Learning to Bend the Rules of Ballroom

December 2, 2018May 20, 20212 Comments

When you learn ballroom, you learn that there are rules. There are specific guidelines on how to execute a crossover break or a twinkle step. There are a million little details to remember to ensure your dancing is “right.” Different styles have different rules. You have to remain in closed frame when dancing Standard. You’re supposed to arrive on a straight leg in Latin. The follower’s left hand hooks under the lead’s arm in Tango and rests on top in Waltz.

So many rules to learn and abide by. I don’t mind actually. For the most part, I am a rule follower. I like the structure that the rules of ballroom dancing provide because I like to have a way to know if I’m “right” or “wrong.” Call it a leftover impulse from being a good student in school or a symptom of my need for external validation.

Continue reading →

5 Reasons You Should Attend Dance Camps

November 14, 2018May 20, 20213 Comments

This past Saturday, I spent pretty much my entire day at the studio to attend an American Smooth dance camp. My studio holds these all-day camps at least once a quarter, and usually two in a row – one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Both amateur and professional ballroom dancers attend the classes, sometimes sharing classes and sometimes splitting into separate groups. All have their heads filled with dance knowledge from top-level coaches.

Have you had the opportunity to attend workshops like these but wondered if it would be too much for you or you weren’t “good enough” yet?

Even at the risk of being overwhelmed, you should definitely include these kind of workshops or dance camps in your dance training, in my humble opinion. Here’s why:

Continue reading →

Dancing Through Disappointment on The Whole Dancer

October 25, 2018May 20, 20212 Comments

Whether you started your dance training at 3, 30 or 70, one trait I’m sure we share as dancers is we are some of the most self-critical creatures on the planet. That means small disappointments can have big impacts on our psyches.

Check out my guest post on The Whole Dancer about how I’ve learned to dance through disappointment.

Journey to the Center

October 15, 2018May 20, 2021Leave a comment

So ironically, after writing my last blog post about recovering from a bad day, this weekend, I find myself having a tough time. If you caught my social media on Friday evening, then you know we experienced the very-rare-for-Orange-County thunderstorm! I love a good summer thunderstorm (we’ll ignore the fact that it’s October because it’s still in the 70s/80s here). But unfortunately, I also live with seasonal affective disorder, so gloomy weather makes me gloomy. It was gray and rainy all day on Saturday, and by Sunday morning, even though the sun started to come out, I was also feeling quite gray.

Continue reading →

Recovering from a Bad Day

October 7, 2018May 20, 20213 Comments

We all have bad days. Sometimes it feels like one thing after another goes wrong. Or we just wake up on the wrong side of the bed and can’t seem to ever get going.

It’s kind of like lemon juice on a paper cut when that bad day affects our dance lesson or practice. For whatever reason, we keep dancing left when our teacher wants us to dance right. Everything we thought we had in our muscle memory is coming up “file not found.”

It sucks, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.

Continue reading →

Staying Present

October 1, 2018May 20, 20219 Comments

Dance has this wonderful power to make everything else disappear. There’s just you, the music, and if it’s a partner dance, the person you’re dancing with. Whatever was bothering you earlier in the day is gone. Unpaid bills, stress at work, unfinished tasks – it all just fades away when you move your body to music.

Continue reading →

Patience and Persistence

September 23, 2018May 20, 20212 Comments

I don’t know what to write this week, so we’re just going to start writing and see what comes out. Usually I have an idea by midweek, but this week – nada. My brain’s been a bit scattered and preoccupied, and with three months left in the year, I have this weird sense of “I’ve still got plenty of time” and “I’m running out of time.”

How about some dance-related stuff?

Continue reading →

Guest Post: Non-Dancing Dance Lessons – Melissa Cyr | DanceSport Place

September 13, 2018May 20, 2021Leave a comment

I’m pleased to welcome Melissa Cyr of DanceSport Place for a mid-week guest post! Pay attention because this article is packed full of value and answers a few questions I know you’ve been wondering about. Meanwhile, I’ll be practicing my drills.

You’ve had a long day. It’s finally time for your dance lesson and you quickstep it to the car and head to the studio. You can’t wait to lace up your practice shoes and be transported from paperwork and drudgery to footwork and self-discovery.

Your coach starts the lesson but to your dismay, halfway through you’re still working on solo rumba walks across the floor. By the end of the lesson, you’ve hardly been in dance position at all, and haven’t danced together once to music.

The lesson ends and although you learned something (like how can rumba walks be so complicated?!) and your legs will be sore tomorrow, you feel unsatisfied.

“What happened to the dreamy laps around the floor, communing with my partner and the music? What about reviewing the new choreography we were working on for the showcase? It feels like I didn’t dance at all today. It felt more like a mind numbing session on the rumbawalk stair master.”

Continue reading →

When All You Have is Solo Practice

September 8, 2018May 20, 20211 Comment

More than a week has gone by since I won my World Champion title. I’m still smiling about it, but I have come back down to Earth from Cloud Nine. The grass looks greener on this side. As eager as I am to get going on the next chapter of my dance journey, I’m forced to wait. Teacher had to cancel my lesson this past week and then he left for Nationals. Hopefully, nothing will get in the way of my lesson this coming week, especially since I only have one per week now.

Continue reading →

Countdown to Embassy Ball 2018: 19 Days – Steady as She Goes

August 11, 2018May 20, 2021Leave a comment

The countdown has begun! Less than 3 weeks until my return to Embassy Ball and my chance to see how far I’ve come after last year’s disappointment. I waited until the day before the deadline to submit my entries. There was a struggle going on between most of me who wanted a second chance at that world championship title and a small but loud part of me who didn’t want to face a second disappointment.

I won out, and entries are in.

Continue reading →