When Close Is Not Close Enough?

How can it be so that a guy can blow your mind in the dance floor and you can sense a huge amount of chemistry between you two, but the moment the dance ends that all is gone? Sometimes the dance connection can be so strong it can make you confused and think that there is something more than that, but normally this is just an illusion. "What happens in the dance floor stays in the dance floor", Mr A. always says, and I have to agree with him. Many dancers I have talked about this subject with say that they wouldn't even realize if someone was actually keen on them if this happened in a dance floor or a dance party.

Social dancing can really mess your attitude towards flirting. Flirting is an essential part of many couple dances, and you have to be able to flirt with your dance partner to make the dance great. What also confused me in the beginning, was the physical closeness. I think this has to do with Finish culture where we are used to a large personal space. If the opposite sex came inside that personal space, you could interpret is as an expression of interest. This rule doesn't apply in the dance floor, not even if your dance partner is getting really close to you. It is just a part of the dance.

It can be quite the opposite too. You can meet an attractive dancer with who you click immediately but when he takes you for a dance it is not working at all. I am just asking: why does it work this way? It would make much more sense that dance floor wouldn't differ from non-dance floor, but no!

Realizing this fact has made also me to think dancing as a neutral zone where nothing can happen and any kind of signals have no meaning what so ever. On the other hand, this makes things simple: dancing is dancing and there is nothing more to that. What happens in the dance floor stays in the dance floor.

Dance Me To The End Of Time.

I have been thinking already quite a while of asking Nic if he could give me couple of dance lessons, but I was too worried he would refuse. This week, however, I saw my moment coming and slipped out the question. I couldn't help smiling when the first thing he asked was "where?". Nic revealed that he was analyzing every single move I made when we were dancing on Saturday (I should have guessed!) and he already started to plan the crucial things to go through with me. I cannot say how happy I am about this. I really miss our practices and Nic knows best how to teach me. Oh I cannot wait for January!

I tried to set as many dance practices for this week before I left Helsinki for Christmas holiday but I had to settle for only two. On Tuesday I met up with JV. We had to share the practice place with another dance couple so this time we danced also some other dances than Zouk. It was actually quite refreshing! JV tried to lead couple of new figures but I still have lots to do with my following, even though I have been improving a lot since I started to learn following in September. I remember how horrible I was in the beginning. Every dance was a struggle! Anyway, I am happy about my improvement but still quite lost if someone is leading something new to me. Our practice reminded me that I also have to take an eye to my posture and the position of my hip.

On Wednesday I had a Zouk practice with Michaelo. Firstly we watched a video of our dancing from Sunday's practica. To tell the truth, I was quite shocked how our and especially my dancing looked like. It was too soft and flat and missed all excitement and sharpness. The camera is cruel and shows every single mistake, but videotaping dancing is a great way to see what you need change. The biggest things what I need to concentrate on is finishing of my movements, my posture and basic steps - so the very basics! Even though we have still a lot to do with our zoukking, a good thing is that we both are very analytical and willing to work on our weaknesses. Keeping in mind the things we need to improve we went through couple of figures from Pasty & Josta and one from Kadu & Larissa. In addition we spent lots of time laughing and fooling around. Sometimes, like if you want to have an efficient practice, it is not a good thing to have similar sense of humor, but at least we are having fun!

Having all this extra time before Christmas has been making me to think about my relationship to dancing. I have to say that there are four special persons that have had a huge effect on how I am as a dancer now. I would be really different if I didn't meet those persons. Firstly Nic, you were the one who made me addicted to dancing. Without you I wouldn't probably dance at all. Now I cannot even think my life without dancing! You changed my life and you changed me, thank you. Secondly Mr A., you encouraged me to continue dancing when you saw me struggle and  made me feel welcomed into the dance circles. You have made me more confident dancer, thank you. Thirdly JV, you made me start dancing Zouk. You asked me to be your dance partner knowing that I had no idea about Zouk and since that have taught me so much, thank you. Finally Michaelo, you have made me feel really special dancer. You have deepened my love to dancing, thank you. I am so happy that I met all of you and got not only talented dance partners but also four great friends. It is hard to imagine my life without any of you.

