themselves is felt by all and consequently taken out into the world to be shared with others.
Whatever philosophy or religion one adheres to, it is reasonable to say that we are all at different stages in our inner and outer development as individuals. For those of us who follow Zen or Yoga, it is unlikely that we have reached the evolved state of a Buddha or have directly experienced the full power of the highest state of consciousness of Samadhi or Enlightenment. Regardless of the path one takes, however, the important point here is that the Ballroom Dancers actively aspire toward a deeper understanding of him- / herself and life. In spite of any shortcomings, the Ballroom Dancer’s commitment to quality and self-betterment will permeate everything he/she does and manifests as more effective performance. This, in effect, leads to real greatness.
For in performance, a great Ballroom Dancer has brought all aspects of them into an integrated gestalt. Their artistic sensibilities, movement, music, costume and theme are expressed through their unique archetypal persona that strikes a universal chord in others. Their power to positively connect, uplift, inspire and transform others is unequivocal.....and it all begins with them.
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Bibliography
Jeanne Ancelet-Hustache. Master Eckhart and the Rhineland Mystics. Trans, Hilda Graef. New York: Harper, 1957.
The Revelations of Mechthild of Magdebourg or The Flowing Light of the Godhead Translated from the Manuscript in the Library of the Monastery of Einsiedeln. Trans. Lucy Menzies. London: Longmans, Green, 1953.
Medieval Women's Visionary Literature. Ed. Elizabeth Alvilda Petroff. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Jan van Ruusbroec. Vanden Blinckenden Steen. Ed. Lod Moereels, L. Reypens. Tielt en Bussum: Lannoo.
Life and Sermons of Dr John Tauler. Trans. Susanna Winkworth. London: Smith, Elder, 1857.
'The Classics of Western Spirituality', Paulist Press, volumes on Margaret Ebner, Mechthild von Magdebourg, Meister Eckhart, Marguerite Porete, John van Ruusbroec, Henry Suso, John Tauler