Improving my Cha Cha and Learning Some Nightclub!

In the past week I have focused on tightening up my Cha Cha moves and learning a little bit of the Night Club routine. So far Cha Cha is the hardest dance for me personally.  I am not sure what exactly makes it so tricky except that I know my feet always want to go in the wrong direction.  I constantly tend to start the chase move with the wrong foot or bend my knees too much or lose track of my steps entirely as I race to keep up with the music.

Last week I decided that I needed to learn the footwork for Cha Cha very slowly and on my own so that when I was dancing with a partner (and music) my feet would just naturally know where to go.  Muscle memory is pretty much the key component to dancing well.  Everyday, I set aside 10-15 minutes and reviewed my form and footwork for the basic Cha Cha step, the crossover break, the turns, and the chase move.  This practice helped me a lot and prepared me for my next lesson.  Instead of struggling to focus on footwork and technique and keeping time with the music I could just focus on the latter two issues.  Hooray! My plan for this week is to look just a little better when Cha Cha-ing socially.   I think I can get there. :)

This week I was also introduced to Night Club.  I had previously learned a few turns and basic steps from Brian but had not yet started to integrate these moves into a routine.  I decided, after learning Night Club, that I like it a lot! I naturally have long limbs and arms and am constantly taking steps that are too big in compact dances like West Coast Swing and Two Step.  Finally, a dance where I can stretch my legs and arms out and be praised for it!!!

Night Club is a version of waltz and is a slow, big dance which takes up a lot of space.  I  love it.  I really like that I can relate Night Club to Two Step, which is a dance I already know.  For example, the pivot turns in Night Club are giant versions of the tiny, tight pivots performed in Two Step.  The only thing that is awkward about Night Club is that you have to cock your head to the side a bit and settle into your left and right hip as you dance (kind of like waltz).  This is a very unnatural (and uncomfortable) head movement for almost anyone and will definitely take some getting used to.

After my struggles with Cha Cha though I am relieved that I may have some natural ability for any dance.  This week my focus is on tightening up my Two Step routine and doing drills for Night Club, Two Step and Cha Cha.  Practice, practice practice!

Cha Cha - Not As Simple As it Appears

And so I have arrived at Cha Cha.  A seemingly simple dance with the basic count of 1-2-Cha-Cha-Cha.  However, the tricky part of Cha Cha is that it is a fast dance with small movements and much room for error.  For starters, your toes are supposed to be pointed slightly out in most moves (with heels together).  My feet do not naturally go that way! My feet and toes, when standing naturally, point straight forward.  This is an attribute that I had always thought was positive since I have never had to worry about looking pigeon-toed.  But in Cha Cha toes have to point out so I am faced with the unpleasant task of trying to remember the foot work for this dance while contorting my feet in directions they do not want to go.  But in addition to the footwork there are also many unintuitive arm movements that must be learned. 

Remember those early days in middle school when we were just learning about kissing and everyone always asked , “But what do I do with my hands or my arms?! It’s so awkward!”  This is kind of how I feel about Cha Cha because I NEVER know what I am supposed to do with my arms or my hands until shown.  None of it feels natural and in fact I have to practice making the Cha Cha arm movements so they WILL in fact “look natural”.  I think I actually pulled a muscle trying to do the correct arm movement for the cross over breaks the first time. 

Okay, so I have to focus on pointing my toes out, remembering footwork, crazy arm movements (and arm lines) all while keeping time to the music! Oh and trying to remember the Cha Cha routine too!!  My only hope to conquer this dance is to practice the basic Cha Cha moves solo and focus on the little things like keeping my toes pointed, my heels together, and my hips doing…..what?  I think that is a question I will need to ask in my next lesson. J

Two Step and the Art of Turning....and Turning.....And Turning

In order to compete in July I will need to master 5 routines to 5 different dances including Waltz, Night Club, Two Step, West Coast Swing, and Cha Cha. Thankfully I already knew how to dance West Coast and Two Step when I decided to enter the competition.  On the first day of dance prep I met with my instructor, Brian, and we reviewed my plan of attack to make the July deadline.  He decided that in order to boost my self esteem and simultaneously tackle a dance we would start learning the routine for Two Step first.  

