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TAIWAN FUN MAGAZINE,
January 2003.
Cover
Story :
These
boots were made for dancing
By
Donovan Smith
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A
few months back, I did something wildly out of character.
I started attending a dance class to impress my girlfriend.
When I mentioned this to friends, their rampaging mirth
contorted their faces into something resembling tortured
beets. Admittedly, they were more than a little justified
in their amusement, as I have dance skills that only the
Taliban could appreciate.
But,
while I lumbered about like an ox with a smack problem,
an odd thing happened--I started to enjoy myself. As the
steps became second nature, a liberation of sorts took place.
I became absorbed in the motions, neither fully conscious
nor unconscious of my actions. The line between willing
my actions and my body simply carrying me forward became
fuzzy and indistinct and, for one hour a week, I became
totally disconnected from normal life.
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The
reasons that people take up dance vary widely; some
for very good reasons, some for reasons even sillier
than my own. Many women pick up dance to become more
graceful; many men pick up dance to pick up women.
Some are trying to lose weight, while some want to
impress their friends. Others have loftier goals of
artistic self expression.
Professional
dancers like Brook Hall (¦ó«T§Æ), who live for dance,
take it a step further, exalting in "finding
limitations of the body and testing limits".
But, in the end, those that stick with it have the
same reason: the sheer joy and release it inspires. |
In
this article, we'll introduce you to the forms of dance
that are available to beginners in Taiwan. Until fairly
recently, the most widely available option in Taiwan was
ballroom dance. In the beginning, these dances were a mainstay
of European upper-class social activities. No self-respecting
lord or lady was without a ballroom in their home for hosting
grand fetes and social events. Classic ballroom dancing
remains a formal affair, both in terms of dancing style
and the appropriate attire--nice dresses for the women and
tails for the men.
Nowadays,
these erstwhile dance styles of the rich and famous have
evolved into a competitive sport, although I doubt we'll
soon see any headlines like "Ballroom Hooligans Riot:
Wild Waltzers Bash Tango Toughs!". Much of what is
taught in classrooms is geared towards preparing for these
competitions, and no studio is without pictures and trophies
attesting to past glories.
Classic
ballroom styles like the Waltz and Foxtrot retain
a certain classiness and stiff grandeur. Over the
last century, ballroom began to incorporate new Latin
dances like Tango, Cha-Cha, Mambo and Rhumba and modified
them to suit ballroom sensibilities. These dances
are a bit more dramatic and daring than the classics,
and the clothing even more so--these are the folks
in the sequined shirts open to the navel and slinky
dresses.
In
Taiwan, these Latin ballroom dances have recently
led to an upsurge in interest in "authentic"
Latin dance styles. An Argentinian Tango association
recently opened in Taipei, discos and gyms are touting
"Latin dance classes", and several Cuban
and South American-themed pubs/dance halls have opened
around the island. Unlike the formal and competative
Latin Ballroom dances, Latin dance is still very much
a real part of Latin culture and social life. For
many South Americans, knowing how to Samba or Tango
"comes with the passport". |
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Latin
dance styles are sexy and passionate. By Northern European
and Asian standards, much of Latin dance is overtly sexual
and risque, the biggest barrier for many to overcome in
learning these styles. Sometimes all that heat is a bit
much for jealous partners. For others, the passion is the
attraction, as it feels more authentic and exciting. For
a little spice in one's life, Latin is hard to beat.
Bridging
the gap between Latin South America and North America is
Salsa, which has gained a lot of recent attention. Salsa
originated in New York City, Cuba and Puerto Rico. As people
moved back and forth between the two, they fused Latin styles
and American Swing. The key is what is called the "Cuban
hip movement", which is not easy for stiff folks like
me to master.
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North
American dance styles are also big in Taiwan right
now, with the biggest dance clubs on university campuses
usually the hip hop & breakdance hang-outs. In
a change from dance norms, these clubs often attract
as many or more males than females. These styles are
not only perceived as "cool" and acceptably
masculine, but are equally useful for performing on
stage (or in a music video) or for dancing at a disco
or party. Males also respond well to the testosterone-fueled
beats and lyrics that define Hip Hop music. To my
eye, at least, there is a bit of a war-dance aggressiveness
to some Hip Hop movements. |
Hip
hop is not the only style to be defined by a beat. The same
canb e said for Tap. Last year's popular craze was Riverdance-style
Irish Tap and, although it has dropped from popular view,
the number of people learning this style has continued to
grow as more teachers become available. This has led to
an increased interest in the two American styles of tap,
the traditional Rhythm Tap and Broadway Tap.
