Hola a Todos!
Things have been going well, and I'm dancing more and more, with less pain. Hooray! Jorge is stoked. We just got back from the Elegant Rumba Masquerade Ball in Ft. Myers, FL. If you ever get the chance to go to an ER social - GO! The passion that these dancers have is inspiring! I will be making more trips soon.
Jorge and I are continuing to dance On2. We are loving it and it's becoming comfortable, and I prefer it over On1 at times. I still get confused a bit from time to time, but I danced with people I've never seen this weekend, On1 and On2 - the switching sometimes is difficult, I find myself counting. We moved up a level now, and I would say I am an intermediate On2 dancer. Advanced On1, but intermediate On2. I think its helping my follow being able to do both, but I don't want to become a "confused" dancer.
So I am keeping up with my goal of dancing with people that I don't know. This weekend was a good one, I racked up 4 new people in one night!
We are also working on routines, and practiced lifts in the pool this weekend for fun. I put up a video on youtube of us playing around. I also learned that dancing in a masquerade mask is extremely difficult...your field of vision is limited and your breath gets caught in the mask and your face sweats.....so it only lasted one cha cha.
We are planning our road trip to Atlanta for the Bachata festival next month. Will you be there? If so look us up!
Ciao for now
White A Rican
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Ut Oh, He's asking ME??!!??
Something I have noticed recently personally as well as with others is this nervousness of dancing with an instructor or someone that is "really good". As soon as a "pro" that I've never danced with before asks me to dance socially, I start freaking out. I second guess myself, and become almost petrified. I know I am not alone in this, I overhear it at socials, I discuss it with other dancers as well.
Why do we do this to ourselves? Dancing is supposed to be fun, why are we putting pressure on ourselves? Is it the fear that we are going to be so bad, that they'll never asks us again? Are we afraid of looking bad in front of others?
I find that when I do this, I often fall off timing, miss easy cues and just all around stumble through the dance....if I just relax and breathe, I can do things Ive never imagined!!! Sometimes I discover that someone that I thought was an amazing dancer, has a really odd lead, or bad timing or is confusing and hard to read. There may be a reason why they have never asked me before, I'm a school trained dancer, and they may have never really taken a class. They may be just as nervous as I am!!
The best advice, is to dance your best and stay on your timing, they will adjust. Technically, the dance should start off easier and progress, they should be figuring your follow out as well as you figuring out their lead. Smile and enjoy it. I will say some of my best dances are also some of the funnest! If I can let go of being the "perfect dancer" and just have fun, I look and feel soo much better. Even the best dancer, or instructor started off just like you, it just was a longer time ago. they know what you are going through.
This will be something I will have to work on for a long time. I do find that I am most nervous the first time and it gradually wears off. I know a couple of amazing dancers that I am never nervous with, and it's their positive energy and enjoyment of the music and each dance that I feed off of. Two that come to mind instantly is Nery Garcia, and Sean Wilson.
I just need to work on my self confidence and realize how good I actually am, and that I am worthy of dancing with the best! Actually I feel everyone is - its a good exercise to actually dance with people of varying levels, to work on your follow or lead.
I'm starting this weekend! I'm going to try and see how many new people I can dance with this month....how many can you rack up?
Ciao for now,
White-A-Rican
Why do we do this to ourselves? Dancing is supposed to be fun, why are we putting pressure on ourselves? Is it the fear that we are going to be so bad, that they'll never asks us again? Are we afraid of looking bad in front of others?
I find that when I do this, I often fall off timing, miss easy cues and just all around stumble through the dance....if I just relax and breathe, I can do things Ive never imagined!!! Sometimes I discover that someone that I thought was an amazing dancer, has a really odd lead, or bad timing or is confusing and hard to read. There may be a reason why they have never asked me before, I'm a school trained dancer, and they may have never really taken a class. They may be just as nervous as I am!!
The best advice, is to dance your best and stay on your timing, they will adjust. Technically, the dance should start off easier and progress, they should be figuring your follow out as well as you figuring out their lead. Smile and enjoy it. I will say some of my best dances are also some of the funnest! If I can let go of being the "perfect dancer" and just have fun, I look and feel soo much better. Even the best dancer, or instructor started off just like you, it just was a longer time ago. they know what you are going through.
This will be something I will have to work on for a long time. I do find that I am most nervous the first time and it gradually wears off. I know a couple of amazing dancers that I am never nervous with, and it's their positive energy and enjoyment of the music and each dance that I feed off of. Two that come to mind instantly is Nery Garcia, and Sean Wilson.
I just need to work on my self confidence and realize how good I actually am, and that I am worthy of dancing with the best! Actually I feel everyone is - its a good exercise to actually dance with people of varying levels, to work on your follow or lead.
I'm starting this weekend! I'm going to try and see how many new people I can dance with this month....how many can you rack up?
Ciao for now,
White-A-Rican
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