But now I will quiet down and enjoy my restful Christmas time. I'll be back with dancing next week.

After Spex Dancing.

If I thought the end of Spex would mean a break from dancing, I was wrong. Well okay, if you count Friday as a break, I did have one, but the last two days have been just sleeping and dancing, and I will have dance practices every day until I head home for Christmas. My muscles haven't been this sore for a long time, ouch!

On Saturday I had a long Zouk practice with Michaelo. Our last couple of practices somehow haven't been that efficient and we weren't able to progress that much. This time, however, we went through three new figures quite well. We have been watching quite a lot of Zouk videos with Michaelo and I was able to induce him to come to Amsterdam's Salsa and Zouk festival with me in February. Maybe one of the reasons is that Kadu & Larissa and Pasty & Josta are few of the many great artists there. After watching their dancing from many videos I am really looking forward seeing them dancing live.

On Saturday evening it was time for HOT Dance pre Christmas dancing party. I took Nic with me in hopes of dancing few ballroom dances with him. The place was super crowded and it was almost impossible to fit to the dance floor. Fortunately they decided to expand the party to another dance floor, but at this time Nic already chose to head home and my plan was kinda failed. I did dance a lot but I didn't get those dance flow experiences that I got a week before in Pohjalaisten tanssikerho's dance party. However, it felt great to dance something else than Zouk, Salsa or Bachata for a long time.Variety is the spice of life - and of dancing.

On Sunday afternoon I had a practice with Mr A. for the longest time. Actually we were supposed to dance on Friday but I over slept after coming home at 6 am from Spex party that morning (and truly felt awfully sorry for that). I can't even remember when was the last time we had a practice! As always, we danced variety of ballroom dances and had heaps of fun. Dancing with Mr A. is always somehow relaxing in a way that I don't need to think or stress about anything if I don't want to. I have to admit that lately I have been taking dancing a bit too seriously, so the practice was also a good reminder to slow down. I don't want to stress about dancing. That doesn't lead to any good.


Sunday evening I went to my first Zouk practica ever to HSA's dance studio. I don't know why I haven't been going there before. Somehow I've always had something else on Sunday evenings. I felt really tired after the practice with Mr A., and I thought I wouldn't be in a mood for zoukking at all, but I got my energy back as soon as I started dancing and the three hours flew super fast. I was able to get into the Zouk feeling quite quickly and had many great dances. I was especially happy with some of Michaelo and my dances since our practices have been missing these impro/dancing with feeling moments. These moments proves that we do have something special in our dance connection that I don't have with anyone else. Anyway, from now on my Sunday evenings will be dedicated to zoukking.


This evening we have a Spex dancer's reunion practice. Let's see if I already start missing our choreography dancing, especially now that there is no pressure of the showings. By the way, here is a video from our Spex's final rehersal that I forgot to add to my previous posting:

Spextacular!

Yesterday was the last Spex showing which means the end of my Spex-experience. These two weeks has passed so fast and it is hard to believe that this was it. I must admit, though, that I am quite exhausted (and it is not just because last night's farewell party that lasted till morning). Even though I knew Spex was going to take a lot of time I wasn't really prepared how much of my energy it would take. If three months ago I knew what I know now, and someone asked me if I wanted to take part of this, I might think it twice but definitely say yes. I have learned incredible lot about dancing and, more importantly, about myself as a dancer during these intensive months.

It was surprising to notice that all the showings were so unique. The premiere was a total success and the energy in the back stage was unbelievable. Every single spexer was extremely excited and gave the audience one of the best shows in Spex history. On the contrary, the next showing in Tampere was a disaster. Set pieces were stumbled, technique didn't work, the audience was sticky, the band was smashed, two scenes were skipped by an accident and the excitement was gone. The situation was fixed back in Helsinki but the feeling wasn't the same as in the premiere. Even though it is not supposed to effect that much, the way the audience acted played a big role in the whole thing. A loud and cheering audience made all give a bit more to their performance which also reflected to the enjoyment of the audience. Some showings were notably better than others and at least my feeling in every show was different. Yesterday's final showing was a blast but the long week had taken it's toll and I was already quite tired both physically and emotionally, and my output was according.

