DANCING WITH THE STARS is back in action for its 22nd Season!! Just like every season, everyone is so excited to see what fun, new adventures each dancer goes on. As most of you know, learning to dance isn’t about learning to dance. Dancing teaches us to understand how our bodies work with our partner and pushes us past our “comfort zone” in order to achieve a whole new self! That’s why DWTS has been so successful. You get to see real people discover who they truly are through dancing!
Each week we will be using our favorite dance of the night to provide us some teaching points. Week 1 had some GREAT dancers, but the one who we admired this week was NYLE DIMARCO.
Nyle DiMarco
Nyle DiMarco is an actor, model and spokesman. He is a native New Yorker and was born into a large multi-generational Deaf family. He is an alumni of Gallaudet University, the only liberal arts university in the world for the deaf.
He was the stand out star and winner of “America’s Next Top Model”’s Cycle 22! He has gained a lot of attention for being the first deaf contestant. Next, Nyle will appear on “Difficult People,” opposite Billy Eichner and John Early. Previously, he recurs on “Switched at Birth” as Garrett.
Here is a clip of Nyle & Peta dancing the CHA CHA. While watching, the music will stop playing. This is how Nyle hears the world every day. Watch how beautifully they move together!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSoNYaMw3oQ
What DiMarco Taught Us This Week
Even though you may appear to have “limitations”, you are only as limited as you believe you are!
To be a good dancer, you must dance to the music. We call that TIMING. It’s a part of dancing that makes movement have a purpose and look smooth. Like Nyle said in the clip, he doesn’t want to be told he was off time, so he not only follows Peta visually, but also physically. He doesn’t just see her feet moving. He can feel her whole body move and stop to tell him to do so. That is what happens in a good partnership. Sometimes music can hinder a partnership by the partners hearing different things. A true partnership ALWAYS moves together as one no matter what.
We are excited to see how Nyle’s dancing evolves. Can you point out any of the steps that look familiar in Nyle’s and Peta’s Cha Cha?