Dancers United for Saving Lives Event

Leave a comment

I have a new answer for “what’s next for you”!

I’m performing a waltz demonstration with Teacher at an event this evening! Latin club dancers and ballroom dancers are coming together to dance and support two charities: the Pet Adoption Center of Orange County and the CBZ Foundation. If you’re in the area, you should check it out:

https://www.facebook.com/events/509351932572990/

The event includes workshops, social dancing and performances. Originally, a couple months ago, Teacher and I were talking about doing a choreographed showcase dance. But then Life happened, and I didn’t have the money to pay for a new choreographed number. One more performance passing me by.

Then Teacher mentioned last week that he was thinking about asking the organizer if she wanted/needed additional numbers for the show. He thought we could just dance our waltz routine that we use for competition. It sounded great to me! But then I didn’t hear anything more all week. So I asked about it on Wednesday, and we confirmed that yes, the organizer would love to have us do a waltz demonstration!

It’s not going to be anything flashy or fancy. I’m not even wearing a costume, just my practice skirt. Which is actually kind of nice. We’re just going to dance.

I’m a little nervous, of course, but mostly I’m just happy to have the chance to perform with Teacher. Who knows how long it will be before I’ll have another chance?

Stay tuned to hear how it goes!

 

 

“So What’s Next for You?”

Leave a comment

I get this question a lot when I’m at the studio. I ask this question a lot! It’s a standard “catch up” question among ballroom dancers to find out what event you’re working toward. But it’s also become an awkward question because my answer is “I have no idea.”

I’m slowly figuring out how to cope with not having a real answer to that question. I’m working on setting non-competition dance goals to keep myself busy and motivated (keep an eye out for an article on those!). Teacher doesn’t want me to give up on competition goals though, even if the next one is six months out or more. Usually encouragement and support from Teacher would boost my motivation to find any and all creative solutions to my financial dilemma. That’s how I managed to afford my 2015 comps!

But something is holding me back. And considering I just wrote about why I crave a challenge beyond just dancing, I want to explore why I’m having trouble motivating myself to find a new path to the fuel that feeds my inner fire.

You guys don’t mind me using this platform to psychoanalyze myself, right?

wpid-2015-05-05-10.24.01.jpg.jpeg

Psycho-what?

 

Continue reading →

Ask the Girl Episode 3 – Practice

2 Comments

I didn’t get any new questions for today’s episode, so I went back into my emails to see what people have contacted me about before I started this series.

The most recent question was from Nick; he just started blogging about his own ballroom journey here: http://theballroomjourney.com.

He asked how I fit in ballroom practice with work and the rest of my life. Since I had been thinking about doing a “how I practice” post anyway, it seemed like a good topic for this week’s “Ask the Girl” post!

Continue reading →

Sorry, the Cookies Distracted Me

3 Comments

Hello, my readers! Sorry I’ve been M.I.A. the last few days, but it was Thanksgiving. Roomie and I hosted a small Friendsgiving on Thursday. Lots of good food and LOTS of leftovers!

20151126_171733.jpg

The obligatory picture of our Thanksgiving meal

I also like to bake for the holidays.  Instead of shopping this weekend, I made oatmeal scotchies (oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips), chocolate chip scones, and chocolate chip cookies.  So that’s my excuse. I was slaving over the oven rather than my laptop!

img_20151129_123459.jpg

I was productive!

Not a lot to report in terms of dancing. I’m down to one lesson a week for at least a month so I don’t fall too far behind on lesson payments. I did have some fun at my pre-Thanksgiving lesson. We danced tango to a dubstep song called “Demons.”

https://soundcloud.com/dubstep/dabin-demons-edmcom-exclusive

I cannot get enough of this song; there is just something about it that drives straight to my very soul but makes me feel safe enough to be myself at the same time. So it was easy to get into tango character with that song blasting in the studio. Turn it off though, and I quickly shrink back into hesitation and doubt. Small steps.

I’m leaving for the Sunday social at Dance United shortly. Need to dance off all those extra calories! I hope to see you there!

And don’t forget, another “Ask the Girl” episode is coming up on Tuesday!  Anyone have questions or topics for me?  Comment below!

 

 

Ask the Girl Episode 2 – When is Enough, Enough?

5 Comments

Welcome to the second episode of Ask the Girl!

If you have a question or topic that you would like me to address, leave it in the comments or contact me directly. I’m excited to hear from you!

When is Enough, Enough

Today’s question comes from Kelly, founder of Lady Boss Lifestyle:

When do you know that enough is enough?  Is it totally ok to simply dance without a longterm goal of competing? Or do these types of dancers typically just need a great coach to build up their belief that they can trust their passion and set competition goals?

Continue reading →

Dance Like No One is Watching

1 Comment

dance like no one is watching

Such a simple statement but SO hard for me to act on! I’m constantly fighting fears of embarrassment and rejection when I dance, especially when I’m trying to express emotion through my dance.

I try to hold onto those moments when I did manage to break through, live in the moment, and feel free to “just dance,” no matter who was watching.

It can be incredibly frustrating to have memories of those moments but not be able to break free of the fear in the present moment.

But I keep pushing and surround myself with positive, supportive people. And one day, I’ll break free for good.

The Growing Pains of Learning Something New

2 Comments

A friend of mine just started taking a martial arts class, and it’s incredible how many challenges she’s experiencing that mirror my own in learning ballroom. Learning a new activity as an adult, especially a physical one, is SO much fun, but can also be really hard. You’ve gone through school, gotten a job and worked your butt off to get where you are today.  You have a pretty good handle on living your life, and when new challenges come, you can rely on your life experience to get you through them. But then you start something completely new and find yourself back in kindergarten learning your A,B,C’s. And you thought you were done with growing pains!

I thought I would put some encouragement out there to anyone just starting a new activity, whether it’s ballroom, martial arts or something else. Don’t worry if you feel like a dunce now, it will get easier!

Continue reading →

Ask the Girl Episode 1 – Choosing a Tattoo

3 Comments

Welcome to the first episode of my new Ask the Girl series! I created this series to answer questions and cover topics that you, my readers, choose! If there is something that’s been on your mind, whether it’s about ballroom or writing or dealing with your demons, leave a comment or contact me directly.

For now, the series will post once a week on Tuesdays. I may post episodes more often than that if I get a lot of responses. I don’t want anyone to wait too long to see their topic addressed!

Today’s question comes from Simon, the author of https://sfarnell.wordpress.com/:

You got a tree tattoo, but how did you come to the conclusion you wanted a tree? I want a tattoo but i dont know what to have, it needs to be tasteful obviously as ill be wearing it a while, but how does one decide how to decorate their body?

Continue reading →