The last two weeks have given me couple of special and unforgettable memories. One of these is Wednesday's showing where most of my friends came to see me dancing. I can't remember the last time I was so nervous! When I walked to the stage my hart was beating so fast and hard I was afraid I wasn't able to concentrate on dancing at all. However, I got even more energy to my dancing because of that.

Maybe the best lesson Spex taught me was the chance to dance in front of an audience. Before I had no idea how I could react or how the pressure would affect me. It also proved that I am able to learn a choreography and perform it as well as anyone else even though I don't have as much dancing experience. However, I have also learned that group dancing is not my thing as much as couple dancing is. Now that Spex is done, I will have more time for my lovely dancing partners who I have been forced to put in the second priority. Maybe now I will also figure out what I really want from dancing. But before I do that, I just want to take some time from any pressures and dance just to get the joy and enjoyment from it.

The Premiere.

30 minutes before the showing I started getting nervous about the performance. Finally, I thought. I had been waiting for this feeling the whole day. The atmosphere in the back stage was charged and everybody were counting the final minutes before the show time. I gave a final glimpse to my reflection in the mirror: Yes, I was ready.

We sneaked to the wings and I couldn't help to peak through the curtains. The house was full. My heart beat was getting stronger. I looked at the other girls and I could see the same excitement from their eyes. After the final silent cheer we walked to the stage.

Every second I stood still in the stage waiting for the choreography to begin, I soaked up energy from the waiting audience. When I took my first step, suddenly the time seemed to slow down. I could distinguish every face in the audience and I saw the other dancers better than ever. I felt the loaded energy flowing through me. I didn't have to think my steps, my body knew exactly what I had to do. I danced better and stronger than in any practice. It was not until I had to stop moving when I noticed how heavy I was breathing and how fast my heart was beating. The audience gave us loud cheers as we ran from the stage.

My hands were shaking. The first thing that came to my mind was that I wanted to get back to the stage.

Ready To Shine.

Wow, the premiere is tomorrow! I am super excited! I am pleased to my performance in today's final rehearsal and feeling confident that I will dance well tomorrow. All the negative feelings I've been having lately are gone. I just want to get to the stage and show what I can. This is what we have been practicing for the whole autumn! I am also so happy that so many of my friends are coming to see me dance. I promise do my best for you guys!

The final rehearsal was hectic. Everybody were running around in the back stage, everything was lost and people were stressed but I enjoyed the feeling. This was the first time we had all our dance clothes and make up on, and it gave the the extra thing to the performance. It is hard to believe that it really was the last practice after all the hard work. I simply cannot wait for tomorrow!

To relax my mind about Spex for a while I had couple of Zouk practices yesterday. First I met JV and we went through the figures we learned in the Zouk festival. With the help of JV I was able to fix some problems I've been having with my spins and all in all the practice went really well. I have been learning a lot the last two months and its reflecting to our practices too. We can now concentrate to more specific things and I have a feeling that also JV is getting more out of our dancing. Later I had my first practice with my new dance partner Michaelo. It is amazing how well we dance together already. We must use our bodies the same way. Its like putting two puzzle pieces together, click. Michaelo gives lots of good feedback about small things and it helps me to pay attention to things I've learned the wrong way. Right, we still need time to get the connection and leading/following perfect but for the first practice it was already in a really good level. Our practice was so efficient and we both are really eager to learn more. I have a feeling that we don't need much time to get our zoukking great. I am so lucky to find these amazing dancers to dance with!

But now my mind is just in the Spex and tomorrow's premiere. It is going to be a blast! Who would have guessed nine months ago when I started dancing that I would be dancing in a stage in less than 24 hours? Incredible but true.

Ready, Set...

