Dance – The Art of Remembering

For several years now I’ve been learning to salsa dance, and much has been achieved during that time. However it is also true that not as much has been achieved as I would have liked. More specifically I’m referring to my ability to remember the solo steps, the moves and the sequences I’ve been shown so that I can repeat them at will at a later date. Perhaps I’ve been to over one hundred solo classes across several locations in Manchester, as well as at a number of festivals across Europe. Whilst these have been a lot of fun, and that alone is justification enough for attending; at the same time I cannot remember any of the sequences that I did. This is highly frustrating! Fortunately there is plenty I can remember from a partnerwork perspective, but I’d like to progress with the solo as well, and then incorporate that into the partnerwork.

On many occasions I have asked myself the question, “What is the point of going to classes if I am not going to remember?” Like I said, they are enjoyable, and that is enough; but from a learning to dance perspective it is not very good at all, and can threaten to stop me from continuing. But I’ve overcome this effectively by realising that whilst I cannot remember the specific sequences off the top of my head, I have still been exposed to the different elements of those sequences, and this means that when I encounter them again in the future, they will be easier to do. This has proven to be the case, since in the past I struggled considerably during a class to get anywhere near being able to execute the sequences. But now I’m happy to see that in most cases I can do them quite comfortably, even if the quality of the delivery is not quite as good as I would like.

I have held on to a very vague theory throughout this period of ongoing improvement, that eventually the moves will become so easy to me, that something will click in my mind, and then I’ll be able to generate sequences at will when dancing to the music. Because after all the ultimate goal is to be able to improvise to the music. To be aware of the different styles and rhythms that I can hear, and feel something as a result, and then dance as an expression of those things that I’m feeling; transitioning between solo and partner dancing where appropriate. Whilst I feel that progress is always being made, and that I’m always getting better; I feel that those benefits are too subtle and too often intangible. Sadly I don’t feel like I’m getting much closer to actual goal of improvisation, and therefore something needs to change.

Those have been my thoughts up until March this year (2020). Since then I’ve been considering how I might successfully remember more of what I’m learning. The short answer is obvious, because it is the answer to how to improve at anything in life – Practice! But there is a big difference between knowing that, and actually doing it. In order to actually do that there needs to be the time, energy and enthusiasm. Since the Covid 19 lockdown I find myself with significantly more time and spare energy. This is because those two things are not unmercifully being consumed by other things, like they were previously. So that just leaves the enthusiasm, which I luckily find that I do indeed have. It is much harder though to explain where that comes from. I can only assume that many little motivations and experiences have accumulated in my mind over the last several years, and have created the enthusiasm to work on the dancing outside of the class environment that I’m feeling at the moment.

I set myself a target to try to remember ten of the sequences that I would be learning in upcoming online classes, and to achieve that by the end of the lockdown. So after I had done the first of those classes, I knew at that point that I needed to do something that would make me remember it. So immediately after the class had finished I attempted to repeat the sequence on my own in my kitchen. And what did I discover? That I couldn’t do it! I fully believed I had learned the sequence, but in that moment I realised that I had fooled myself. The only reason I was able to do it during the class was because I had someone to copy and follow along with.

But all was not lost. As I stood there struggling to remember the next part of the routine, I just relaxed and paused for a moment, and then the next part came to me; and then the next. Slowly but surely I found that I actually could remember the whole sequence. When I got to the end I started again from the beginning, and that time it was easier. The third time was reasonably fluent. So now I know that at the end of the class, the sequence is on the brink of being forgotten and lost forever. I however have it within my power to salvage it provided that I demand of myself that I can do the sequence from start to finish on my own immediately after the class has finished.

I may have won a small victory here, but even though I could do it immediately, how long would I be able to remember it for? The answer it transpired was not very long at all. Because after I had my dinner and came back to try again about an hour later, whilst I could still remember it, I had to go through the same process as before of pausing and waiting for it to come back to me. I did this and practiced the routine a few times, and had the feeling that it had become more deeply ingrained in my memory than before. I spent the rest of the evening reading my book, whilst wondering if I’ll be able to remember the sequence the next time I try it.

A few hours later, before going to bed, I thought I’d try it one more time. It still took a bit of effort to remember, but it was easier to recall than before. Three hours had passed since the last attempt, compared to the one hour the previous time. How could it be easier? Surely it should be harder. Of course the answer is that it became more ingrained after the one hour review. This allowed it to survive in my memory for longer. This idea was further confirmed when I tried again the next morning, with a whole nights sleep separating my attempts. I was able to recall it without any problem. Then without trying again until the following day, I was still able to remember it easily. The conclusion being that the interval required to keep it in memory gets longer and longer each time an attempt is made. This actually seems fairly obvious now, especially given the interest I’ve taken in memory over the years, but I still had to go through the process with dance to really see it clearly.

