Injuries, Smingeries

So here is something that I have noticed in the past year. Injuries are common and most dedicated dancers will have some nagging injury or another. In the latin world its pretty common to come home with bumps, bruises and broken toenails. Ballet dancers are known for messed up feet, knees, hips, and ankles.

I myself have a nagging knee injury. But does it stop me? No. A good friend of mine dances in a cast on her arm. Another has a broken finger, thanks to a collision with my elbow. How come dancers are some of the stubborn patients and refuse to stop dancing even when the dancing is the reason for the injury? Is our passion for the music and escape that the dance provides so strong that not even pain will stop us?

Is there a cure for that kind of addiction? I had an MRI taken and am awaiting the results and trying to take it easy is torture. Dancing itself is torture, yet I can't sit it out and watch others in my place.

What is a girl to do? Right now I am trying to push through it and ignore the signs that I will have to take some extended time off. I spend money on heating pads, ibuprofen, and Icy Hot to ease the stiffness and pain.

Hopefully my prognosis will be good, because they will have to drag me, or cut off a limb to keep me off the floor for long.

Here's to getting started

So I should have started this when I started getting serious about dancing. That would have been about a year ago. But back then I didn't realize where I would be end up. Dancing was a fun social thing I did to meet people, not a passion yet.

I started dancing in January 2009 at Salsa Heat Maitland here in Orlando. I went to their classes alone to make new friends and get out and start a hobby. I caught on quickly and was told that I would be a "rock star" on my first night. I haven't looked back since. That first class led to two classes a week, then Friday nights at Samba room. Then Saturday nights at Cuba Libre, socials and workshops.

In May of 2009 I started taking regular Bachata classes with Christian Sola and Tate Blomquist at Avalon Dance. I started devouring every class I could get my hands on. So two salsa classes a week and one bachata class, plus dancing on the weekends.

Orlando Salsa Congress was when I knew that this is what I really wanted to do. Since then I have joined a few teams, performed in Reno, LA, Miami and Atlanta (besides local performances)

My daily life now revolves around dance, from health and beauty secrets, clothing, nutrition, exercise etc. I hope to share my daily life in the hopes of helping or entertaining others.

All opinions are my own, and advice as well. I do not claim to be a professional yet, but I have been in the scene for a while and getting the hang of this! Please feel free to contact me regarding anything on this blog or anything else for that matter.

Here's to the future!

M