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sigelphoenix at 09:25pm on 16/11/2011 under dancing
sigelphoenix at 09:25pm on 16/11/2011 under dancingI think I've felt terrified at the beginning of each session of dance class I've attended. I still do it, obviously, but there's always that surge of "What do you think you're doing here?" at the beginning.
(This was probably exacerbated by me watching the beginner hip-hop class that takes place right before my class starts, and waffling between, "I could maybe try doing that" and "ooh, that looks hard, I'd just make a fool of myself.")
That being said, Argentine tango went well tonight. I'm getting better at following, in that particularly devilish kind of following AT requires, which I think you can boil down to, "You don't have any idea what's coming next, HA!" I still had a lot of stops and starts with my various partners, but I think I am understanding how to respond to their leading - and thus responding - better overall. I danced with one guy who had taken the same class with me last session, and he led a move that we learned last session but hadn't yet gotten to this session (ochos) - I was caught off-guard and didn't pivot like I was supposed to, but I did actually turn and step in the places I was supposed to, just because my body responded to his lead.
It's funny; this stage of, "I generally know what my body is supposed to do based on what the lead does, yay!" came immediately with waltz, but I'm still clawing my way to it in AT. :P
Happily, some of our leads were students from the instructor's intermediate AT class, so they were stronger and smoother leads than the beginners (nothing against them - and I really noticed improvement in one of them - it's just fun to dance with people who know better what they're doing). There was one guy who, when I took my turn with him, made me feel like I was actually doing the dance I'd seen and admired - slow, but controlled, with bursts of sharp movement. There was a nice quality to his leading - it wasn't that he shoved me around, but more like there was a hairsbreadth of mild/gentle leading to show me what to do, so that I could go with him when he moved more firmly and we hit the step in a sharp, showy way (well, it'd be showy if I were more polished). This gives me hope that I still have the potential to learn the really "boom! pow!" kind of AT that I like to watch.
(This was probably exacerbated by me watching the beginner hip-hop class that takes place right before my class starts, and waffling between, "I could maybe try doing that" and "ooh, that looks hard, I'd just make a fool of myself.")
That being said, Argentine tango went well tonight. I'm getting better at following, in that particularly devilish kind of following AT requires, which I think you can boil down to, "You don't have any idea what's coming next, HA!" I still had a lot of stops and starts with my various partners, but I think I am understanding how to respond to their leading - and thus responding - better overall. I danced with one guy who had taken the same class with me last session, and he led a move that we learned last session but hadn't yet gotten to this session (ochos) - I was caught off-guard and didn't pivot like I was supposed to, but I did actually turn and step in the places I was supposed to, just because my body responded to his lead.
It's funny; this stage of, "I generally know what my body is supposed to do based on what the lead does, yay!" came immediately with waltz, but I'm still clawing my way to it in AT. :P
Happily, some of our leads were students from the instructor's intermediate AT class, so they were stronger and smoother leads than the beginners (nothing against them - and I really noticed improvement in one of them - it's just fun to dance with people who know better what they're doing). There was one guy who, when I took my turn with him, made me feel like I was actually doing the dance I'd seen and admired - slow, but controlled, with bursts of sharp movement. There was a nice quality to his leading - it wasn't that he shoved me around, but more like there was a hairsbreadth of mild/gentle leading to show me what to do, so that I could go with him when he moved more firmly and we hit the step in a sharp, showy way (well, it'd be showy if I were more polished). This gives me hope that I still have the potential to learn the really "boom! pow!" kind of AT that I like to watch.
(no subject)
It's funny; this stage of, "I generally know what my body is supposed to do based on what the lead does, yay!" came immediately with waltz, but I'm still clawing my way to it in AT. :P
I know exactly what you mean by this. I'm the same with waltz, which is super-easy and, at this point, more or less unconscious for me depending on my partner, and I'm about the same for East Coast swing. West Coast swing I still have a lot of trouble with, and the one time I tried salsa... well, let's just say it does not appear to be a very easy dance for me to pick up. I think if I could get a handle on the footwork I'd eventually be okay, but I still have to concentrate too much on the footwork to be very responsive.
As to what you've said about the leads from the instructor's intermediate classes.... eeeee. There's nothing more satisfying, I think, as a student dancer who's a follow than having a really good lead who knows what they're doing, even just in general "not afraid to lead properly" terms. It's such a feeling of release, and getting lost in the movements. ♥
Here we go!
It's such a feeling of release, and getting lost in the movements. ♥
I totally agree. One of the things I find so appealing about ballroom/partner dancing is the way it works like puzzle pieces fitting together - lead does x, follow does y, no words needed. I know dancing is supposed to be about freedom and expressing yourself and stuff, but honestly, I'm bad at improvising and figuring out how to move on my own. :P I'm more interested in the gracefulness and physical connection of it, and that's a lot easier to accomplish (to me) in partner dance than other kinds of dance.
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A teacher is just someone who knows a little more than you do... or is at least willing to figure it out with you XD
I'm glad you're going forward with it, even when you have that terror feeling at the beginning.
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I recognize the value of Eleanor Roosevelt's "do one thing that scares you every day" advice, but I'm too squeamish to actually follow it *every* day ... but I'm using that advice to bolster me when I do my scary thing each week. XD
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For me, dancing is scary in both ways: the risk of embarrassing myself in front of strangers is public, but things like testing/expanding my physical strength and flexibility, wanting to capture/replicate the beauty of something I've always liked to watch, doing something "live" when I'm such a perfectionist ... that's more internal, and it matters less if other people see my success or failure there.
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(Can you tell I've been trying to do the same, just with different means?)
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Well, at least in spirit!
(But maybe also, sometime, something together!)
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But I am open to other suggestions of possible scary things, and/or will act as cheerleader for other scary things you want to do. XD
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Right now writing is my Big Scary.
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