Life of a Dancing Engineer

I wrote this letter to my dance instructor Erik, but after writing it, I realized I probably should have written it to myself, like a diary! So, here goes… My first dance diary post! (Changed ever so slightly, to protect the innocent! 😉 )

Dear Dance Diary,

Today my morning Ballet and Jazz classes were canceled due to the snowpocalypse, that never actually arrived. *frown*

In the evening, I went to Balera for Tango and V.Waltz group classes, and had a blast!

I was (apparently due to the blizzard? conditions) the only student who showed up, so the teacher did a private lesson with me for most of the time of the two classes. She was much shorter than me though, so instead of a normal lesson with partner dancing, we did it more like a question and answer session. I asked her about some of the things I think I’ve been struggling with, and we practiced them together in front of the mirror.

We talked a little about CBM and CBMP in tango, and also about utilizing check steps to make the progression seem more snappy. We talked about (and practiced) staying on line of dance in V.Waltz (but coming off the line to let your partner pass you). We talked about under-turning in natural turns versus over-turning in reverse turns as ways to turn around the corners of the floor. We practiced the wisk in Waltz, and the lockstep and Chasse in Quickstep.

After the lesson, I spent some time working on all 5 dances by myself (I tried to dance through our routines as best as I could). I also got some pointers about the natural spin turn in Waltz from the owner of the studio. I was having trouble staying balanced when doing it without a partner, and he reminded me that if I really stretch my core vertically when I’m up on both toes, it’ll help me stay more balanced, help me get higher, and help me stay up longer, so I can take a nice long step after the brush. It really helped!

After all of this, my friend Brian Bercury showed up, and they all asked me if I wanted to stay for the West Coast Swing lesson. “Why not!?” So, I changed from my smooth shoes to my ballet shoes, because the instructor thought those would be better for west coast swing. It was a LOT of fun! It’s very different because you don’t move your hips laterally, and you step forward almost on a flat foot, instead of angled toe like in Rhythm/Latin. Also, there is a cross step (like the Viennese cross) for styling, but unlike in v.waltz, you don’t ever go up on your toes, so I had a little trouble trying to remember to stay flat on my feet and not rise up. The lead and follow is done through only two fingers, and it’s a very close connection. It’s based on trying to always resist your partner with your own body weight, following when the connection says you absolutely have to come or go. I guess this is probably pretty common in Latin/Rhythm, but it seemed like a more pronounced delay in west coast swing. I even danced for a few minutes with my eyes closed, and it was really really neat!

All in all, it was a wonderful night, and I feel really good! I can’t wait to take ballet tomorrow! I also can’t wait for my next private lesson in Standard! Every night this week, I’ve felt so invigorated, and I’ve just wished that I could finish the night up by having a private lesson in Standard, to just express all the wonderful feelings I have inside in the best way I know how, flying across the dance floor!

I hope I haven’t written too much. I just felt the urge to share this with you! I’m so happy to be dancing every day again!!!! And to be learning so many new types of dance! It feels wonderful! I feel more than ever like there isn’t a limit to what I can learn if I put in the effort, and have fun at the same time!

xoxo,
Layla