Hello everyone.
I haven't been here for a while, only occasionally dancing these days (though I had my first Quickstep lesson the other day and it was a lot of fun).
I could really use some help with a little project and I think this would be the best place to come looking for it :)
A while back a dance instructor I used to take lessons with when I first started, got engaged, moved country and opened a studio of his own together with his fiancee. When I went to visit and see the their new place, we had a discussion about various ideas he had of things he wanted to do. Among those was the thought to make a small calendar for the kids, with cute drawings of the various dances - 12 months 12 dances.
We never really got round to fully plan this. With the wedding scheduled for october though and me planning a three day trip to Cyprus to attend, i was thinking that it would be a cute little present to take along.
I am lacking though ideas of what to draw.

An example of an older little waltz drawing of mine:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a158/angelwuzzie/valentino02.jpg
That is the style I'm aiming for.

What I am thinking about now though and what is troubling me with this project is: What will make each dance unmistakingly recognizable as the dance it is? How can I show with one cute picture that what people are seeing is a Waltz and not a Foxtrot, a Cha Cha and not a Rumba?
Typing this, I realize I am asking quite a lot actually, still, any help would be really appreciated, be it a suggestion of a figure/pose or an observation on the various dances or anything else that comes to mind.
So thank you for reading and hope someone has some idea :)


Stavros

Hi Stavros, welcome back.

You're asking about something I've dealt with before, having worked on websites and DVD's with dance artwork. Here's what I've learned:

You can capture a lot more with the composition and stylistic choices than you can with almost any dance pose. There are a few certain poses that are specific to one dance or another, but for the most part, most dance positions are flexible and can be modified to suit the style of any dance. Find a pose that gets you in the ballpark, but don't rely on that alone to tell the story.

Costuming and backdrop can help quite a bit. If you add a background, or even a hint of one, with an authentic twist (a run-down club in 1920's Argentina, an extravagant ballroom in Vienna, etc), you can engulf the dancers in story. They could almost just be standing there and the point would be made. However, you might want to use this device somewhat sparingly, to avoid coming off too cliche'.

As best you can, I recommend you rely most heavily on artistic elements such as color, style, composition, mood, etc to convey the personality of the dance. Instead of thinking specifically of a dance, draw your inspiration from a word, a sentence, or even a short story that describes your impression of a dance. It's a lot more compelling to try to paint "hot, intense passion" than it is to paint Tango. So start there and see where it takes you.

I hope this helps in some way.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com

Thank you Jonathan, you did help indeed. I got a few nore pictures in my head now, some things I can start sketching and see where they take me.

And a colouring book is a great idea kaiara. Will definitly have to look into that as well.

I'd like to see a coloring book of ballroom dances for the kids. Just to pitch in an idea.

I always liked coloring books when I was a child, ESPECIALLY the ones that told a story with the costumes and background.

Don't think you would have a problem doing a caption with your drawing. In that you could write a witty remark mentioning the name of the dance.

You might consider the costumes of the people as a clue to recognize the dances. Also depicting a unique hold -- like the corte in tango; the leg flicks (or whatever they are called) in quickstep; the New Yorker (crossover breaks) for Cha Cha; the contra checks in Rhumba, etc. You might be able to find one unique pattern/hold in each dance that you wouldn't find in any others and if it crosses over to another dance, the costumes could give the viewer an idea.