When I mentioned the "trained look" in a past entry on 6/5/2024, I was thinking where the dancer's "trained look" comes from.
Most community dancers of Salsa, Bachata or Kizomba don't have it. Most WCS "improvisational" dancers don't have it.
Hip Hop dancers? Recreational Ballroom dancers? Tango dancers at milonga? Hit or miss.
To my eyes, very few community dancers have it.
An easiest way to make the call is that, you imagine yourself as a producer of a Broadway show, and if you'd hire the dancers for the show.
Amateurish-looking or -moving dancers are out.
Yet, certainly, I see the "look" more often in elite Ballroom dancers and Ballet dancers.
So what makes the difference in the look? I list a few factors.
(1) Body, posture and line. (And their upgraded version; "presence").
How you hold yourself, and how you present your lines, are immediately noticeable. Ballet dancers add extension and turnout; all are advantageous in this regard.
(2) Basic training focus is on the look and execution, rather than how they feel about dance.
This mindset difference is huge. As long as you are dancing like no one is watching, you will not develop the "trained look". Expression comes later when you have good tools.
(3) The dance style itself is designed for theater or show.
For example, kizomba is fun social dance. But it is not showy, or designed for theater to be seen from a distance. Motion range (=effective viewing range) is small. Good luck organizing a Kizomba show on Broadway. May work in a small room or in a close-up video filming, though.
I am not against Kizomba or anything. But some dances are not designed for or friendly to theater shows.
This difference also applies to stage tango and social tango. We need to accept that they are two differently evolved dances.
(4) Existence of solid syllabus, aesthetics, and training structure to follow.
Ballroom dance has standardized curriculum/syllabus. It is easy to see if the dancers know them or are performing them. Strong aesthetics exist (e.g., Rumba walk, Cuban motion) for each dance style, which further strengthen the "trained look" of practice outcomes.
Ballet dancers (esp. classical ballet) train themselves to perform the theatrical art of Ballet. The art even requires you to conform to it, not the other way around. No wonder Ballet dancers develop the "trained look" (if they can use it in a partner dance is another story).
Some theatrical dances have "correct answers". Many other community dances have looser standards (or they are not for show at all).
(5) Consistency and reproducibility.
Once a basketball player learns a good form to shoot, he will use the form many times over with good outcomes. Having a good form as your default, and not straying from it unless by choice, is critical.
Good dancers should always, consistently, and reproducibly, look good.
...........Off the hat, there are five. And if you apply these to your dance, it would be easier to develop the "trained look" in your own dance.
Here is a thought. Give it a try.
For your reference, here is a video that gives us some ideas about how professional Ballet dancers train. Royal Ballet in London (UK) is one of the most famous Ballet company in the world.
They start out from basics-warm up exercise on barre. This unapologetic practice of basics is what best professionals do.
[Royal Ballet morning class - barre and centre #WorldBalletDay 2021]
