Return of the Dancer

I don’t know how true this quote is. If you just focus on things like escorting the lady on and off the dance floor, then maybe it makes sense. But ballroom has a whole set of rules that don’t really seem to be related to etiquette. Not that I’m trying to tear the quote apart but I think he’s talking about different things.

I mean timing is a whole set of rules that define when you should be moving (quicks and slows) but isn’t really related to etiquette. There are rules regarding how you should step (heel vs toe leads) which don’t really seem to have anything to do with etiquette. There’s more but I don’t want to make some giant list.

And, to be honest, these rules are most important when you are being judged or on a lesson when your instructor is trying to teach you timing and probably cringes internally every time you mess up. Go dance in front of a bunch of non ballroom types and they won’t have a clue about timing or care if you are taking heel or toe leads. If you can move in tandem and get around the floor, people who’ve never taken lessons will be supremely impressed with your skills.

Which is not to say you shouldn’t try to follow the rules. Someone went to the trouble of coming up with them after all. 

Anyway, I’m talking about this because of the event on Saturday where we did get to dance with someone judging us. As events go, this one was more fun than I expected. It is kind of a lower case Showcase (showcase??). For those who’ve never danced in an event or comp before, it is a taste of what it might be like. For the rest of us, it is another chance to put things on the floor and a way to get some feedback in between events so you know what you can be working on.

As I’ve said many times, in ballroom there is always something to be working on. You are never a finished product. My issue right now is footwork in the rhythm dances – more about keeping the feet grounded and on the floor. So that’s what we’ll be trying to improve.

Somewhat shockingly, the waltz got the most glowing feedback with the judge saying everything was well done and he didn’t see anything to be working on. Maybe because it was the first dance. But we’ve had some struggle moments with the waltz during lessons so it was nice to have it go off so well. Also got good marks for timing in the Mambo. Trust me, if you know the Mambo, you know. Overall, there was a lot of good and I was happy with a lot of what we did. 

Was on a lesson this week and one of the other instructors (who took a lot of photos at the event) comes out of the backroom with a picture of us. She gets all excited about my posture and top line. I hate photos of myself so I can’t get too enthused but I’ll take the feedback as a good thing.

After being off half of November and taking it easy all through December, I can say that this is very true. Ballroom works things you never expect. But it is good to be back in full swing.