Here is the next step.
You stand in front of the mirror, and observe your own body. Try not to be judgmental. Instead, look at the shape, and draw lines along the shape of your body. Look at the flow. Imagine and superimpose wire frame onto your image.
[Alternatively, imagine the skeleton inside your body. Knowledge in anatomy helps dancers and martial artists, not only doctors and nurses.]
[Like this]
There are body types with clean, elongated lines. There are body types the lines are somewhat obscured with curves. Just take as they are and look objectively. That's what you got, here and now.
Most dances are watched from a distance by spectators. From a distance, what people recognize at first is the shape and flow of the lines of your body.
And the shape and flow of the lines of your body will send off the message. Like it or not.
If you spend some time to watch human body in action (dancing included), you will be more used to interpret the body's message.
If the line around the shoulders looks shorter than anticipated, your body looks tense or stiff. If your spine is bent forward, you look smaller, timid, or old. If the lines of the body look misaligned, the body gives off an impression that something is off.
Experienced dance viewers do not only look at the skills for a particular dance style, but watch the body of dancers.
Well, actually, you do not have to be "experienced". There are people who are "Looking good", and there are others who aren't. Perhaps kids may be more honest, while adults are polite enough not to discuss it openly. Dance is something you do with your body. To look good dancing, you have to recognize what you got, and be honest about your strength and shortcomings.
Even if you do not like what you are seeing now, don't despair yet. Every body comes with strength and shortcomings, and just knowing how to emphasize the strength and reduce shortcomings makes a huge difference in a short time.
[The reverse is true as well. Disregarding your strength and shortcomings will keep you at where you are for a long time.]
When you observe your body, the frame, and the lines, you may notice there are "changeable" parts and "hard to change" parts.
Overall size and shape are harder-to-change parts. But modifying the lines and minding to have elongated lines are changeable parts, for example.
In a later entry, I'd write about how to work on the changeable parts.
Today's message: "Look at your skeleton."
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Recently, I've been working on data mining for my work. Human cancer genome database has improved greatly. It's a treasure trove for us working on translational oncology.