The next challenge was when I did another class. Remembering one sequence is one thing but what about when I needed to remember a second, and a third, and so on. I was doing two classes per week. These would soon mount up. Might trying to remember them all become overwhelming? Well I wasn’t going to let that put me off. I went through the same process again. I repeated the second sequence immediately after the class, then one hour later, before bed, the next morning, and the following day. I could successfully recall it each time I tried and I could also remember the first one. I was very happy with this, I felt like I’d created some momentum.

As I added the third and the fourth it became clear that I’d need to have a way of reviewed them all so that they don’t eventually fade and get lost. So I decided just to have a practice session by playing a song, and then try to go through them one by one. I did this and thought, “Four sequences isn’t enough. I keep running out of moves before the song ends.” This was good motivation to spur me on toward my goal of remembering ten sequences before the end of lockdown, since it would be good to fill a whole song. So I continued adding more, and since I was aiming for ten it seemed logical to number them. Then playing a song I would go through them in order, sometimes counting up from one, and sometimes backwards, as the later most recent ones usually seemed most at risk of being forgotten.

Now it occurs to me that this is a very robotic way of dancing, and is not the way dancing should be at all. However, it was clear that previously I was not moving quickly enough towards the goal of improvisation, so something did need to be done differently. I compare it to learning to drive a car. When I first started learning I’d have to think very consciously about the gear stick, the pedals, and the steering. Over time it became more second nature, and now driving a car seems like the easiest most natural thing it the world. I think that if I practice the sequences enough they will become second nature, and eventually the different elements of the sequences will start to become available for improvisation.

In fact, the more second nature they become, the more my mind is freed up to pay attention to the music instead of thinking about what my arms and legs are doing. The more I’m paying attention to the music, the more the music is going to affect how I am feeling, and in turn will follow the desire to react to those feelings with the movements that express them most effectively. The trouble at the moment is that on the occasions I do feel something in the music, I try to access a move in my memory and it comes up blank. I am theorising now, but I believe this is because reacting to the music is a very creative activity, and I also believe that the creative aspects of the mind are connected to the long term memory, not the short term memory. When a sequence is first learned it is only weakly and temporarily present in the short term memory, and long before it can be available for improvisation it must be repeated through regular practice, pushing it toward long term memory, where it can become available to my creativity and link up with the parts of my mind that also allow me to feel the music.

One thing that put me off practice, that I found intimidating, was that I perceived it took a long time to do; and there are many other things I want to do with my time. However, as I alluded to above, I could get through all the sequences I knew in a single song. So I can adequately satisfy the practice needs in the time it takes to make a cup of tea. Therefore I found that I couldn’t use that excuse for not practising anymore, so I may as well just get on with it. Of course it is not difficult at the moment because I have a lot of free time and am also enjoying it. I do wonder though how this could change when my schedule gets back to normal. Best make the most of the enthusiasm to practice now then whilst I have the chance, just in case.

There are two scales that I think of for measuring where I am at with a sequence – the Retention Scale and the Competence Scale. I’ve just made these names up off the top of my head, but they seem to fit. The former is how well I can remember a sequence, and the latter is how well I can actually do it. I’m going to rate each one from 1 to 5. I haven’t figured out descriptions for 2, 3 and 4 yet, but I think you get the picture.

The Retention Scale

1. On the brink of being lost, like immediately after a class.
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. Completely second nature. Can do it to fast music without even thinking, and this can still be done several weeks after learning it. Perhaps this is where is becomes available for improvisation.

The Competence Scale

1. Can go through from start to finish, but the timing and styling is awful and the whole thing looks completely stupid.
2. .
3. Good enough for now
4. .
5. Looks amazing. Worthy of performing in a show.

I think I generally don’t manage much more than a 3 on the competence scale, and this can be quite off putting. But it’s much better to remember something and have it to practice and to build upon, than to worry too much about getting it perfect straight away and then end up forgetting it, and having nothing to practice. I know there is a risk that I will get into bad habits by not doing things quite right, that might later be hard to fix; but this seems like a small price to pay for having lots of moves that I can try with lots different songs, seeing what feels good and what does not.

Fast forward to the present now, and I’ve been able to exceed the target of 10 sequences and I have in fact been able memorise 16 so far, and there’s no end to the lockdown in sight. I’m very happy with this. It takes more than one song to practice them, and I feel a good sense of achievement having more than will fit in a song, and I’m sure I have time to listen to at least two songs each time I practice. However, I again feel the need to say, and it can’t be said enough, that this is not the goal; the goal is improvisation with good musicality. I’m not entirely sure about how much closer what I am doing has taken me towards that goal, but it certainly feels like a step in the right direction.