My second competition of 2020 is complete! We danced into the wee hours of the night at California Open (at least to me it was the wee hours). I left feeling tired and proud of my performance.
Continue readingTag: ballroom competition
Countdown to CalOpen 2020: 3 Days – Cram Time
It’s hard to believe I competed only three weeks ago, and I’m about to do it again. I’m used to having months between competitions, so jumping from one competition to another in just a few weeks has felt hectic and a little crazy!
Continue readingIs it worth competing if the game is rigged?
As a rule, I avoid dance politics, gossip and the like. Things like these do nothing to improve my dancing or my life in general; they only distract and upset me. Sometimes though, they can be hard to avoid. When I hear more than one of my fellow dancers questioning whether it’s worth competing at all because of the politics, I feel compelled to say something.
Continue readingCountdown to CalOpen 2020: 2.5 Weeks – The limit does not exist.
It’s only been a week since I competed at the Fred Astaire West Coast Dance Championships and I’m already counting down the final weeks until I do it again! I haven’t even put everything away from the last comp (I’m terrible about unpacking). Is this really happening?
Continue readingA Review of WCDC 2020: All’s Well That Ends Well
My first competition of 2020 is officially complete! The Fred Astaire West Coast Dance Championships turned out to be a great way to start the season, though the final steps of the journey to this point were rough.
Continue readingCountdown to the First Competition of 2020: 6 Days – What?!
I know what you’re thinking. I said California Open was going to be my first competition this year, and that’s still a month away. So what the heck is in 6 days??
Surprise! I’ve entered another competition!
It was only about a week ago that I decided to enter, which is very unlike me. It is however very like me to act quickly when a clear opportunity presents itself that aligns with my goals.
So what is this opportunity? For a moment, I thought about not telling you until the very end of the blog post, but decided that would be silly and mean, so let’s cut to the chase.
Continue readingAll Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Dancer
Happy holidays, dancers! I was gifted a poinsettia today, so that means I have officially started decorating the apartment for Christmas. Between getting sick immediately after Thanksgiving and a packed schedule, I just haven’t had much time to clean and break out the holiday decor. I’m sure Santa will understand if the poinsettia is as far as I get.
I know some of you have been busy too with end-of-the-year competitions including Ohio Star Ball, South Open Dancesport and Holiday Dance Classic. It dawned on me after my last lesson that it’s only two months until my first competition goal of 2020 (California Open). I had a brief “oh shit” moment as the doubts all popped up like prairie dogs in my brain. It still feels like I have so much work to do!
That work isn’t what I wanted to write about today though. Recent experiences have reminded me how important it is to just tap into your creativity and play.
Continue readingUsing Floor Craft in Real Life
Quick reminder! The Solo Practice Guide giveaway on Twitter ends December 10! Get your entries in by then! See my pinned tweet on how to enter.
Some weeks, I log onto WordPress and I know exactly what I want to share with you. Other weeks, I stare at a blank blog post begging me to “start writing” and I got nothing.
This week is somewhere in between. Ideas are swirling without settling long enough for me to see them clearly, so I’m just going to trust the flow of my creative process and see where we end up! Care to wander with me?
Continue readingWhat if you never “make it”?
I have a bad habit of getting too far ahead of myself and then when I look back to where I am now, the gap appears so huge that I start to lose hope that I’ll ever close it. Ever happen to you? Maybe you see someone else more advanced in the dance studio and think you’ll never be able to reach that level. If you’re like me, you might even wonder if you should just give up now.
Continue readingRemember Why You Dance
Haters gonna hate, but I’m too busy dancing to notice.
The Girl with the Tree Tattoo
I met up with a dance friend last week and our conversation inspired me to share an important message on social media and now with you here on this blog.
The ballroom world, like any other sport, has its dark side. There are the stories of studios or teachers pressuring or manipulating students into buying more lessons than they need or signing up for events they’re not ready for. You don’t need to spend much time in the competitive world before you start hearing stories of certain dancers being favored over others because of who they dance with, who their coaches are, or how much money they spend at competitions.
Then there is the gossip, petty remarks and judge-y comments about people’s partnerships, costumes, dancing abilities, whether or not they’re getting special treatment from whomever and why, etc., etc.
It’s so easy to get sucked into the dark side of ballroom and get caught up in the gossip and pettiness. But to be frank, I ain’t got the time or the energy for that nonsense, and I don’t want you to waste your time or energy either.
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