Please welcome to the blog, Rachel James! She is a fellow blogger out of the UK who kindly put together a few important reminders for all of us dance enthusiasts. The topic of this article may seem obvious to us, but obvious benefits can be easily taken for granted. Also, what is obvious to us is not obvious to all. So help spread the word! Let everyone know about the wonderful and amazing mental health benefits of dance.
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Countdown to Embassy Ball 2019: 10 Days – Solo Practice and Stress
I’ll just tell you upfront that this isn’t one of those “do this because it works” posts. This is one of those “I’m freaking out and writing about it helps me process” posts.
I’m officially in the high anxiety part of my pre-competition journey. Less than two weeks to go!
The Power of Stress
Stress management has become a hot topic in our modern society. Despite all of our technological advances and instant gratification conveniences, our overall stress level seems to have only increased. We can’t ignore this trend because stress can have powerful, negative effects over our minds and bodies. My last two lessons are a prime example of how stress can turn a competent dancer into a dope in heels.
Countdown to Desert Classic: Less Than 36 Hours – Wait, What!?
Just a quick update from me, as I need to get to bed. I compete at Desert Classic on Thursday, but I have to work tomorrow and that means a 5am wake-up call! I still wanted to drop in and say hello.
The big question I assume you have is “am I ready?”
Report from the Land of Cardboard Boxes
Hello from my new apartment! There are still a few things left at the old place, but I’ve been officially living in my new home since Sunday. What a week so far! My body hurts everywhere and I keep finding new bruises. I must have taken 1,000 trips between my car and the new or old apartment by now. Thank goodness the new place has an elevator (I’m on the third floor)! I slept surprisingly well my first night here. Guess I knew I was home. Or I was so physically and mentally exhausted from moving for two days in 90-degree weather that it didn’t matter where I laid down to sleep!
Writing Without Words
I’m fighting that feeling I get when I think I haven’t done enough to feed my passions. It’s a mix of antsy and adrift topped off with a dollop of blues. I can feel there are thoughts and feelings inside me that want out. They want to be expressed and are making it difficult to focus. But when I opened up a new blog post, the words were MIA.
So basically, this is me trying to drag myself out of the muck. This is one of those crappy days I need to show up for. If I can waltz without a partner, I can figure out how to write without having the words first. Be warned, this will probably be akin to jumping in the car and starting to drive without any destination in mind. Scenic route to nowhere, here we come!
Countdown to Beach Bash: 4 Days – Eeeek, 4 Days!
It’s the final countdown! My day at Beach Bash is this Thursday, only 4 days away!
I am excited! Mostly…
Ask the Girl Episode 5 – Why Do I Do This to Myself?
Today’s Ask the Girl episode was inspired by a conversation I had with the creator of freeballroomlessons.com. He specializes in teaching social-level ballroom dancing, but used to dance competitively. We were talking about how expensive ballroom competitions are, especially for a pro-am student like myself, and about the emotional rollercoasters that competing in ballroom puts me on.
He wondered, with all of the financial and emotional stress involved in competition, why do I do it?
Try Again Tomorrow (Write31Days Day 13)
Today’s post isn’t specifically about ballroom dancing. I’ll be honest; I had a cold/stress-induced mental block. Didn’t I just write about self care and not letting the stress get to me as much on Day 10? I have a list of ideas to write about for the entire month, but I just couldn’t get moving on any of them.
But then the thought that I needed to go back and reread Day 10’s post led me to a topic for today.
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The Girl with the Tree Tattoo 