The Arthur Murray Interrelated System of Learning is the architecture behind the Arthur Murray syllabus. It is built to allow dance students to take the patterns, skills, and styling from one dance and apply it to another dance is a seamless fashion. This system makes it possible for a student to learn a variety of dances in the time it might take to learn just one.
Great Examples of the Arthur Murray Interrelated System
Rumba and Waltz
On the surface, both of these dances utilize a box step as the basic entry point into the dance, but there are intentional nods from one dance to the other in other patterns throughout each syllabus.
While the patterns can exhibit some distinct similarities, the Rumba and Waltz are in stark contrast from each other when it comes to style. �The Interrelated System reduces the mental bandwidth necessary for learning another new pattern, which allows the student and teacher to focus in on the style and technique that make each dance unique. � Check out 101 Christmas Songs for Social Dancers.
Swing and Cha Cha
These dances share a connection much deeper than just their patterns, they are connected by elements. �Both the Swing and Cha Cha utilize the Triple Step and Rock Step elements in their basics – which would be like comparing pancakes and waffles. � For more on this topic, check out The Dance I Do Not Like (A Poem).
The same ingredients, but a different finished product.
So these two dances are, essentially, interchangeable when it comes to mid-tempo music, and are another example of the interrelated system.
Foxtrot and Tango
On the surface, these two dances couldn’t seem any more dissimilar, but the Interrelated System gives these two polar opposite dances a common core of elements, directional movements, and patterns.
Stylistically, like the Waltz and the Rumba, is where the Tango and Foxtrot show the biggest contrast, but with the syllabus constructed the way that it is, learning one unlocks a lot of learning in the other.�
Where Does it Come From?
Think of the Interrelated System as a filter that every new installment of the Arthur Murray syllabus must pass through. The Arthur Murray Dance Board is a collection of the brightest minds in the organization. They are responsible for the construction of the syllabus, and also serve as auditors to ensure that every move fits the Interrelated System, and has a correlation to other dances.
Final Thought
Call it a system, call it syllabus architecture, or just the “I.R.S.” (inter-related-system), but what it does is helps to deliver your dance information in a more efficient manner. It saves time, pure and simple.
Which then, allows you to learn the things that make it feel like dancing that much sooner.
