I had an interesting conversation with one of my students that got me thinking about “The Process.”

The path one takes in order to get from where they are AT, to where they want to be. I know we have all heard about the importance of building a strong foundation, but I also think that people neglect to make the basics a continuous part of their ongoing development.

For example, it’s been well documented that Tiger Woods continued to seek training WHILE he was considered the best in the world. He continued to perfect his swing and did so from people who never even reached the accolades that he did.

WHY?

Why would someone who has already achieved the highest honors continue to work on a fundamental thing?

Quite frankly, I think the answer is obvious, but I think there is even more to it than that. Upon studying people who have succeeded in various walks of life, they all share a common trait, developing empowering habits that, when practiced over a period of time, produce astonishing results.

They are, in essence, reprogramming themselves for success, but this takes time. Consider when you first learned to drive compared to how you can now drive holding a conversation , drink coffee and change the station at the same time.

To that point, we often tell my students that we need them to dance from the ‘waist down’ (their feet) without conscious thought. This is one reason why we CONTINUOUSLY run a foundation pattern for people so that they can do it in their sleep. It’s way too difficult to be thinking about your feet while you are also attempting to lead a complicated pattern with your hands, and no one is served when we just let them ‘ hack’ their way through things.

Again, this takes time. The basics take time but the basics also are the things that produce the most lasting results. Once things become unconscious, THEN we can begin to add things like ‘style’ and personality to the dance.

It’s certainly not the most glamorous thing in the world, but it’s the thing that will improve your dancing tremendously.

How do you all feel about repetition of basics? Do you think it’s important?

Do tell!

To your dancing,

_del