Most people want creativity in their dancing. After all, dancing is art. True art must be inspirational and for that it must be creative. Choreography is a creative opportunity in ballroom dancing, but creative expression is also important.
Ever wonder what makes someone seem naturally creative while others seem to develop it over time? Ever wonder whether your work is actually creative or just flashy? Ever wonder if you could become more creative or get over a creative block? Creativity may seem like a gift for some, but it is a gift that you can lose or gain.
1. The #1 trait of creative people, is having a lot of opposite traits.
- They may appear naïve and open, but have a savvy understanding of many things including people.
- They may be playful and sometimes seem completely care-free, yet are able to concentrate for long hours and get things done.
- They may be very rebellious, but are sensitive to feedback.
- They may seem obsessed in one idea, but can easily connect very different ideas together.
- They are willing to make mistakes, but are often extremely self-critical.
- They are able to think in a “big picture” and are comfortable with very vague ideas, but are obsessed with details.
All of this describes a mind that naturally moves in different places, and can take in a lot of different types of information. The strength in this is being able to see things from different perspectives. This is the foundation of creativety.
How to develop:
- Seek new experiences as much as possible. Explore different styles of dance that you may never even heard of, from zouk and kizomba to new vogue and ceroc. The more different the dance is from what you typically do, the better.
- Put yourself in the place of other people or even fictional characters that are very different from you. All of this stretches and opens your mind through the need to adapt.
- Pay attention to everything you can in life. People, situations, feelings. Also, take in as many different experiences as you can, and allow all of this to stimulate the best of who you are.
2. Is your work creative?
- Is your work really new? Are you really just recycling things that have been done before, and not adding any new twist?
- Does it make people want to pay attention?
- Does it make others feel emotion – delight, surprise, intrigue, awe, sadness… anything at all?
How to approach this:
- Any one of these points is not enough for something to be creative work. All three definitely are.
- Remember, however, for you to have any real impact with your creatively, you must also have outstanding execution.
- Outstanding execution is actually the most important thing. When you add creative ideas to that, you will be noticed.
3. Anyone can be creative, but several actions are necessary to overcome what may get in the way.
- Protect your passion. Explore things you are passionate about. If you lose momentum, shake things up. A change in style, a new goal, whatever it takes. If you don’t have passion, creativity is impossible.
- Overcome the negative attitude that kills creativity. Some creative people may seem cynical at times, but generally, at heart they want the best outcome. If you truly are cynical and spend a lot of time measuring everyone else’s actions by “your ways of doing things”, your energy will be focused negatively toward others and you will not have enough energy available for your own creatively.
- Fight the fear of failure or criticism. Accept the fact that when doing anything new, you will need to fix a lot of things along the way. Sometimes you might even need to start from the very beginning. This DOES NOT mean that you’ve failed! It is just part of the creative process. Also recognize that other people may take a while, or might not ever accept new ideas. Some criticism may help you improve your ideas, but be aware of any criticism that prevents you from developing yourself or your work. Listen to your gut about what is right for you and keep working through it. Always remember that you have your own path, and that path is only meant for you!
Author: Miss P
Photography: Egorich.ca DanceSport
Exclusively for Dance Comp Review