Take a look: http://www.delta.dance/2015/03/the-biggest-mistake-dancers-make/
A few notes for my personal journey.
- When I started dancing, my shoulders were chronically up. An experienced and kind dancer constantly pushed on my shoulders when I led her and smiled.
- I forced my shoulders down. (this was okay, but mostly not good). I did this by puffing my chest out.
- Now, I addressed my shoulders by focusing on structural issues with my hips, upper back, and foot placement.
- If you are anatomically-minded: weak rhomboids strengthened by gentle should retractions (bands), tight hamstrings addressed with passive stretches and massage, asymmetrically tight psoas addressed with gentle lunges, and a lot of neck flossing.
- Yoga is tricky and usually IMHO not that helpful for most people. I did yoga wrong for many years, despite having many pretty good teachers. Yoga should invite you to explore your body, but not force you into the edge of your range of motion. Most people I see in class force it. Also, everyone has different ranges of motion; the teacher usually has the largest range of motion--don't copy them.
- If you want to be amazed, ask people to do flat-back, sitting forward bend (especially 4:00min of the video). I can't even go to 90deg and keep flat back; I sit on a block.
- Tai chi has been the most helpful to me. Partly, this is because it is gentle movements that are repetitive. This book has been helpful; it's old and costs $0.01 plus shipping. http://www.amazon.com/Step---Step-Tai-Master-Kam-Chuen/dp/0671892479/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427864374&sr=1-8&keywords=tai+chi+beginner
- Feldenkrais emphasizes "economy of movement" (my phrase, i think)... this means moving with the least effort. Usually, this can be sensed by paying careful attention to breathe and teeth clenching. You also practice moving more slowly. This book was helpful or me: http://www.amazon.com/Feldenkrais-Persons-Guide-Easier-Movement/dp/1889618772/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427864119&sr=8-3&keywords=feldenkrais+movement
One of my students had a class with me where all I said was "tall" for the whole class. It changed her dancing.
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