I’ll confess, I always feel a small palpitation in my chest when I see heat lists have been posted. It’s like a sign that this is really happening! It’s the anticipation of entering the ballroom in all its splendor and walking out on the floor covered in rhinestones and hair spray, waiting to hear “And music, please.”
Tag: standard
Countdown to Millennium: 11 Days – What is “Ready”?
How do you know if you’re “ready”? It’s less than two weeks until I’m on a plane to New Orleans, and this question has been dancing around my brain. Sounds strange, right? Millennium will be my fourth competition of the year, and I’m wondering how you know if you’re ready.
A Review of Ballroom Beach Bash – a Smooth Redemption and a Standard Debut
I had a lot of reasons to feel stressed leading up to Ballroom Beach Bash. We had worked on our Standard routines for only a couple weeks at most. Tango was basically self-taught because we got the choreography the week before the comp, and then I was at a conference for 5 days. Because of that, my last lesson with Teacher was an entire week before the competition. When I went to the studio after returning from my conference for one last solo practice, I could barely remember any of the Standard choreography I had worked on so hard every evening after my meetings were over. And Smooth? We hadn’t touched that style since we competed at The Royal Ball. I felt unprepared and I felt disconnected from Teacher after being away.
It turned out that the fears causing my stress were unfounded, mainly because I acted on them.
Countdown to The Royal Ball: 2 Weeks – Dressing for the Occasion
Does anyone know where February went? I saw it coming, but then it seems to have come and gone while I was in the other room or something. Or more likely while I was busy learning a new style of dance, and writing and managing my beta release of the Solo Practice Guide. It seems a little rude to not say hi to me, but whatever, hello to March!
Admitting I Don’t Suck – A Dancer’s Quandary
It’s not easy to admit when you’re wrong, and even harder to admit when you were wrong about completely sucking as a dancer. It’s weird because it’s like you’re humbling and boosting yourself at the same time. “Ok ok, I was wrong. I am a good dancer.”
Foxtrot is Not the Same as Foxtrot
You know when you’re talking to someone on the phone with a bad connection and they keep cutting in and out, or you’re trying to listen to the radio but you’re a bit out of range so there’s a lot of static? You have to strain to catch what the other person is saying or what song is playing. It gets so frustrating because no matter how hard you listen, the message still doesn’t come through clearly.
That’s how I felt during my last lesson.
If I stare at the screen long enough, the words will come.
And those were the words that came. I think I was only staring for about 15 minutes.
My creative juices are running dry a bit this weekend, but I still wanted to check in with you. We’re coming up on the end of January, and it’s hard to believe how much has been put into motion in just four weeks.
What is Pro-Am?
It took me months to get a grasp on how competitions were organized, so I’m going to try to break it down here for anyone that feels like their head is spinning from trying to keep it all straight. I’m still figuring some things out, but I can give you the jist.
The Girl with the Tree Tattoo 