One of the key features of any dance master is to combine theory and practice, since this art form more than any other needs examples to blend in with rules since students’ progress depends totally on their masters and so does the perfecting or decaying of the art of dance itself.
As a result, it is essential to know whether a master is well versed and trained in the art, and whether he has good taste and a wise eye to analyze all and every element that makes up the art of dancing. Moreover, he should have treasured all that can be useful in his job teaching and helping his students to progress. If that is so, a master will knowingly work and be certain of what he is teaching or else he will not possibly know where he stands and will be inspired exclusively by his whims and driven by other people’s misinterpreted ideas, his own arrogance and an erroneous method, all of which will bring about the demise even of the best dispositions, if any, of those he was called to train.
If an instructor is not what he is supposed to be, a student will soon see his/her disposition ruined and his/her hopes destroyed. Although well-shaped and graceful, the student’s body will lose its elegance for the master’s false teaching would replace its graceful wavy lines with sharp corners and strong horizontal and perpendicular lines.
Finally, a master should pay attention not to replace vigor with harshness, beautiful simplicity with negligence, strength with rudeness. He will encourage grace and enthusiasm, which are the fundamental features of dance, the elements that he will continue to develop and that if amiss would make dance an impossibility.
(G. Poletti, Il Dilettante di Quadriglie, pp 9, 10, Milano, Editore Carlo Barbini, 1868)
“If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat someday, if you teach him to fish, he’ll always eat”.
This adage by Confucius and the previous passage from Master Giovanni Poletti’s Manual represent the foundations on which our dance masters stand.
They are all highly trained, extremely attentive to even the smallest detail, they are devoted to “perfecting the art of dancing”, joyously willing to share their passion for Historical Dance with everyone who is interested in it for they believe that this discipline helps us live through our daily lives better while enhancing our love for beauty, politeness and respect for one another.
They understand that Historical Dance is a great source of joy and entertainment but also it may be very good at boosting our psycho-physical well-being. As a result, they consider the act of sharing Historical Dance with other people as a spontaneous service to society.
It could not be in any other way since we are a cultural association and a large welcoming family.