... NO! How is is possible that 6 days before the premiere my body decides to get sick?! The flu hit fast late Monday evening and conquered my entire body during the night. Tuesday's go-through was absolutely horrible. I had no strength, I couldn't concentrate, made stupid mistakes and felt like dying after dancing. I came to a conclusion that dancing and being sick is like ice cream and ketchup: they just don't go together (plus I love ice cream and hate ketchup)! I have been trying to rest as much as I can but I still don't feel well. I mean, why now after being well for more than a year? Okay, if I try to see the positive side of it, I might get better before the premiere. It is just that the last week of training is so important. We have to get all the dances perfect in just 4 days.

Practicing choreography for Spex has definitely taught me a lot, not just about dancing but about me. One thing concerns feedback and criticism. Even though I know that if I get negative feedback, it is not because of I cannot dance but because everybody have to make all the moves the same way. If there is even a small difference it has to be corrected. Even though I know this very well, it is still too easy to take it the wrong way. Hearing only negative feedback in every practice has dragged me down too many times. It has made me question my abilities as a dancer. However, I believe this experience has also made me stronger and taught me the importance of always giving also positive feedback. It is so easy to concentrate on the mistakes but it is the strengths that makes us shine.

Oh, last weekend I met one dancer whose dance style matches mine frightening well. We also think about dancing in very similar way. I think that if we started to dance together we might be able to take each other's dancing into whole different level. We have been talking about this and we might start dancing Zouk together. He is more experienced dancer than I but we are kind of the same level in Zouk. I have a feeling that he could be the kind of dance partner I have been looking for. I mean serious dance partner, not just someone I practice dancing with regularity. Let's see how things develop.

Talking about Zouk, I was recommended to check out one Zouk webpage and I think it is great. It is a good place to find some Zouk videos, so I thought to share the link with you: http://www.zouknation.net. Enjoy.

Helsinki Zouk & Samba Festival.

Wow, last weekend was so amazing. I went to the third Brazilian Zouk & Samba Festival in Finland and the event made me, if possible, even more addicted to this flowing dance. Now I cannot even wait the next time I can go zouking and I am already planning to attend some Zouk Congress somewhere in Europe. I have also been thinking if I should concentrate on Zouk more after I am done with Spex showings. Now I am doing lots of different dances, and even though they support each other, it would be great to know one dance really well.

I feel like I learned so much during the dance classes. First of all, I noticed that I have been going some basic things really wrong. During the classes I was able to fix some of those but when I went to the parties and just had fun dancing I easily slipped back to my old bad habits. Now I have a dozen things in my mind that I want to go through with JV in our coming practices. What made the classes superb were our international teachers Freddy and Andressa who were so inspirational, fun, motivating and talented teachers and dancers. I could have watched their dancing for hours, wow!

Even though I registered as an intermediate/advanced, it was a good decision to attend beginner class on Friday evening. We mostly practiced the basic movement and rhythm that is crucial to any figures in Zouk. I really enjoyed the class and it gave me lots. I liked the way the class was structured because after the class those who really were beginners were already able to go dancing in the Friday evening's party. The party was great and hot, but I had to go home early because my lower back started to hurt. I was quite worried about the pain but fortunately my back felt good the next morning.

Saturday we had three intermediate and advances Zouk classes and a beginner Samba class. In Zouk classes Freddy and Andressa taught us lots of different figures. I liked that the figures were taught really detailed, so even though some of them were complicated everybody were able to learn all of them. Unfortunately my camera is broken so I cannot post videos about the figures here (if I get someone else's videos, I'll post them later). Samba de Gafieira was a totally new dance for me, and it is so different to competition Samba, so I am glad the classes started with the very basics. Saturday ended with the best Zouk party I've ever been. I was in a Zouk flow for hours! Amazing feeling and memorable dancing. What made me happy was a comment from an experienced Zouk dancer with who I danced couple of songs. He said I was an exceptional dancer and that I could become really good in Zouk if I wanted to. And oh yes, I do want to.

[Edit:] Here is Freddy and Andressa's musicality demo during which they also make most of the figures we learned:

Sunday finished the festival with two Zouk and two Samba classes. Again I learned a lot new things. I must admit that the last class was maybe a bit too much for me already because I found myself unable to concentrate on my steps and following. Tired but happy, that describes my feelings after the festival. I was right before: I would have missed a lot if I didn't go there. Thank you everybody for making my weekend special.

