Tag: competition

Dancing Through Monday (Write31Days Day 5)

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I feel like I should lighten the mood a bit for Monday.  It’s easy to get wrapped up in everything I struggle with on my ballroom journey and forget my accomplishments!

So I went through some videos and forced myself to find things I liked about my dancing!

Studio Team Match, August 2015:

Here is my bronze waltz routine. I like the smoothness of my dancing here and the extension of my arms in the beginning and in the open sections of the routine.

I also debuted my silver routines at the team match!  Here is my foxtrot; I’m proud of myself for making it through the routine and looking like I knew what I was doing, even though I was having the worst time remembering the steps!

Emerald Ball, April 2015:

This video is of my bronze tango routine, and is also on my Videos page.  It’s one of my favorites because you can see the judges in the foreground debating about my tattoo.  They didn’t agree about whether the silhouette on the tree was of Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire!  I think I did a decent job at conveying the intense tango character too.

And just to round out the set, here is my Viennese waltz from Emerald.  Despite a split second misread on Teacher’s lead at one point, I feel like my dancing was very solid and I love how our arm styling matches almost perfectly.  I even smiled!

Happy Monday!

Don’t forget to check out other posts from the 31 Day Writing Challenge!

Dear DWTS Contestants: Welcome to Ballroom! (Write31Days Day 2)

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After some exciting progress with my writing, from publishing my first eBook to getting another article published on Dance Advantage, I took a break on Monday night to watch Week 3 of Dancing with the Stars.  It seemed like it was a challenging week for the various celebrities as they started to realize that the show was actually a competition and they actually needed to learn and dance ballroom if they were going to stay.  And ballroom dancing is hard!

All of the demons started coming out, and I heard so many things that sounded so familiar!  “I’ve been abandoned before, I’m scared, I’m not sexy, I can’t do this, why can’t I get this right?!”  People were having trouble connecting with their pro partners and feeling uncomfortable with the close physical contact. Someone even brought up the blurry line that is the pro-am relationship (teacher or friend?).  I couldn’t help myself; I had to write about it.

First, to all of the remaining Dancing with the Stars contestants, I would like to say welcome!

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Life Isn’t Fair – Based on a True Story

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I was prepared when the phone rang this time. Teacher asked how I was and I said “I’m not sure…because you’re calling…”

Teacher was calling to inform me of the surgery necessary to repair the fractures in his wrist. So much for a clean break.

Surgery meant a longer recovery time. So for the second time, a goal has been crossed out and the future shifted back into obscurity.

There will be no Best of the Best at Ohio Star Ball for this dancer.

I initially wrote this post right after Teacher called me that second time. But I wanted to hold off on sharing it until after my first post-surgery lesson with him. Because the title is 100% true – life isn’t fair. But it is still worth pursuing.

In the middle of processing the second dream lost, I couldn’t articulate why anyone should bother if it all could be taken away without cause. So I waited until I had some time to process and then reconnected with Teacher and started working toward new plans for my ballroom future. I thought getting back into the swing of things would help inspire the words I would need to encourage and motivate you despite the random smackdowns life would give you.

It didn’t.

I still feel like life is just totally unfair and I’m still struggling to keep myself motivated.

But screw it, here is what I wrote anyway.

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How to Cope with Loss – Part 4: Dare to Dream?

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Read the whole How to Cope with Loss series here.

Just a quick note before I hit the sack.

I had another lesson with Teacher today, my second standing of the week. We worked more on silver waltz and went back into silver Viennese. Afterwards, we talked a little about Ohio Star Ball and what kind of events I should enter. I’m still hesitant to let myself say yes, we’re going! But nonetheless, I found myself happy to talk about what levels we would do in the single dance events and what level to enter in the scholarships/multi-dance events and what my goals were as far as placements and performance. It was easy for my mind to run down that path and start imagining how fun and exciting (and nerve-wracking) it will be!

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How to Cope with Loss – Part 3: Steps Back Toward Normal

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I’m working through this ordeal a little faster than anticipated. I think I have my personal growth on my ballroom journey thus far to thank. And the fact that I am not going through it alone. Teacher is proving himself to be a true partner. Not that I had doubts, but I’m not comfortable depending on others. I am currently in a state of fluctuation, fine one hour, depressed the next. Hopefully, my see-sawing moods didn’t affect the readability of this post too much.

Read the whole How to Cope with Loss series here.
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Book Review – Waltz on the Wild Side

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Months and months ago, I was contacted by “recovering” professional ballroom dancer Alana Albertson about two books she had written, set in the ballroom world. She graciously offered me the opportunity to read and review her books. I accepted, but I have been terrible in allowing other things to get in the way of me completing the reviews I promised her! No more delays! Here is my review of the first one I read (even though it is Book 2 of Ms. Albertson’s Dancing Under the Stars series).

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How to Cope with Loss – Part 2: “Supposed to” Days

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In Part 2, I find myself starting to adjust to the idea I won’t be going to USDC, although it is still surreal. But the event hasn’t even started yet. This coming week is full of to-do’s and supposed-to’s that are no longer part of my story. But they remain, like cruel calendar reminders that pop up when my mind starts to relax and forget that plans have changed.

Read the whole How to Cope with Loss series here.

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How to Cope with Loss – Part 1: Mourning the Untimely Death of My Future Self

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We’ve all experienced great loss in one form or another. The cancellation of my trip to USDC is a great loss for me. As a way to cope and heal and, as always, to expose my darkness to the light in the hope of someone relating, I’ve decided to document the aftermath in a blog series. This is Part 1. I have no idea how many parts there will be ultimately. As many as are needed, I suppose.
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