Hi dancers!
I couldn’t decide on a particular topic, so I thought I’d just give you an update on my week. It was a busy week between my Burn classes, dance lessons including a coaching, and an all-day dance workshop.
Category: The Student Perspective
Lingering Doubts
I was at a dance lesson a little over a week ago, and Teacher was talking about some of the more intricate details of our open Waltz routine. These were the details that add another layer of quality and performance to the dance.
It had nothing to do with making steps fancier or more complicated. It was about activating the body in the right way at the right time to demonstrate control and awareness. Adding an extra little tick here or extending a stretch a second longer there would also demonstrate musicality and my ability to “play” within the confines of the choreography.
As he talked about one section, I thought of other sections where I knew I could go further, push deeper, or do more to create something that would make the audience go “wow.” This kind of talk excites me. It’s a deep dive into the art of the dance and gives me more opportunity to work my creative muscles.
At the same time though, as I pictured myself adding those intricate layers to my dancing, I felt a twang, like anxiety plucked one of my heartstrings.
Feeling the Burn! Unexpected Benefits of Joining a Fitness Program
As the clock tick-tocked its way to midnight on December 31, 2018, were you one of the millions who thought, “2019 is the year I will [get in shape/get healthy/eat better/exercise more/insert your own version here].” I was! Well, in a way.
I allowed myself to indulge in any and all treats put in front of me during the holidays, and the scale showed it. Not that I care that much about what the scale says. It’s a number that is only one variable in determining a person’s health, and is affected by so many things, you can’t put that much stock in it. That being said, the number on the scale kept creeping up. By the end of the year, I was up about 5 or 6 pounds. The thing that really pushed me to make a cliche health-related resolution though was the fact that I could feel the difference in my body. I didn’t like it.
Happy Anniversary!
On January 22, 2018, I emailed the 108 people on the Solo Practice Guide mailing list about a special offer. I was ready to complete the Solo Practice Guide for Ballroom Dancing, but before I released it to the world, I wanted to test it. So I created a beta group and opened it to 10 people to help me review the Guide chapter by chapter. The result was awesomeness, and I’m so grateful to those 10 people for helping me make this dream a reality. Now that we’re reaching the one-year anniversary of that fateful day, I want to celebrate!
Do You Need More Lessons Or More Practice?
I was talking to another student at my book signing at SM Dance Fashion yesterday. In about a year, she’s taken on learning three different styles of ballroom and has competed in two of them. She’s been able to do so much in so little time because she takes about eight lessons a day, five days a week! The one thing she hasn’t really done is practice on her own.
Then there’s me. Over my six-plus years of dancing ballroom, I’ve also learned three different styles and competed in two. I usually take two lessons a week, and I practice at least once a week for at least one hour.
The extreme differences in our dance training journeys got me thinking. I’ve said before that lessons with your teacher and your solo practice are like two sides of the same coin. But is one side more important than the other? If you’re struggling in your dancing, do you need more lessons or more practice on your own?
Staying Committed To My Goals, Not Attached To How I Get There
I saw this graphic on Instagram this weekend. Aside from the small grammatical errors (I can’t help myself), it’s quite hilarious. New Year’s Resolutions, especially those related to physical fitness, have become a cliche because of how easily they’re made and then forgotten.
2018 Reflections
Another year coming to a close. It’s cliche to say, but each one really seems to fly by quicker than the one before. Maybe I’m just getting old.
2018 was witness to some incredible accomplishments in my life:
Dancing Without Music
Dancing is literally defined as moving rhythmically to music. Many of our lessons and practice time in ballroom, however, happen without music. Even when we do get to dance to music in our training, it’s not going to be the same music that we’ll dance to at competition. It seems to be a challenge unique to ballroom. I remember explaining this to people who had experience with the more mainstream dance competitions, where dancers compete with routines choreographed to specific songs, and being looked at like I was crazy.
You don’t know what music you’ll be dancing to??
Nope. And if you enter a Jack and Jill event, you won’t even know who your partner is going to be!
How do you prepare for that??
You’re Making More Progress Than You Think
Do you ever feel like you’re going nowhere fast? Like you’re stuck in a hamster wheel or walking the wrong way on one of those moving walkways in the airport?
That’s how I feel on the tougher days. Those days when I feel like it doesn’t matter how hard I work, I just can’t seem to make any progress. My to-do pile at the day job is growing faster than my done pile. I practiced over and over, but I still can’t seem to get that move right in my dance lesson. I’m doing “all the things” to grow my business, but the return still feels small.
More Than a Guide to Practicing Ballroom
If you follow me on social media, then you probably noticed I was on a lot more than usual this past week. I went live on Facebook almost every day to tell the story behind the Solo Practice Guide. The funny thing was, as I was sharing the story so others could learn more about the Guide, I was realizing that my solo practice strategies have had a much greater impact than just improving how I practiced.
The Girl with the Tree Tattoo 