The Stage.

Today we had our first Spex rehearsal in Gloria and we were finally able to see the stage where we'll be performing in less than two weeks. Actually the stage was bigger than I imagined but the auditorium didn't look that big and scary at all! Having the rehearsal in the actual stage made everybody think how close the premiere is. I think the dances went good and everybody is doing better every time.

However, at the moment I am not as close as excited about the forthcoming showings as I was before. It is not because I would be bored dancing the same choreography over and over again, or that I would be somehow nervous of not doing well. One thing that made me addicted to dancing from the beginning was that it forced me to be me. Now when I enter the stage I feel fake. I am not being me but I have to act someone else. Well, I'm performing in a play, so it was wrong to expect something else I guess. Being me is just not enough. The problem is that when I cannot be me, I don't get the joy I usually get from dancing. I know it is really important to pay attention to every single detail in group dancing, but you know what? I'd rather see myself in the stage being me and enjoying what I do than doing all the moves perfect.

By the way, yesterday Nic had his birthday and I was able to induce him to Noche Romantica's small Christmas dance party to Havanna. The place was packed and it was exactly what I needed. I think I didn't stop smiling the whole evening! The best thing was that Nic agreed to dance with me after... how long is it now, four months? Wow. All I can say is that he is an awesome Salsa dancer, and I tried my best to take the most out of that unusual situation. Nic said that I have learned a lot since last time we danced, some things he maybe even couldn't teach me. It is funny how you cannot see some obvious things others see easily. As soon as Nic said that to me I realized I have become a lot more relaxed when dancing.

Yesterday's party reminded me once again what is the most important thing about dancing: to have fun. I am confident that I will find myself also from the stage and that in the showings the audience can see the joy of dancing from my sparkling eyes.

When Close Is Too Close?

Dancing has changed my perspective to my personal space. I don't mind dancing really close to someone. For example, I feel totally comfortable dancing so that my and my partner's foreheads and noses touch, or that the dancing stance means full body contact from head to toe. Besides, usually its a lot more easy to follow the lead if there is a strong body contact between the dance partners. Before I started dancing my need for personal space was quite big, and I have to say I needed some time to get to this point.

However, there has been times when close has been too close. It is hard to explain why it felt uncomfortable but after the few bad experiences I have been avoiding dancing with those dancers. In theory, the girl should be able to determine how close the dance stance is, but some guys don't seem to understand the subtle hints. For instance, if the girl moves her hand from the guy's neck to his shoulder, he should (and usually does) understand it as a hint for more distance. Leaders on the other hand can quite easily move the girl away if she gets too friendly. It is a fine line between close and too close and I still haven't been able to figure out when or how the line is crossed.

This week has been pretty intense. Dancing practices every single day and, surprisingly, I wasn't able to say no to any of the dance parties. Spex practices have been going well but there has been an unpleasant change of plans: the directors decided to change the order of some of the dances. This means that all the hard planning our team leaders made for figuring out the dancers to each dance has been messed up. Now there is going to be few really fast changing of clothes etc. between the songs. Well, we just have to live with the dicicion and make sure that the audience doesn't notice anything.

What comes to the dance parties, I especially liked yesterday's HOS Big Band's gig in Kokomo. Awesome Latin music and lots of pro dancers in the dance floor. The only negative thing was that the dance floor was a way too small for all of us. Wednesday's ballroom dancing party was also a success and I'm definitely going to the next one also. Tuesday's Zouk party wasn't that inspirational for me, but it was only due to the fact that I was little tired after my Spex practice and somehow I just wasn't in the right mood for Zouk that time.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to a Spex weekend. I bet it is going to be heaps of fun but also hard work. All the experienced spexers have been saying that the weekend has always been memorable so I'm looking forward to it. But now I'm off to bed to get a good night sleep and the energy I need for the weekend!

Balance.

