February Round-Up

I've gotten very lazy at writing up posts. If my voice was a lot more exciting I might have just uploaded the discussions I've had on the dancing I've done. It's not though.

I've been recording my moves as audio which allows me to replay them on my iPod before going to a dance. This has benefits from having them written down (in the fact that I can listen to them while walking) but there is something about writing a move down that makes it easier to understand. I suppose video would be the best media; though saying that I've never really watched the BFG routines I have.

Who said I don't just write any thought that comes into my head down?

As with the previous few I'm not writing the moves I did down. If someone was actually interested in them let me know.

Tango on the 5^th

Started my first Tango class. It was quite different from the other dances I've currently been doing. A lot more focus on weight distribution (for obvious reasons) and we were taught some very basic things such as walking. The key element to Tango appears to be a very strong torso lead and, when walking, traveling through the centre point of your axis. It doesn't really feel like dancing yet so I'm hoping to progress to a stage where it feels it does.

Ceroc on the 7^th

Quite an average night at Ceroc; this one. The music was a little average and I had difficulty really getting into the dances. A shame after the delightful time I had on Thursday.

West Coast Swing on the 8^th

I had a wonderful night at WCS tonight. Really lovely music; lots of nice dances that though might have been simplistic really felt like they flowed. My brain began to do the steps without me needing to be actively aware of it. Certainly hoping for more nights like this one (unlike the next one).

Ceroc on the 9^th

Another fairly average night at Ceroc. It all started out quite well but I think I started losing energy towards the end which didn't help. Had a go at following which was good fun though I found it very difficult and it does imply that it might just be me anticipating my regular lead more; I'm not sure.

Valentine's Day Ceroc

Tonight was a little better than the last couple. I had quite a few good dances; it was good being a little selfish and getting quite a few dances with my girlfriend. Saying that the evening was quite quiet so I got to dance with most of the women there. One woman seemed a little surprised that I was asking her to dance; I'm a little worried that that's a sign I'm becoming a Hotshot but she didn't seem to imply it that way... it was more a pleasant surprise. I did some double trouble as well; which was a bit of a shame as I would have liked to dance with both women separately (well I did have quite a few dances with one of the women; but none with the other :'( ). At the request of the teacher I wore a pink T-shirt which she did comment on, from the stage, in front of the class, which got me a little embarrassed. The music tonight could have been better but it was alright. I was hauled up for Now That I Can Dance by someone before I could escape. On that note I've discovered I love Chains by, the same artist, Tina Arena; it's a divine WCS track.

West Coast Swing on the 15^th

Unfortunately not as good a night as last week. The music seemed a bit trickier, but I think I was just less on form, most of my dances didn't really flow and that was at no fault to my partners. It did feel like a bit of a step back and definitely not the week that I wanted to finally get a dance with the teacher. Still I'll definitely stick at it; I just need to be more in the zone. At the end of the class the music went a bit crazy and we had Ceroc, Cha-Cha and a variety of stuff that was interesting to dance to.

Tags: Ceroc, Tango, WCS

Thursday Night Wholesome Goodness

I had some utterly wonderful dances tonight. I felt I might have been a little selfish, as I had multiple dances with a few of the women I was really enjoying dancing with, but it was working so well that I didn't want to leave. I had a bit of practice on a few moves that I enjoy doing. Most of the time they worked; which was just fab. The intermediate routine was good as well; it had a lot of moves flowing from another which I think is good practice for freestyle showing how you can break down a move and chain one move straight on from another. I haven't written the moves (I did voice record them; but I'm not taking up Podcasting :p). If you are interested in the moves we did (or at least my scribble about them) let me know. I figure most people skip that stuff anyway.

Tags: Ceroc

WCS Wednesday

Another night at West Coast Swing and though I'm still frequently getting things wrong and finding it difficult to make the moves flow I'm still enjoying myself. Most of my brain is still focusing on making my footwork match the timing of the song and I found out a bit more about the lead/follow connection techniques along with the fact that it's more a slinky dance and therefore there is a lot less hip movement :(.

We did a lot of moves tonight though I'm still sticking with a lot of sugar pushes before doing anything and my "other moves" are quite far between. When I tried linking moves without sugar pushes they generally went wrong. I'd write up the moves but there was quite a lot and I just voice recorded it. If you are really interested I'd be happy to give a go at writing them up.