Thanks to having already attended workshops and group lessons in Two Step, this dance was not new to me.  Two Step is a fast, unrelenting dance and there is practically no recovery time.  Unlike in West Coast Swing where you can hold an anchor or count yourself back in, Two Step pounds on with no room for error.  I am the first one to admit that I can cheat in West Coast by skipping the anchor if I miss a beat or my partner is off music. ( I know Brian, I am only cheating myself!) But this is a blog of honesty if nothing else.  These shenanigans do not fly too well in Two Step.  If the lady or the man gets off beat the only way to fix the issue is typically to stop dancing completely and start again.  

The beat is only the first issue. The other part that is tricky is the constant turning.  Gentleman have to turn quite a bit in this dance but ladies you will really be turning! And you must turn with confidence and without hesitation! I am going to alter a wonderful quote from Julia Child (about flipping pancakes) and say that you "Must turn with the courage of your convictions!"  It is incredibly hard to focus on turning and new patterns in Two Step simultaneously.  Therefore I began conducting my own turning practice at home.  Just 10 minutes of turn practice a day keeps the line of dance in play!  One helpful turn technique is the chaine turn. The chaine turn involves a series of quick turns that travel down the line of dance.  It is something you can do on your own without a partner and it really really helps with Two Step.  Pivot turns (where you literally pivot in the opposite direction) are also helpful but the chaine turns really sealed the deal with me. After doing these turns for about a month on my own  my instructor really noticed a difference and so did I!!!

Learning the Two Step dance routine after learning the basic Two Step patterns like the weave, and couples turn was actually quite fun.  And bolstered by my new turning skills I was starting to feel like I might really be prepared to tackle this dance competition.   That was, until I tried to start learn Cha Cha....

The Day I Decided to Start Dancing

This blog is a little way for me to document my dance journey although I fear I am a bit behind as I started dancing at the beginning of 2014.  However, I will be tracking my preparation for my first dance competition so there will be plenty of "dancing firsts" to share.

So why did I decide to start dancing?  This answer is slightly more complex than "I just like to dance".  Actually, before I started doing ballroom I hated to dance formally.  I consider myself a fairly apt club dancer as in I like to go out and shake it on the dance floor to some techno tunes.  But I had never really taken to the idea of serious dancing until recently.  I started to dance because my posture is terrible and I wanted to improve it.  I started to dance because I am an introvert and in order to combat my natural aversion to socializing I constantly put myself in socially uncomfortable situations.  I started to dance because I don't like going to the gym but I also recognize that at 28 it may not be so easy to keep my slim form forever without exercise.  But mostly, I started to dance because it looked like so much fun and I LOVE having fun!

Once I decided to start dancing I signed up for a weekly pass at a Dance Louisville with the idea being that if I shelled out $30-$40 up front I would not be able to quit my new hobby.  I'm not going to lie to you- when I started I was not enamored with dance.  It was hard and there were a lot of steps to learn.  I found out I had to rotate in group class and talk and dance with lot of new people. Ack! I also found out later that I picked the hardest dance to learn first- West Coast Swing.  West Coast Swing has about 6 basic moves in comparison to the 1 that most other dances require.

In any case, the dancing required a steep learning curve. Thank goodness I had already paid my $30 up front or I would have quit right then and there.  So I struggled along with the West Coast Swing for about three months.  I counted the moves aloud and in my head as I tried to remember the foot work and patterns AND keep up with the music.  I shouted "Don't talk to me!" when my dance partner tried to hold a conversation with me while I was trying to remember the 8 count whip pattern.

But then, something magical happened.  I started really loving the dancing.  I began going to social dances and tons of classes.  I started dancing with new partners and learning new moves.  I stopped COUNTING! I could actually dance and tell my partner about my day while getting through a song. I was addicted!

Quick side bar here- you do not have to know how to dance to be a good dancer.  Many of the dancers at the studio look like naturals but they are not! They had to struggle along like I did in the beginning.  Yes, some people have a natural sense of rhythm and yes, some people are more flexible or able to move to music with ease.  But absolutely everyone can learn to dance and learn to love it.  I promise!

So now that you know how I got started in dance....the next few entries will track my progress to my first major dance competition- Indy Dance Explosion.  Thanks for joining me on my dance journey!