Monday have become my relaxing day. I spend all my Monday evenings watching girly TV-shows, reading women's magazines and listening to my favorite music. I refuse opening any school books and try to avoid dancing practices. I am the kind of person who likes being active and doing lots of things, but the downside of this is that many times I find myself doing hundred percent all the time, not being able to slow down and stop. Lately I have noticed that I keep on repeating this pattern even with dancing: I keep on searching for dancing events, feel bad if I cannot make it to every practice and cannot say no if there is a chance to dance. I have been thinking if I should cease all other dancing practices except Spex until the showings are over, but the problem is, I really don't want to! This week, for example, there are three dancing parties I would love to go and I am pretty sure I am not able to say no to all of them. Well at least I have no difficulties finding things to write about.

Mr. A. was right when he warned me that dancing might change your social circles dramatically. I haven't been seeing my friends for ages, a thing I feel quite bad about. I also feel like I have nothing to tell my friends because I spend my free time just dancing, and I think most of normal people are not that into dancing that they would like to listen my dancing-related monologs. Actually one of the reasons I write this blog is to be able to have that monolog here without making my listeners yawn (or at least I cannot see them yawning!). This is quite opposite with dancers. It is funny that I don't know much about the people I dance with every week. I have no idea what they do, what they study or where they work, but I know how they react to music and use their bodies to lead. When we talk, we talk mostly about dancing. That is totally fine since I enjoy discussing about the topic, but I wouldn't mind learning something else about them too.

I apologize for the short and rambling posting, but it is Monday and I don't feel like stressing too much about it!

This evening's music: Kings of Convenience: Declaration of Dependence.

A Weekend Full Of Dancing.

The first time I went to HOT-Dance's party I barely knew anyone. This time, however, it was a way too easy to spend most of the time in the dance floor since there were lots of familiar faces from my dance classes. It wasn't an attendance record but the dance floor was still quite crowded. It was a good thing that many beginners showed up, but the downside of this was that after dancing with beginner leaders my upper body got really stuck. If the beginner classes' teachers are reading this, could you teach the guys how to hold a girl properly, please!? It was really nice party, though I didn't get many of those oh-that-was-a-mind-blowing-dance-experiences. This sounds like I didn't have fun, but no, I really enjoyed the evening. I enjoyed it so much that apparently my right knee got angry at me! There were many great leaders too, and I was lucky enough to dance with them more than just a one dance. It was quite hard at times to ask them for a dance because all the other girls wanted to dance with them too, so you had to be quick between the dances or you missed your chance!

Next morning I could feel the dance party in my feet when I headed to my and JV's Zouk practice. To compensate the dance party's lack of emotionality I suggested to do a practice where we could try to get the right feeling to our zoukking. We listened a song and went through its story, and then made that story happen. We didn't make the figures perfect but we really lived through the story. It felt amazing: this is how dancing should always be! I was surprised when JV said my Zouk has developed a lot. We've only had couple of practices (plus a two week break again!) and I still have really fundamental problems with Zouk, such as balance difficulties and uncertainty with basic step technique. Well, I just need more zoukking (and less breaks!) and maybe then also I am going to be confident about my progress.

I really wanted to go see JV compete in the Freaca Latin competitions but I had Spex practice for dance 3 Saturday evening and Spex goes first to anything at the moment. The practice was good and now I'm finally getting the hang out the choreography. It really helps to sleep couple of nights and let the choreography rest a while. This doesn't mean that I wouldn't be lost most of the time while dancing this dance but I'm sure I'll learn it well for the premiere. Talking about the premiere, tickets for it are already sold out! So go and get your tickets soon before all the other showings are full!

Today we had a Spex go-through. Compared to last week my feelings are really positive even though many dancers seemed to have the opposite thoughts. Right, we did many mistakes but everybody is getting better and better. The feedback for us dancers were that we have to invest in our facial expressions and to the finishing of our moves. We also have to remember the 3-meter rule: you have to keep your role three meters after exiting the stage. The dance isn't over when the music or choreography ends but when you are sure the audience cannot see you anymore!

