It’s officially been two years since my last ballroom competition, the 2020 California Open. To be honest, it was not the performance I wanted to go out on. But how was I to know that a global pandemic was about to turn Life as we know it upside down?
Continue readingTag: california open
A Review of CalOpen 2020: Leave Your Stress at the Door
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 readingCountdown 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 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 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 readingA Review of CalOpen – Pre-Comp Prep
Just one more article about CalOpen and then I promise I’ll move on! Per a reader’s request, I’m bringing you back to the days leading up to the competition and revealing some of the things I do as last minute preparations. Ready to hit 88 miles per hour?
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A Review of CalOpen – Realigning with “Reality”
It’s been six days since I danced at the California Open. The days following a competition can be challenging. What goes up must come down, as they say! The big emotions of an event like a ballroom competition (excitement, anxiety, joy, etc.) take a lot of energy, so I can feel drained and even depressed after the external stimuli are gone and the big emotions fade. I call it post-comp blues. I’ve dealt with this emotional rollercoaster after every competition, as well as some lesser events. Sometimes the ride is full of insane ups and downs; other times it is just a little bumpy.
So what about this time? I’ll call it a bumpy road.
Countdown to CalOpen Complete!
Today’s the day! First chance to try out my silver skills!
I’m actually feeling pretty good, no major butterflies (yet).
Go to my Facebook page for live updates throughout the day!
Let’s dance!
Countdown to CalOpen – 2 Days: Article Repost – Overcoming Dance Fears
How appropriate that I should come across this article just before my “comeback” competition!
Check it out:
Quotes To Help You Overcome Your Dance Fears And Live A Creative Life
Countdown to CalOpen – 6 Days: Up and Out!
Less than a week to go!
I’m happy to report that I have not had to run to the bathroom to hyperventilate again since last week. Although yesterday I came close.
The Girl with the Tree Tattoo 