About Clint Steele: Owner, manager and teacher at Destine Dance
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Hello fellow dancer,
Let me tell you a bit about myself and why I set up this website. How I got into dancing It was a few years ago that I got into dancing. I finished my PhD in engineering design and a master of entrepreneurship and innovation a year or so before that. For most of my life I have always wanted to learn new things so I had been academically active. However, at this time I was learning nothing and I was getting restless. I had walked past a dance studio near where I lived many times over a number of years so I knew that there was a place that I could learn. However, it just never occurred to me that it could me that it was an ideal pass time. Anyway, I was so bored one Sunday afternoon that I was in front of my PC typing “things to do when bored” in to an online search engine. As you can guess, dance classes came up in one of the lists I that I found during this net surfing session. The dance studio down the road popped into my head, and I found them on the internet. I found about their introductory class offer, I called them to make a booking and the rest was a long drawn our process of trying to work out what the hell I was doing. What I quickly discovered about dancing Because I had never danced before I was certainly at a disadvantage. I had always gone very poorly in music at school, and I couldn’t even count the beat in music. Also, the way I learnt was much more literal and analytical than the intuitive methods used by many in the dance world. However, I was pretty good at moving my body and remembering routines. This was because earlier in my life I studied martial arts. Once I started university, and I had less money and time, I had to drop it. I still plan on going back to it, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. One day! The thing is though I realized that because of my background there were some key skills I had and some that I didn’t. So this got me thinking that there must be quick ways to increase the attributes that are required for dance without actually needing to dance for years before they develop. This idea too came from my experience in martial arts. There were two things that I was told:
So that was the mindset that I had: work out what attributes that I needed to become a good dancer and then find exercises that would develop those attributes as quickly as possible. What I later discovered about dance So with this notion of developing the key attributes for dance I went off the scan all the books I could find. However, what I found was very disappointing. To this day I still haven’t found what I think is a good book for improving partner dancing. If you find one, then please contact me and let me know because I want to read it and I want to let everyone else know about it too. All the books I found simply told you the basics of each type of dance (such as its mood, style and history) and then told you what the basic steps were. Essentially, they were a poorer version of what you got in a dance class, which I was already taking. I didn’t need to be told what the dance was; I needed to know how to be better at doing it. There were some books that came with video and of course stand alone videos too. However, the same thing happened. They simply went over what was already being done in class. It was helpful to have the reference that a video offered, but it really wasn’t what I knew would be best. What I did to improve my dancing So from that point onwards I started looking elsewhere for what I needed. I broke dancing down into the things I needed and I then went to experts on those topics.
I think you get the basic idea, but just to make it clear; what I found was a collection of techniques that I could use to improve the attributes that I needed to be a good dancer. What I found was that I was able to increase my dance skills faster than many others who were learning at the same time as me. It was clear to me that what I had collected, gave me a real advantage. To this day, if I ever dance in a competition or go for a medal and I do not do as well as I should, then I can always track it down to not applying one of these techniques that I had come across. Dancing today I initially took up dancing because I was bored. However, after getting a payout from my employment in academia, where I refined much of my understanding on learning and used it to develop what I have here for you, I bought my own dance studio. I now teach students of my own. And yes I do use what I have developed to improve the speed that mys students learn with. I also use this experience to refine the knowledge that I share with you so that you get the best information possible. Today, I love dance because it is an excellent way to stay physically and mentally active, it’s an excellent way to meet people and because there is always some way to get better at it, dance stops me from getting bored. I’ve never taken it too seriously so that it remains enjoyable, but I do like to do it well. That’s why I am always looking for ways to quickly and easily improve the way dancing can be learnt. Not only do I want to be good at it, but I want everyone else to be able to pick it up quickly so that there are more opportunities out there for me to dance too. That’s why I have written the e-book so you can use what I have found to quickly become a better dancer. |
Clint Steele
My qualifications
I was not always a dance teacher. I was first a dance student like you so I know the challenges.
I was once an academic who researched into teaching methodology. That means I know a lot about how people need to take on learning problems so that they can learn and develop faster. I applied this knowledge to dance and came up with a collection of ways to help you become a better dance student. Once you're a better student you will automatically become a better dancer. I now use this knowledge to help my dance students and further refine the knowledge that I share with you. A note on the similarities between martial arts and dancing
When I started dancing I was struck by some of the similarities between martial arts and dancing:
I later found out that much of dance is actually used to help increase combat skills by developing the required attributes (there they are again!) |
