Do you have a hard time watching video of yourself dancing flamenco?
You’re not alone.
While we may not choose to publicly share video of ourselves, it can be a great tool to use for personal growth.
Many times when we’re dancing, even if we’re looking in the mirror, we fail to notice details.
If we don’t look, we don’t see what’s going on,
And we can’t fix what we don’t see
Nor can we fully appreciate what we’re doing well.
Sure the teacher can watch us and offer corrections, but we can’t rely on that alone.
We need to watch ourselves, and video is a wonderful tool for doing this.
So is the mirror of course, but it’s hard to notice all that’s happening when we’re moving in real time, concentrating on executing steps, on choreography, on staying in compás.
A recording allows us a different visual perspective and allows us to observe removed from the moment.
I avoided video for a long time.
It found it painful.
So many things looked bad. All I would do was focus on the negative and wish it all away.
Rather than truly observe and explore what I could do do to get better, I chose to look away.
But this avoidance didn’t get me closer to where I wanted to go. As with anything in life, I needed to acknowledge what was going on.
Once I started actively using video, I could begin to fix certain bad habits.
Taking Advantage of Technology
I’ve been watching plenty of recordings of myself dancing during the past five months of teaching online and creating videos for the students to support and supplement our classes.
Being forced to watch myself in this way on a regular basis I’ve noticed plenty of problematic habits and areas for improvement. Some things I was completely unaware of, and many I had an idea about but was choosing to ignore.
Now I’m giving those areas attention and working to correct things I dislike and things that are just flat out bad technique.
While I still want to ignore a lot of stuff - please don’t make me see all of those things I don’t like - I’m grateful for this time and this forced opportunity for improvement.
Watching myself on video will never be my favorite thing to do, but it shows me what I need to work on.
And it also shows me what looks good!
We can use video to improve but also to see how far we’ve come
And you know I like to celebrate what’s going well.
So I challenge you, whether you show a friend, post it on social media, or simply watch alone with your pet, take a video of yourself dancing.
It doesn’t have to be long.
Do it today!
Do it in your living room, outside, at the studio, where ever.
What do you see? What looks good? What could you improve upon?
Your Video?
Do you use video as a tool to improve your dancing? Are you willing to try? Let me know below. You can even hold yourself accountable by commenting once you’ve done so.
Here are some screenshots from a video I made for the castanets students.
