Bluntly put, there are dancers who look good. And there are dancers who don't.
Usage of your body plays a major part of it.
Here is a hint for improving your body usage; mind "Marionette and water". They represent two ideals for dancers.
"Marionette"
Think of a marionette. The doll, often with wire-frame body, hanging midair by strings connected to joints.
It looks extremely relaxed (of course). Hanging in the air, it apparently defies gravity. It will also respond to a pull of a string fast. It has a structure (body frame), which can be used for partner dances.
Ballet dancers may have heard of this ideal. Michael Jackson's moves were very close to those of a marionette.
When we watch someone dance, we recognize the lines the body creates. We can make judgement on the body's shapes and motions instantaneously by tracing select points on the body (guess that is how human brains work, much like we recognize emoji-face with only two dots and a line).
Motion capture technology uses the same principle by placing sensors on major joints and other places on the moving body. By tracing the movements of the sensor dots, the technology recreates human movements.
Competitive ballroom dancers tend to be long-limbed, their heads held up-high, showing the lines long and clean. They attempt to appeal to your innate motion capture technology. When your lines are bent, short, or otherwise off, it will be recognized as an unfavorable trait.
So, if you want to improve the look of your dance as a dancer, be conscious about how your joints and lines are aligned and moving, using mirror, picture, and/or video. It helps.
"Water"
"Move like water." This has been preached among martial artists, including Bruce Lee. "Watery-smooth" is an actual word to praise great dancers.
Water represents fluidity and smoothness in dancing. Fluid and smooth dancers look good.
Human body is 60-70% water. Each body part carries its own weight, and moving it can be sensed as a sensation.
To achieve fluidity and smoothness, yes, flexibility of your body is important.
Also, mindfulness, an appearance that your body's movement and your intent are matching exactly, is critical. Placing a part of your body in exactly where you want it to be, is an indispensable part of training as a dancer. And it can be achieved by being mindful about your body sensation and connecting it with exact placement.
Dancers need to work on placement of your body parts in order to create "water-like" movements. If you are a musician, say, a pianist, a misplaced finger immediately gives you a feedback with wrong sound. Dancing does not work that way, unless you work with a mirror.
This essay entry is a draft. I want to elaborate this "Marionette and water" concept more elsewhere, so that more dancers can use it. Learning patterns is one thing. Moving well is another.
Weather people are forecasting a stormy weather, possibly with tornadoes, tomorrow. Let's see how it goes.
