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!