Virginia's Guidelines

for Self Selecting Level and Classes

Hello wonderful dancers!
As the class coordinator for Express Track Blues 2024, I have thought long and hard about what type of classes we should offer in order to achieve the mission of event, which is, briefly, to help you level up your dance skills. I believe this is especially important after the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Decide which classes to take at a weekend event is always tough, so I am here to help!

I've compiled some information for you to use as a tool in the process of deciding which classes are best for you. What I have provided below is not exhaustive. Every single dancer is coming from a different movement experience; every single dancer has different goals; every single dancer learns a different way and at a different pace; every single dancer has a unique body. So, as you read what I've outlined below, I ask you to remember that we are humans with different needs, abilities and modes of expression, which is a fact that makes the task of categorizing dancers very challenging.

Many dance events have class tracks set up by dancer level, and definitions of those levels are provided to help you self-assess your level. From a pedagogical standpoint, asking your students to assess themselves is an excellent way to get students thinking about and reflecting on their abilities. However, experience tells us (instructors and organizers) that attendees often mis-level themselves. As a result, event organizers have regularly changed or adjusted how they determine and use dancer levels.

Knowing where you are as a dancer is a skill in itself, and it is very challenging to cultivate.
The purpose of this article is to give you tools, guiding questions and thoughts in order to help you build the skill of honest self-assessment.

As your class coordinator, I expect you to self-assess your abilities and then place yourself in classes that fit your assesment and your goals. This requires a sense of self awareness that can differentiate between what you would like to achieve with your dancer body and what you are able to do with your dancer body. I would be loath to have such an expectation of you without trying to provide an adequate resource to help you. I hope you find this information suitable in developing the skill of self-assessment; please take what is useful to you!

Happy Dancing!
- Virginia Jimenez

What classes are you going to take at Express Track Blues?

Deciding which classes to take at a dance event depends on two things:
your honest assessment of your dance abilities AND your dance goals.

Here is a short list of questions that address both of these elements. I strongly recommend that you make a list of your answers to these questions and keep with your list with you all weekend:
    DANCE GOALS
  • What are my dance goals?*
    • What skills do I want to expand or master?
    • What concepts do I want more information about?
    • What class topics am I interested in?

    LEVEL OF ABILITY
  • What dance level do I fit into?**
  • Which class topics will best fit my level of ability?
  • Which class topics will stretch and grow my skills?

    • OTHER HELPFUL QUESTIONS
  • Are there instructors I really want to learn from?
  • Do I want a variety of information or focus on particular topic or skill set?
  • Which topics will help me meet my goals?
Now the truth is that you won't know the answer to some of these questions until you get there, so I strongly recommend taking notes on your list of answers in between classes and after the event. Self-reflection is a very useful tool in self-assessment.

Once you have your list of answers, cross reference your goals with your abilities and your desires for specific content. Next, you'll have to do some picking and choosing, which isn't always easy, but you can do it!

*DANCE GOALS

What do you want to achieve in your dancing? This can be a challenging question, and the answer could be any number of things, and it can be a long list.
Here are some examples:

  • Getting better at solo movement. - This could mean building your vocabulary, refining or mastering your current vocabulary, or building a specific element of solo movement, like isolations.
  • Developing elements of partner connection. - This could be related to your dance frame, tone matching, learning to read or follow partner contributions, or learning to play/be expressive!
  • Learning partnered vocabulary and content. - This could mean learning that cool move you saw someone do last week, or learning new idiom dances and elements.
  • Exploring new dimensions of Blues dancing. - This could mean taking a deep dive into the history and culture of Blues music and Blues dance, learning to find resources that will inspire you, falling back in love with the dance or the music, or learning how to express your unique self!
  • Developing skills for the purpose of competition or performance. - This could mean exploring a new facet of dance information such as styles of competition in Blues dance, learning how to retain and execute choreography, or getting comfortable in front of a classroom as a teacher.
  • And the list goes on...(just like the beat)...

**DANCE LEVEL ASSESSMENT

I will use the level terms that I've set for this event: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. To be clear, these determinations were developed based on my conversations with organizers and instructors and my observations of dancers in primarily social settings. I determined these categories by two elements of dance knowledge: education and experience, elements which are incredibly variable.

