Changing Lives through Dancing by David Woodbury
Arthur Murray Santa Monica
Partnership and Connection
Poise, Carriage, Grace and Composure
I love teaching couples to dance. You have two people to train and to watch grow. You have two people to laugh with and there is a great chemistry in the air. When you teach a couple, you get to bring out the best in each of them and they see their partner grow, progress, learn, and shine right in front of them. There is always laughter and fun and the lessons are always exciting.
May favorite saying to all my couples is this. The best part of taking dancing lessons together is Partnership and Connection. With each couple who may be in for their first dance at their wedding, their anniversary, or just for fun with each other, their partnership as a team will deepen and grow with their dancing. They will see the best come out of each other and watch each grown and get better. They will laugh, love, and dance together.
For the connection, it will greatly deepen between each other. The sensitivity to lead and follow, the learning of patterns in each dance complimented by great music, and the movement around the ballroom make two people flow into one person on the dance floor.
My spouse is my favorite partner to dance with in the whole wide world and I love the fun, the movement, the ease, the happiness that we share on the dance floor together.
What if you’re not a partner? You may still experience and truly love the partnership and connection that you will feel with every partner you have on the dance floor. When I am dancing, I am in the moment and I feel as if time itself stops for those few minutes. I feel such a freedom and happiness dancing with all my partners, and I can sense they feel the same things too.
May I offer a few tools for building partnership and connection? When I began as an Arthur Murray student in 1975 at 18 years old, my teacher, Marcy Poza, said to me “These are the highest qualities of being a gentleman: Having Poise, Carriage, Grace and Composure”.
I have built a lifetime of dancing and teaching around these four words. Poise is a state of being and carriage is a verb. Grace is also a noun, a state of being. Composure is moving with a partner in a state of grace. As a leader on the dance floor, I have found that not one lady has minded having a poised partner who moves with strong carriage. And they love being with a graceful partner who has full composure on a crowded dance floor. I try to use these four words in my personal life daily.
In today’s world, I find that the world of Ballroom Dancing is rich with the skills of partnership and connection. I have seen many a champion couple dancing and I could not take my eyes off them. They mesmerized me and captivated me. They moved as one person. Their floor craft was impeccable as they glided across the floor, never running into another couple. They made it look easy and they were poetry on the dance floor.
The etiquette of all the couples competing, the glamor and elegance of the judges, the magic of the movement and music will sweep you off your feet and the feelings of joy and exhilaration from watching these couples dance stays with you deep in your hearts.
So why should couples dance together? Why should anyone dance together? It creates beauty, peace, harmony, magic, and brings people together in a beautiful and fascinating way. I’m 67 and have been with Arthur Murray for 47 years. I often feel as if I just started my career. I feel fresh and alive and new all over again. I never “burned out”. I never “cooled off”. I never “gave up”.
Dancing will renew your hope, revitalize your heart with a new passion for life. Today, practice partnership and connection in your relationships. Live a life of poise, carriage, grace and composure. Dance to some great music and share the dance floor with a wonderful partner. You’ll be glad you did!
Thank you for reading,
David Woodbury, Arthur Murray Santa Monica