Tag: anxiety

Inspiration -> Fear -> Why Not

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I’ve been reading Patrice Tanaka’s Becoming Ginger Rogers. It’s a memoir and in it, Patrice shares her journey into ballroom dancing and how it changed her life. Sound familiar?

I never get tired of “life changed by ballroom” stories. Her story has so many familiar elements; it’s like reading a letter from a friend. While I was sitting in the shade by my apartment complex’s pool on Monday, she related the story of her first ballroom competition. I was, of course, instantly transported back to my own competition experiences and was struck very hard by a strong desire to be in that world again. Like right now.

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Cha Cha – The Foxtrot of Rhythm

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If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know I have a love/hate relationship with foxtrot. I’m always just a little off in understanding that dance. Things never go quite right. Steps constantly elude me. It’s maddening.

At the same time, foxtrot seems so fun! The music, the slick moves, it reminds me of old Hollywood and great dancers like Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. But for whatever reason, this cat isn’t so cool when she tries to foxtrot. Foxtrot is my ballroom nemesis.

Now it seems a new villain has come to town: cha cha.

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Countdown to CalOpen – 12 Days: Anxious Beast Mode

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Before group class yesterday, I was formulating a post idea in my head about entering “beast mode.” You’ve probably heard the term. It’s used to describe someone in a state of extreme determination and action, like an incredible hulk of productivity. No more excuses, no slacking off.  In beast mode, you get things DONE.

I was feeling a bit like I was in beast mode. After a good lesson on Wednesday, which ended with a practice round (meaning we danced all four dances in a row, just like we will at the competition), I identified mistakes I made and things I needed to work on. And I was ready to WORK. “Let’s dance that again, and then dance it 10 more times!” I arrived at the studio early yesterday so I could practice before Teacher’s waltz group class.

It didn’t go so well.

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Ask the Girl Episode 5 – Why Do I Do This to Myself?

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Today’s Ask the Girl episode was inspired by a conversation I had with the creator of freeballroomlessons.com.  He specializes in teaching social-level ballroom dancing, but used to dance competitively. We were talking about how expensive ballroom competitions are, especially for a pro-am student like myself, and about the emotional rollercoasters that competing in ballroom puts me on.

He wondered, with all of the financial and emotional stress involved in competition, why do I do it?

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I Perform Better in the Dark

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Before I get started, I just want to share that I’m on vacation for an entire week! Obviously, I really needed it because my mood improved more and more on Friday as it got closer to quitting time. I’m looking forward to this week of sleeping in, spending time with my puppies, writing, and dancing!

Which brings me to today’s topic:

For the last few weeks, I’ve been going to these Sunday social dances. They are hosted by a friend of Teacher’s, owner/creator of freeballroomlessons.com.

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