Dancing Update

Dancing…

Something happens to me when I dance.  I feel free and lighthearted.  A childish giddiness comes over me and while I am focused and constantly thinking about my committing to my weight transfer, keeping a strong posture,  pointing my toes for nice lines, big arms, tight arms, etc. etc., I am smiling from ear to ear on the inside.  Don’t let me serious, contemplating faces trick you. 

Ryan has been very busy with school, work, baseball for Jared and life in general, so I have had a few solo dance lessons.  These lessons have helped me focus on my technique which is really fun for me.  I love to dance with Ryan, but I also love to improve and when I have one on one instruction on my technique, I tend to improve much more. 

In the Rumba and Salsa/Mambo, I have been working on my Cuban motion.  Transferring my weight to the bent leg is so not natural, but practice makes for muscle memory…I wish I could say perfect, but that would just be a lie.  I am so far from perfect, but much closer than I was a few months ago.  I also need to work on creating strong lines and committing to my steps.  I tend to anticipate the next step.  Tiss Tiss. Committing to my steps, not settling completely into them, but rather keeping my engine in idle and being reactionary to the leader, is what I need to work on.  It’s hard for me, but when I do it, it looks and feels so much better.  I actually feel like a dancer then.  It’s like magic!  Another not so natural thing for me is using my arms and using them in a big way.  I think of my arms and I think flab.  I look at my arms and I see flab.  Why in the world would I want to accentuate my flabby arms?!?!  Well, once again, I am looking at myself through the most critical microscope possible.  My arms are fine, just not as defined as I’d like them to be.  While I think they are jiggling all over, they actually aren’t.   I just need to do a few more pull-ups and push-ups a day to convince myself my arms aren’t waving all over the place. 

In addition to all of that, I have to work on my posture and collecting my feet.  A good posture makes the dance look better, but also allows the man to know where I am and what I am doing at all moments.  Partner dancing is a lead and a follow.  Both parts must be strong because they need each other to be successful.  Collecting my feet will help my moves be sharp and allow me to be reactionary.  I tend to anticipate steps, so I seem to be in constant motion when in reality I need to take each step completely before moving into the next step.  Don’t get me wrong, these steps might be extremely fast, but if I am not collecting my steps, I will be off balance, a poor anchor for the man, will not be a strong follower, might lose balance…the mishaps are endless.  Having a strong foundation is vital.  It’s like building a house of cards.  If the bottom levels are weak, the top will be wobbling and will eventually collapse.  

Oh and remember, you want to have a smile on your face and look really beautiful the entire time!  Easy as pie, eh?!?  I love dancing. I love the challenge. I love the constant learning.  I love learning…plain and simple. 

I will try to take some photos the next time I dance, but it's really hard to take photos when you are dancing...or want to be dancing.  I'll try to get creative!

Much love.