I was surprised when I saw someone worked as hard as me (yes, this is honestly a complement, and yes this is exactly a self-flattering). As I always believe, technique should be something fundamental, without which one could not be able to define the dance and thus would lose control of own dancing. On the days when I have no official lessons and partnered training, I do everything that can help to improve my technique and knowledge: I read Alex Moore, I watch Donnie Burns, I watch world class competitions too.
Reading books equips me with the necessary knowledge that needs to commence a step, form a figure and finally create a dance. Though I am not counting on the watching to learn any spectacular and highly advanced figures. I just hope to get some insight about how top dancers accommodate basic steps in real shows. It has been such a great thing that through some papers and a little screens, I am offered the opportunity to acquire successful people's knowledge and experience.
However, no matter how diligent I am, without a real partner but just dancing on my own, I will never be a real dancer in the world of partnered dancing. That's why I treasure every lesson so much. During those lessons I can have partners of different levels. Good dancers helped advance my own dancing so I appreciate it very much; the inexperienced ones, on the other hand, give a good chance for me to learn the "lead & follow". When I am a man who needs to lead a beginner lady, there will be much more to do to let her feel my lead. When I am a lady who needs to follow a beginner man, there will be as much to do to feel his lead. Either way, I am forced to have a deeper thinking about the shape and lead. I should also appreciate them too. Every time after I finish the lesson and get back to my own partner, I find some minor changes, with which I am able to amaze him every time.
Because dancing with a real someone is essentially important in a partnered dance, I can't imagine how he can pass the exam without even one experience of dancing with someone. After all, it is a PARTNERED DANCING. If he is so much into solo, he should have joined a jazz or something.
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