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.
I spent a lot of time waiting while working as a runner at the Hollywood Dancesport Championships. It gave me a chance to watch people dance, including Teacher with two of his students. I already wrote about the challenges that can come with being a spectator, when I attended the studio’s Halloween team match. Spectating at this comp was the next level up.
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After getting a bit of a mental smackdown courtesy of my demons last night, I considered letting them write today’s post. But I’m going to pull myself together and focus on the productive and the positive.
Another lesson and another repeated mantra from Teacher yesterday led to this extension of yesterday’s post on Trust and Ballroom.
You have to trust your partner in order to dance ballroom. But you also have to trust yourself.
A dear friend who I hadn’t seen in a long time came to the studio tonight to watch me during my lesson. I met her through ballroom and for awhile, our ballroom journeys paralleled. We danced with the same teacher and even went to our first two competitions together. But things change and paths diverge, so I don’t see her as often anymore.
It’s funny, I made a list of topics for this 31-day challenge, but have yet to actually follow that list. One post just leads me to another post. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that things aren’t going as planned. When do they ever?
Last year, I started a series on my first blog, The Uphill Factor, titled “Express Yourself!” Teacher was starting to bring up the need for more emotional expression from me while I was dancing, and naturally, I wrote about my struggles:
Express Yourself!
Express Yourself! Part 2 – Tango Curses
Express Yourself! Part 3 – Butt and Boobs
Express Yourself! Part 4: No, Really, Express Yourself!
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!
You may or may not have noticed, but the services page has been removed from thegirlwiththetreetattoo.com. I’ve stopped accepting contributions through my Patreon page as well. But it’s all to make way for new and exciting changes!
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Less than a month until I get all dolled up and walk out on the floor at the United States Dance Championships. Less than a month! I’m currently on this rollercoaster cruising over hills of excitement and plummeting to valleys of terror and anxiety. In other words, everything is normal.
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Stefanie was my first connection in the Ballroom Village. Her stories on her blog inspire and encourage me to keep going! You can check them out at http://dancingwithstefanie.com/. I asked her to write a guest post and I think it ended up being a great response to my last post: At What Point Can You Call Yourself a “Dancer”. Without further ado… Continue reading
Everyone learns in their own way. Some learn by doing, others by taking notes. Some are visual learners and others are auditory. I think I’m a combination of methods. But as I learn more about the silver level of ballroom and more advanced ballroom technique, I’m noticing my internal learning process is a little more complicated than when I was just learning bronze and the basics.
Warning, I drop a few F bombs in this post.
The Girl with the Tree Tattoo 