So, only three weeks till the premiere. It is a short time if I think that it means only three practices for each dance. I can see that the pressure is already getting tighter in our dance group, so I hope everybody will remember to keep the spirit up until the end. After all, this is meant to be fun!

Can You Dance With A Broken Heart?

Even though you love something from the bottom of your heart, enough is enough. I really needed the two day break from dancing, not only because of my sore body but because of I just needed it. On Wednesday, on the other hand, I needed to dance again. Those who know me knows the reason why, and it is not just because I hate airports. One thing I love about dancing is that I can forget everything that is happening around me and in my life while I dance. If I feel down, dancing is the best way to lift up my mood. That said, I cannot help wondering: is dancing just a way to escape the reality?

Even if it was, Wednesday's Spex practice for dance 1 did it's job, and I came back home smiling. Luckily, my ruptured muscle was healed and my foot was feeling okay in the practice, and I'm hopeful it will be quite good soon. We finished the choreography for the second verse and I was happily surprised about it. I cannot reveal anything specific but I can say everybody's eyes are going to be in me during it!

Yesterday I had as many as four different dance practices. First I had HOT-dancing's Slow Fox class which I unfortunately had to leave early for Spex dance 4 practice. Unfortunately because Slow Fox is a dance I really enjoy dancing and we were doing great technique practices. The idea was try to maintain a constant movement to the slow steps and to find a balance while doing it. Our teacher gave me a pat on a back from my good body control, yay! Spex practice wasn't that much about dancing and I sneaked out as soon as I dared to run to advanced class' Cuban Salsa. Still I was really late and missed most of the class, but fortunately the first part of the class was mostly revising the last week so I was able to catch up easily. At one point of the class I got this hysterical fit of laughter and I think everybody thought I lost my marbles. But really, I was just having crazy fun (I hope my dance partner didn't think I was laughing at him, that wasn't the thing!).

After the practice I met up with Mr. A. and danced until late. I thought I could have a bit longer practice after my break even if I had work the next morning but when I was going home I got a message saying: "Hey, remember the 7 am Spex practice tomorrow morning! Have a good sleep!" I seriously was living in this illusion that the practice was 7 PM! Well, 5 hours is enough sleep, isn't it? At least that I was trying to convince myself. Anyway, the practice with Mr. A. was fun and again we kind of skipped the technique training. It is great that I feel like I can try new things with him, and if it doesn't work we'll just laugh about it together.

Yes, today started with 7 am practice followed by a full day at work. Good thing is that now I have time to rest a while before tonight's HOT-dancing party. Talking about it, I should start preparing for it!

Good And Bad News.

Here are some quick updates from last week's dancing:

- Tuesday's Spex practice for dance 1 went great and I am now really excited about this dance! Our choreographer said we'll need only two more practices together to be able to finish the choreography. Love love love this dance!

- I was able to get back my light feeling in Zouk in Havanna's Zouk party on Tuesday evening. I danced 'till I was too tired to continue and missed my bus while dancing with one great Zouk dancer. Later he said he was really happily surprised dancing with me, which made me smile.

- I noticed in Wednesday's beginner Salsa class, that I'm already pass this level. Sadly, I even felt bored going through some moves. Fortunately I had a practice with Mr. A. after the class, which saved my day. We played great music, danced whatever felt good and simply had FUN. Awesome.

- Thursday was a long dance day, since I had two HOT classes and Spex practice. In the intermediate class we had Bugg, and I am still struggling with the basic steps and the hand press, so I decided to find someone to teach me those. Salsa was fun as always, and the Cuban style is already getting easier and more natural for me. In Spex practice we went through choreography for dance 2 for the first time and it is just perfect for the song. I really like the atmosphere of it and I'm happy to dance this song.

- I asked someone from HOT-dancing classes to be my practice partner and he said yes! I have been wondering for a long time if I should ask him but I was afraid he would say no. Well, it was good to be brave this time! He is a fun guy, has a lot of potential and the right attitude. All we need to do now is to find a suitable practice time and place. Well, realistically we won't start practicing together before my Spex dances are over, but I'm already looking forward to it.

