dancing cheek to cheek

*warning* This post contains the boring details of my dance history. Not for everyone. =P

I first learnt to dance at Berkeley. There was a weekly social dance class, and we were taught the very basics of waltz, cha cha, Lindy and a few others. I certainly wasn't born to dance. Team sports were more my kind of thing. Shakin' and moving those hips don't come naturally to me. Put me on a dance floor and i'm about as groovy as a surfboard. But it was fun, and no one cared that I wasn't a dancing queen. When I moved down the peninsula to Palo Alto, M (at Stanford) and I often went to these social dances and had so much fun dancing till we got really dizzy.

It was in Boston that I was introduced to the world of competitive ballroom dancing. I started out shy and tentative with the Boston University team. I struggled for almost a year, trying to find a suitable partner. I never did well at competitions - I didn't know how to move, didn't know how to balance, didn't know how to look good. Moreover, I focused on Latin, which involved being sexy, and I don't do sexy very well. Haha... =)

It was not until I started dancing with David that things started to pick up. He danced with the MIT team, and it was there that I was introduced to a very different instructional environment. There were classes tailored specifically for different levels of dancers, and these classes strongly emphasized basic technique, something sorely lacking at BU. It was with David that I got my very first ribbons! (Yeah, when we make the finals, we get ribbons, just like in dog shows.)

no, that's not a legal dance move.

I continued dancing Latin with a new partner, Stewart, and we did okay at comps. We usually almost always made semi-finals at the Silver level, but found it really hard to improve. We were both too alike - laid back and aloof, so we never really pushed each other to practice and become better dancers.

yar, everyone tells me I should get him to smile more.

A year down the road, started competing in standard and smooth with Kenny. When I started, I was not very confident at all. I hardly knew the basics of these new dances, so how was I to show them off on the dance floor. Most of all, I didn't want to let Kenny down, as he had done really well with his previous partner. But I never looked back once I started. I knew that this was IT. Instead of sexy, think dreamy and elegant. Not exactly words to describe myself, but the feeling of floating across the dance floor was amazing.

Recently, I stopped doing latin, and decided to concentrate on standard and smooth. Happy happy! We've been doing really well at competitions and I attribute it to Kenny (who's a great leader) and the fact that i'm much happier doing what i'm doing now. We've moving up to the Gold level next semester and competition will be really tough. Wish us luck!

Dance has greatly influenced my life. I still don't have good enough posture and high heels still kill my feet, but I've improved so much since those California days. More importantly, I'm discovering and exploring this new side of myself, and I certainly like it! =)