Beginner Level:
There are many different ways to be a beginner. In general, the limitations a beginning dancer are related to your schemas of movement when you begin dancing. What is your previous experience or education of movement? Do you have personal body awareness and spatial awareness of other bodies?
  • New to Conscious Movement: Folks who fall into this category have very limited knowledge of their body and body mechanics. This doesn't mean this person doesn't have rhythm or doesn't understand music, it doesn't mean this person is not coordinated, it just means that outside of the movement necessary to be human, they've never engaged in movement activities (like dance or sports) that require being conscious of the body.
  • New to Dance Movement: People in this category are movers, but not necessarily dancers. These folks are used to moving their body and have a sense of awareness and mechanics, but their movement experience falls into a not dance category like sports (which runs the gamut of movement abilities), yoga, and other fitness related activities.
  • New to Partner Dancing: These dancers have experience and knowledge of solo dance forms such as hip hop, ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, five rhythms, gaga, etc. These folks typically have an excellent sense of body mechanics, body awareness, timing and rhythm. They will likely learn blues movement much faster than their beginner peers, but the new elements they will contend with (to variable degrees) are the mechanics and techniques of partnering.
  • New to Blues Dance: This type of beginner does other styles of partner dancing (social or otherwise). Depending on their dance level in their other dance form, these folks have a very solid sense of body awareness and body/partner mechanics, but lack a sense of how these elements translate to Blues dance. They could be expert in another dance form, but blues is totally new to them. So while their Blues knowledge is on a beginner level, it is highly likely that they will learn faster than their beginner peers.
Intermediate Level:
In addition to falling into one or more of the beginner categories listed above, intermediate dancers are defined further by their commitment to collecting experience and knowledge of Blues dance.
  • Experienced, Not Educated: This dancer collects knowledge and skill by dancing socially, not by going to classes. They embody a "learn by doing" approach. This means their technique and specific knowledge of music may be lacking, but the sense of partner dynamics and expression are solid. Often this dancer does any or all of the following things:
    • Repeat familiar patterns/content - They are comfortable with what they know and can execute well, and therefore tend to dance within that comfort zone.
    • Copy what they see - They will watch dancers and then work to copy the movement they think they see. These moves can be solo or partnered.
    • Ask advanced dancers to dance/show them moves while dancing - By dancing with dancers of a higher skill level, these dancers are able to pick up more nuanced elements of partnering and dance vocabulary.
  • Educated, Not Experienced: This dancer collects knowledge and skill by attending classes, but doesn't spend a lot of time on the social floor for numerous reasons. They mentally and intellectually know more than they are able to physically demonstrate.
    • It's important to note that this particular category is a phase that all dancers go through while they are learning new elements, regardless of their level. For example, I have taken several classes about Struttin' but I don't often find myself practicing on the social floor for various reasons.
  • Experienced and Educated: This dancer collects knowledge by attending classes and workshops and actively practicing those elements on the social floor.
Regardless of where an intermediate dancer falls in these categories, they are developing the following habits:
  • Practicing to lead/follow with clarity
  • Maintaining fundamental technique while expanding vocabulary
  • Expanding vocabulary (solo and partnered)
  • Developing a sense of musicality, pulse and rhythm
  • Honing partner mechanics and connection
  • Developing interest in idiom dances
  • Developing interest in a variety of blues music
Advanced Level:
If beginner and intermediate dancers run the gamut of experience and education, then advanced dancers are surely no different. More proficient dancers have gone through a variety of stages in their beginner and intermediate dance lives. Advanced dancers are educated and experienced dancers who have developed preferences in their vocabulary and music; they have honed their unique voice within their dance. Because this determination is so variable, it is difficult to categorize advanced dancers the way that I have categorized Beginners and Intermediates - but remember, Advanced dancers did and still do fit into some of the categories listed above.

Here is a list of activities/attributes that Advanced dancers do/have:
  • Practice and return to their fundamental skills and techniques regularly
  • Enjoy dancing and effuse passionate about it
  • Think and talk about dance technique, knowledge, history and music
  • Practice and develop elements of dance such as composition, phrasing, musicality, call and response, repetition, riffin', accents and playing with various "characters" or flavors in their dance
  • Gain experience and education by regularly attending classes, workshops, private lessons and/or social dances.
  • Cross-train in other dances or movement activities (these can be dance related or not)
  • Seek out their own information about elements of the dance that interest them - this could be music, dance technique, history or specific idiom dances.
    • Here are elements that apply to some, but NOT ALL, advanced dancers:
  • They probably have a favorite idiom dance.
  • They probably have a favorite style of blues music.
  • They compete or participate in choreography groups or practice groups.
  • They are DJs, instructors or organizers in their home scene. (Note that the reverse of this is not always true: DJs, instructors or organizers are not always advanced dancers).

Of course the above lists are not exhaustive, but it demonstrates the next level habits required to become a more advanced dancer.