I Can’t Dance When I’m Moving!

I say a lot of dumb things on a regular basis.  I guess we all do but I always feel like I am particularly prone to blurting out the first thing that pops into my head.  This week at dance I did myself proud by uttering one of the most ridiculous catch phrases yet to pass through my brain. 

So this week was waltz week.  I have been drilling the waltz footwork for two weeks now.  Heel- toe, toe, toe-heel, heel-toe, toe, toe-heel.  And I have to say I have been feeling pretty good about it! Even though it is the most awkward way a person will ever travel down a dance floor, not to mention unnatural.

So here I am all set up for success. I come in to my lesson and Brian starts showing me the footwork as well as the proper way for me to hold my hands and body.  We go through the routine and he meticulously walks me through all the steps I need to take.  I’m definitely getting it, I am following along, I got this…. We get into waltz position and I start taking my first step of the routine when all of the sudden I forget the last 15 minutes of careful explanation.  In this moment of brain lapse I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, “I can’t do this when I’m moving!”  To which Brian bursts out laughing and I turn red knowing that this silly phrase makes absolutely no sense.  I think what I was trying to say was that I understood all the concepts being explained to me but actually executing it was hard. 

This is kind of the epitome of waltz for me.  I have always thought that it is the dance that looks the easiest when you watch someone else dancing it and is the hardest when you try to dance it yourself.  There are so many nuances about how to step, when to step, how to hold your head, and how to keep your posture.  Not to mention keeping the careful waltz cadence, remembering your footwork, and trying to stay in your “window” (that little place that the ladies body stays to the left of the lead’s frame).  In short, waltz may yet be the most intellectually stimulating dance I have learned so far.  And yes, it is hard to dance it when you are moving!