Finding my style

Posted on | Wednesday, 15 June 2011 | No Comments

A lot of the people I dance with are girls. In fact; I'd go as far as to say that of the 60 people I dance with during any given week 50 of them are girls at the very least. It has its ups and downs but one of the biggest drawbacks is trying to look to other guys for inspiration when it isn't forthcoming.



That's no slight on the girls I dance with, or those who teach me, far from it. Hollie, Laura and Hannah are inspirational in their own ways - pushing my body further than it should be allowed to go, encouraging me when I have the look of someone who is about to jack it all in and giving me the motivation to go that little bit further. There's a lot I can learn from them but one thing I struggle for is style; when I watch them dance I'm looking for something to tip me off; some swag, a move or even a whole routine but, while Hollie would say her dancing is 'masculine,' I feel like I'm lacking a male role model.

Youtube usually provides answers in this kind of situation but, as with anything, knowing what you're looking for is the key. "Lads what dance" didn't get me very far but, as is so often the case, Hollie knew what I needed. She gave me two names; 'Lyle Beniga' and 'Tucker Barkley' and I went on my way. It's a few days on from that conversation and I'm hooked - while their styles couldn't be described as similar they're both incredible; seeming to forgo accuracy for swagger is what attracts me to each but it's the combination of both, especially in Lyle's routines, that gets me thinking.

I've been doing a bit more contemporary and, coupled with Hollie's most recent routine, which might EVEN go on here, I've started to enjoy slower routines a little more. 'Slow' is something of an overstatement - you're still hitting counts hard, still making sharper movements but allowing yourself a little bit of freedom in between. I showed this routine to two friends - one suggested he was 'good, but out of time' while the other said he was 'completely on point' and I agree with the latter - but Lyle's style is, as I mentioned earlier, such that his flow and swagger completely belies the timing of the track, despite him having complete control over the routine.

That's it right there. I'm aspiring to this. I know I'll never be the most accurate - but it's about finding what suits you, what you love and what you feel you're capable of doing and just going that little bit harder.

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