Irish
and Rhythm Tap have much in common. In both cases the dancer
is as much a musical instrument as a dancer, a kind of human
drum. There is little upper body movement in either style,
and both are social activities in origin. Rhythm Tap descends
from American slaves, whose frightened masters took away
their traditional drums. After slavery ended, the tradition
continued in "hoofing clubs" where groups of men
pounding out beats togethor for fun. In the vaudeville era,
the two styles met up, with the Irish and American tappers
often competing in showing off their foot-pounding prowess.
In the end, they ended up influencing each other's styles.
The
most famous style of Tap is Broadway Tap, made popular by
the likes of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Broadway Tap was
developed for song and dance shows and mixes Rhythm Tap
with upper body movements taken from Ballet and Jazz.
Though
not widely known, Taiwan has a few masters in Tap and Jazz,
with the oldest learning their skills directly from American
GIs stationed in Taiwan. The presence of this local institutional
knowledge (even if small) is a great boon to students hoping
to take up either Tap or Jazz (see sidebar).
Jazz
and Broadway tap are strongly "performance-oriented"
styles, developed specifically for popular entertainment.
Ballet and Modern dance are also performance-oriented
styles; as far as I know neither style has ever been
popular at parties. Most modern dance terminology is
derived from Ballet, which reveals its massive influence
on all that followed. Ballet requires incredible strength
and discipline. It isn't about being natural or being
yourself or finding your inner rhythm; it's about transforming
the human form into an instrument of grace, beauty and
power. The rigid forms and lines are all about striving
for perfection, to ascend to something beyond ourselves.
Undoubtedly that is how the multitude of tiny tutu-clad
tots would would describe their reasons for taking ballet
lessons.Modern, in many ways, evolved as a reaction
to the rigidity of ballet. Modern intentionally breaks
the lines, smashes down barriers and freely borrows
movements from any form of dance or even daily life
that the choreographer chooses. Even other art forms
are brought in, from video to music to sculpture and
even paint. |
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Modern
is all about expression and is often self-consciously artistic.
The stereotype of Modern is a group of pretentious women
rolling around on the floor, striking poses and moaning
and groaning, and in the hands of a poor choreographer,
that is all too often the case. In the hands of a good choreographer,
however, Modern is truly amazing to behold--entertaining,
powerful, emotional and challanging.
Taiwan
has some strong Modern dance troupes, and a strong (if small)
group of seriously talented professionals. Taipei's Cloud
Gate Theatre is probably the most famous, but Taichung's
Ultimate Body - Energy Theatre's mixture of Eastern martial
arts with modern dance has also won international plaudits.
Now
you know what has been and what is hot now, what's on the
horizon? The chief barrier to the popularity of many forms
of dance is a dearth of teachers. Of the styles available
now, ballroom is making a comeback, especially now that
several Taiwanese have started to rank well in international
competitions.
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Riding
a wave of popularity in Japan, Flamenco is starting
to attract some attention here in Taiwan. Derived
from a blend of Gypsy, Flemish and North African influences,
Flamenco reached full flower in Spain. It has been
described as a "Ph.D. program for rhythm"
and is extremely difficult to master. Each town in
Spain has its own style, which is learned from childhood.
More likely to catch on is Flamenco's simpler cousin,
Sevillanas, which is merely difficult.
Two
trends that have been riding high in the West and
may break on these shores are Capoeira and Swing.
Capoeira is a mix of Brazilian dance and martial arts,
and is especially popular with the fitness set. Swing
(think WWII GIs swirling and twirling women in skirts
and tight sweaters around to high-paced jazz) enjoyed
a revival in the 1990's in America but, like Capoeira,
there aren't many teachers around to kick-start a
movement...yet. |
For
an excuse to momentarily escape into a different world while
getting some exercise, dance offers up a lot of options
and styles to suit many different tastes. Quite possibly
there's a sequined shirt or slinky dress with your name
on it out there somewhere..
In
Taichung there are plenty of options for the aspiring student.
The people at Salsa Cubana (392, HuaMei St.; tel: 04-2319-2436,
www.salsa.com.tw), whose team advised on this article, have
both a studio area and a dance floor as well as three excellent
teachers: Brook Hall (Tap, Flamenco/Sevillanas, Salsa),
Cynthia Hung (Ballroom, Salsa) and Andy Witt (Salsa, Zouk,
Samba). My own teacher, He Shi-Yun's studio for ballroom
(98-5, Taichung Kang Rd, Sec. 3; tel: 04-2463-1463). Shih
Chi-Chih's Ultimate Body-Energy Theatre (260, YingTsai Rd,
B1; tel: 04-2205-1140) has classes in Modern, Folk &
Ballet. Located downtown and featuring Ballet, Folk, Jazz
and Tap is Mian Mian Dance Class (43, SzYou Rd., sec. 2,
5F; tel: 04-2220-5061). There are many more options, especially
for ballroom, and these can be found in the phone book.
Additionally, many universities have dance clubs worth checking
out.
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