Dancing From the Heart
by Chad A. Wright
posted July 13, 2005

Every now and then I have a light bulb moment. When that happens, I often feel the desire to share that light with others. This is one of those times. The love I have for dance has just gotten deeper, as I have discovered in a felt sense how to lead from my heart.

Just before leaving for Vancouver in May of 2005, I was dancing with my good friend, Miriam, a swing dance enthusiast, and part time salsera. Miriam had taken instruction from, and danced with, some world class swing dancers. She told me that until dancing with some of those dancers, she never knew what a good lead really was. The biggest difference she gleamed from those experiences was where the good leads led from. They told her, and she felt, that they led from their chest, whereas less effective leads would lead from their arms. To prove her point, at one point while we were dancing, she asked me to do a difficult move quickly (so neither of us would think about it). Then she was able to follow the pattern. What happened was that we both got our heads out of the way and simply felt it. Then I played with consciously leading her from my chest. She could feel a significant difference.

When I went to Vancouver, I took workshops from world class salsa instructor Diego Sanchez. He said same thing about leading from the chest. There was obviously a big lesson for me to learn from that. After five days in Vancouver dancing among and with dancers from beginner level to professional, I returned to Indianapolis with a deeper appreciation of salsa and what I felt when I did it. Suddenly I found my ability to dance and lead salsa had improved more in one week than it had in the previous six months. I had felt in my body what Miriam had told me just before my trip - and it seemed that the salseras I was dancing with were feeling it too.

But what was the big difference, I wondered? Then I remembered my years of being a therapist who touched people, and what I taught other therapists. I had developed a therapy called "Connective Therapy", and the slogan I put on my advertisements: Remember: Everything is Connected! I realized that I had been dancing disconnected to some degree all along.

In June of 2005 I took yet another salsa educational trip, which helped me to explore this concept even deeper. This time it was to Chicago to take classes from New York based aerial and lift expert, Dave Powers. His slant on how to lead was that it came from the legs, and the whole body. That seemed to make the most sense to me, as the connection would then come from a person's whole being, which would look as such to the eye.

Yang Xiao, founder of IntoSalsa, seemed to agree with that assessment of leading when he talked about what he has learned about feeling the music and making a connection with the follow as being paramount. He succinctly stated, "If the guy is rigid, the girl will be too. If he's having fun, she will reciprocate."

The big lesson from all that introspection was that what I really had begun to learn was how to dance from my heart, something I'd seen many of the fluid, homegrown Latin dancers do all along. Maybe a better description than leading from the core or chest is leading from the heart. From that perspective, dancing is more of a feeling thing than a doing thing. So as a therapist, teacher, athlete, dancer, and human being; I choose to lead, follow, dance, love, and live from my heart. That, I believe, is how magic happens. Care to join me?

Reader's comments

Great article! I love to dance and I want everybody else around me to dance. I've told people you don't have to have any moves just move to the music the way you feel. And you feel with your heart. Chad, you must be feeling it now because you've become an awesome dancer!
- T.T.

Yang is ONE of the founders of IntoSalsa. Thank you, Thank you. Ouch! I keep bumping my head on that glass ceiling.
- Erin

"Leading with the chest", What a great article justifying "Grinding on the dance floor" !!!!!
- Flipper The Dolphin

Chad, You are so awesome. I hope everyone reads this article. So many people forget that dancing is what you feel, and not just showcasing what you know. I've danced with men who knew only a few basic things, and I had the best time ever because they let the music move them. I don't want to discourage anyone, but when I dance with people who are robotic, or try to do every single pattern they've learned in one dance, it's not fun. Everyone should practice their moves, but keeping it simple can be a good thing. You don't have to be fancy, just feel the rhythm. You will find that when you stop thinking so much, the moves will come to you. I want to see you smile.
- Shayne

Thanks for this great article. I believe, that is the way to live every singel detail every instant of our lives. I'm sure that everybody feels this way more, because this is the way for the humanity in this new time. Thanks again.
- Manuel

Chad, Chad, Chad, great article again. I always thought you dance from your heart. You are one of the few men who keeps continous eye contact with his partner and smile when dancing. So, please keep doing what you have been doing, you will only get better.
- BK

Great article : ) In the past I have tried to explain to male partners that if they have a strong frame with their partner and good posture they will lead well. As mentioned by BK and Shayne, good eye contact and feeling the rhythm are essentials of a great lead. If you're leading from your "heart" I think you will incorporate all of the above ingredients of an enjoyable lead. (I think in the article where you mention Dave Powers it may actually be Dave Paris to whom you are referring?)
- Suzi Salsa