Jump Right in Here: Pillars
Guide: How to Use This
What is The Shared Center?
This is the online release of the Fusion Framework. This is to introduce how we are thinking about and teaching Fusion partner dance. We are offering our interpretation of the fundamental pillars of partner dance to the Fusion community at large as we’d love to see these more widely understood and taught. This is a living document that will be edited as our understanding evolves, changes and adapts to the fluid art form and community that forms Fusion partner dance. We believe thinking about Fusion from a principles’ perspective can give us a shared understanding of how we can co-create fun and safe dances together. The framework also empowers dancers to more easefully learn other partner dances.
Documenting the Fusion Framework has been a labor intensive passion project we’ve put years of time into creating and writing. While we are making it freely available in the hopes it will enhance Fusion dance technique at large - if you find this work valuable, it would feel good to receive support in whatever ways you are able and wanting to offer. Ways we’re open to receiving support include: community dialogue and feedback given to either of us directly on anything in this document (we both love geeking out on dance technique and mutually respectful discussion), financial contributions of support for creating this document and being able to continue our work in this artform, and contacting us to schedule us for lessons and/or workshops in your area.
You can reach us at: dyamicpartnerdancers@gmail.com
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Background: Why Fusion as a Framework?
In the Fusion partner dance community there is a long-standing debate between Fusion as Aesthetic, its own dance form, and Fusion as Philosophy, fusing different dance styles together. Throughout Amber & Stefan’s years of studying many different dance forms and techniques on each of our dance journeys, we’ve identified underlying principles that apply across most partner dance forms.
As we integrated these principals with our core values of connection and communication we developed a different way of thinking about Fusion: The Fusion Framework. A Framework is defined as the ideas, information, and principles around which a system can be built. Thinking of Fusion as a Framework enables multiple dance systems (including Fusion as Aesthetic) to be layered upon that framework, making it possible to cohesively transition between different dance technique pools because there is a shared framework.
The Fusion Framework enables dancers to prioritize the connection with each other over specific steps, rhythms, music, and aesthetics. There are no “wrong” step patterns in Fusion, but there are fundamental techniques to create a container for dancing more safely and easefully with a partner. Instead of learning static rules, basic steps, or fixed rhythms, we hope to see Fusion dancers first focus on learning and applying fundamental principles (the Pillars of Fusion as described in this guide) for dancing in partnership because focusing on principles gives us the tools to freely co-create movement together.
This Fusion Framework enables dancers to communicate a rich landscape of movement where improvisational dances unfold naturally in real time. By understanding the Fusion Framework an array of different partner dance styles can be safely and easefully fused together, making every dance a unique experience. Lead and follow roles can become more fluid, and at times fade away completely into a natural ebb and flow of initiation and incorporation. This principles-based approach can also be found in other dance forms, but is often only understood at an intermediate or advanced level after step vocabulary.**
If you have reached this point you are ready for: How to Use This Pillars