This week, Canada was cheering for its figure skating team which won gold with masterful performances in PyeongChang. Particularly noteworthy was the masterful performance by Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue, easily the best that the Ice Dance competition has ever witnessed. Technically flawless, Moir and Virtue did more than skate a near-perfect routine in their…
In my role as educator (one of several that I adopt in my professional life), I think of three ways of knowing as I guide my students, be it in a formal university classroom or in the more informal setting of a dance studio (okay… gym… 😉 ). There’s cognitive knowledge—information, facts, and good ol’…
As you might expect, I approach teaching my Foundation and Repertoire classes in opposite ways. And yet, there are inherent similarities that align, once you notice them. Let me explain. Foundation class, as many of my students know, focuses on a set of basic salsa moves and dance skills that should become second-nature for…
Everyone knows that old saying, “dance like no one is watching you.” It’s meant to convey the idea that in the moment of dance, being present with the pure joy of dancing, don’t worry about what other people think about your dancing. But, of course, that’s easier said than done! For most people, “what other…
At the beginning of a year, when people tend to express their optimism for the next twelve months by espousing great intentions, it’s every so easy to feel a sense of accomplishment merely by setting those intentions. There’s actually neuroscience to support this notion: The act of proclaiming to another person that you’re intending to…
Dance instruction and training most often focuses on the physical movement and technical skills involved in dancing, irrespective of style. In our salsa class – especially during the Foundations hour – we concentrate on the basic step, and moving to the music, and achieving great connection and frame, and not falling down while turning, and…
Happy New Year 2018! What a great opportunity to get a head start on those perennial intentions that never quite seem to happen year-over-year (and yes, I have a bunch of them, too!). If learning to dance, or resuming dance, or getting a few lessons under the belt is among your good-intentions-that-never-seem-to-happen, perhaps I can…
Seemingly, in the blink of an eye, 2017 is coming to a close. For me, it’s hard to believe how quickly my second year as the lead of Salsaholics passed. So many new patterns. So many new students (for which I am incredibly grateful). So many installments of Mark’s Lead, the place in which I…
We’ve considered four of the five elements of well-being as outlined in Martin Seligman’s book, Flourish—Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationship, and Accomplishment. Today, I’ll cover the final element in PERMA, the M for Meaning. Meaning is the sense of belonging to and serving something that you believe is bigger than you are. There is clearly…
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been writing about how dance connects with each of the five aspects of well-being as identified in Martin Seligman’s great book on Positive Psychology, Flourish. We’ve looked at the first three in his acronym, PERMA, namely, Positive emotion, Engagement, and Relationship. I’m going to skip over Meaning until next…