I’m going through ballroom withdrawal. It’s been almost two weeks since my last lesson with Teacher. I did have a social dance lesson with Teacher’s friend almost a week ago. But since then, I’ve been travelling and all the non-routine activity makes it seem like ages since I last danced. My next lesson is hopefully this coming Friday, but I still need to confirm with Teacher.
Practice Partner Update (I’m still here!)
Are you still out there? I apologize once again for being M.I.A. for a week. I haven’t even been around to the other Ballroom Villagers’ blogs, which I also apologize for. I haven’t been completely inactive in the realm of blogging; I’ve been working on guest posts for another website and my upcoming virtual book tour. You can check out the link for more information on where Dance Diaries will be! I’ll be honest, my internal emotional rollercoaster has taken me on bigger loops and steeper drops the last couple weeks too. Makes it difficult to organize my thoughts and produce something readable.
But that’s no excuse to neglect you.
So while I’m still waiting for the ride to at least slow down a bit, I thought I would give you a simple update on the latest development on my ballroom journey: the practice partner!
Photographer Meets Ballroom
Hello lovely readers/dancers!
A couple weeks ago, I received an email via Contact the Girl. If you ever debated about sending me a message, please know that I love getting emails from you guys!
This particular one was from Apolos Israel, a film student/photographer from Brooklyn, New York. He had just experienced his very first ballroom competition!
Star Dance Tour – NV Ball: Vote for Kris & Briana!
Sunday update: The poll listed their number wrong (they were told 130, then wore 150 but the poll still listed 130). But it didn’t matter! Kris and Briana still won the audience vote and placed 3rd overall in the show dance! Thanks to everyone who voted! Let’s keep this streak going!
Happy Friday!!
As promised yesterday, here is more information on how you can help Teacher and his pro partner and get to watch some amazing ballroom dancing at the same time.
They are competing at the NV Ball tomorrow, August 20. The Star Dance Tour’s website will be live streaming the competition and you can watch FOR FREE!
Here is the web page: http://sdt.dancebeat.com/index.php/m-streaming.
Their specific pro open smooth event starts just before 9 pm PST. The show dances will happen right after the final round. After all of the show dances are done, the polls open for only 5 minutes!
Watching on your computer or tablet or phone, all you have to do is refresh the page when the MC announces that it’s time to vote. A list of the couples’ names will appear below the streaming video and all you have to do is click their names: Kris Suakjian and Briana Haft.
You can also look for their number: 130 150 (sorry for the typo!). If you have multiple devices, vote on all of them!
Note that there may also be a “wildcard” vote after the semifinal round of Pro Open Smooth. This is to give a couple who didn’t make the final still have the chance to perform their show dance. You can vote for someone here too, but be sure you hang around until after the show dances to vote for Kris and Briana!
Another way you can vote is via text! Text “dancebeat” to 22333. You’ll get a response back acknowledging that you’ve joined the session. Then when it’s time to vote, just text “130” to the same number. You will get a response back, something like “You chose 130 Kris and Briana.” And that’s it!
As people vote, you’ll be able to refresh the live streaming page for updates on who’s winning the audience poll. So far, Kris and Briana have either tied or won the audience vote at every competition on this tour! Let’s keep this streak going!
I’ll be on Facebook and Twitter posting updates and when it’s time to vote, so stop by and say hi if you’re on!
Please watch tomorrow, Saturday, August 20, and VOTE for Kris Suakjian and Briana Haft!
Many thanks, and happy dancing!
Brain Knowledge Vs. Body Knowledge Or “Just” a Student
Once again, I started writing about one topic and ended up focusing on another. I didn’t want to get rid of the first one though, so this is a combo post. Just a heads up!
This week is smooth week! Teacher and I have been alternating between rhythm and smooth on our lessons. At first, we switched every lesson, but I quickly realized I needed at least a second lesson in the same style to follow up on what we worked on in the first lesson. So now, since I have two lessons a week typically, we alternate every week.
This week is smooth.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
I realized that it’s been over a week since I last posted. Sorry about that! I’ve had a lot on my mind, but didn’t have anything concrete enough to put into words. I didn’t want to leave you hanging though, so I’ve done my best to form some hopefully readable sentences.
For Every High, There is a Low
What an odd week.
Monday was just a Monday. Tuesday, I had a lesson with Teacher (make-up for missing Friday while he was at a comp). I also had my first session with a new practice partner (more on him later)! Wednesday, I had my usual standing lesson with Teacher (two lessons in two days, woohoo!). Thursday, I decided to start something new and exciting (for me at least) in an effort to expand the reach of the Dance Diaries series (more on that later too). Friday, I learned I would yet again have to give up my competition goals and would also likely be unable to pay for lessons for at least a month in the fall. And then I spent the rest of my work day lounging at the beach.
Like I said, odd.
Rollercoasters
I had this whole thing written about my second rhythm lesson this past week, but as sometimes happens, I realized after writing it that I actually wanted to focus on something else. So I started over.
Repost – The Challenges of Grief and Moving On
I just read this post on Dance Comp Review (link below) and knew you guys could appreciate and understand what this girl is dealing with. It reminded me of my How To Cope with Loss series and some of the stories I’ve read on fellow ballroom bloggers’ sites. We go through some crazy trials! But we survive and hopefully come out stronger in the end.
I’ve already asked Emily if she would write a follow-up article for us on how things go with her new coach, so stay tuned!
http://dancecompreview.com/challenges-of-grief-and-moving-on/
Turn Right…Recalculating…
So remember the awesome new line of communication with my body I was discovering? Well, I think there’s a short.
We worked on rhythm in today’s lesson, specifically rumba and cha cha. Teacher wanted me to focus on foot pressure and core. I did…ok.
The Girl with the Tree Tattoo 