- Friday started a less-fun dancing period for the rest of the week. We were practicing new choreography intensively for Spex dance 4 because our choreographer was in Helsinki just for the weekend, and I somehow managed to rupture my muscle. I was hoping that it wouldn't be too bad, and the next morning it was feeling okay. But when I went to the practice, it just (surprisingly!) got worse, and I got worried. It even hurt to walk up the stairs! Good thing I had to skip Saturday's Spex go-through and was able to rest my muscle for the rest of the day.

-Sunday was probably the worst day for a long time, and I felt horrible already when I was going to my Spex dance practice in the morning. My brain didn't work, I had to learn one more new choreography (in which I didn't succeed) and it just wasn't my day. I had two dance practices in the morning and Spex go-through for the rest of the day. When I finally got off from the practices I was exhausted and felt miserable. Even though I did okay in the go-through, I felt like people were disappointed in me for not remembering my choreography and standing out from everyone else's good performance. It didn't help that at some point in the practice I also landed badly to my right foot which is now hurting really badly. Ouch. Now I'm having a two day break from dance practices and praying that my body to heal during that. Let's hope that next time I have only good news to tell.

Story Of My Dance.

The music starts, strongly. I close my eyes for few seconds. He takes me into his arms. His body is tense like mine. A sudden burst of anger flows through me. We dance faster, forceful and strong, as the music deepens. I glance myself from a mirror: my eyes are small and fierce. I hear his breathing in my ear and feel his heartbeat becoming faster and faster.We spin around again and again, and my angriness grows until it is the only thing I feel.

Suddenly the feeling of hatred disappears and replaces with ultimate happiness. I can hear the music has changed into light and soft. My body relaxes and my face is beaming. Our steps are gentle and airy as we flow through the dance floor. Everything in life seems to be perfect. My heart is warm and full of pure joy. This is how everything is supposed to be, this is what I always wanted.

Then, slowly, my heart becomes filled with suspicion. It is just too perfect to be true. My suspicion pushes the warm feeling away, and makes me shiver. No, I don't want to let it go, I want the feeling back. But the more I try to reach back to the happiness the more desperate I become. It is like trying to prevent water running from my hands, useless. What if it is gone for good? What if I cannot be happy again? Or was it even true in the beginning, or just a false dream? I close my eyes and refuse to look my sad reflection from the mirror. I'm afraid what is going to happen when the music stops. I don't want it to stop, I want to go back to my perfect moment.

The music stops and I am overwhelmed with my emotions. He thanks me and gives me a short smile. I smile back and return to the reality.

Once Again, Please?

Sunday's Spex practice.

When I normally go dancing I try to clear up my mind. If I think about the steps or figures I won't be able to follow my partner's lead, and if I think too much I usually just stumble with my steps. Well, this method doesn't really work when I'm trying to dance a choreography, as I realized in our Spex dance practice. All the other girls were absorbing the moves instantly while I had to keep asking the choreographer to show the steps again and again, slowly step by step. When I finally thought I got the steps right for chorus, I already had forgotten the verse's figures. Great. I felt myself such a burden when the others would have been ready to continue further but I had to keep asking "could we do it once again slowly without music?". I guess I simply have to keep repeating the choreography until my body knows what to do without me thinking about it. This means extra practices on my own in addition to the normal Spex practices. Then I have to add my HOT-dancing classes and practices with JV and Mr. A. to my weekly schedule... I just wonder when I will have time to study now that I had to take extra shifts also at work! At least I've found out a good way of spending my long bus rides to uni/work: going through the choreography in my mind!

So yesterday we had a Spex practice for dance 4, which is really fun and energetic dance. Then again, the music is fast and this doesn't really help me memorizing the quick moves. Before the practice I also joined one Spex dance's practice in which I don't actually dance (I just happened to have some extra time), and I must say I'm pretty happy I'm not in this dance because the choreography was too challenging for me. So after this the dance 4 felt pretty manageable! We also had a shared practice with all the dancers where we went through every Spex dance (or at least those that had some choreography done) and scheduled this week's practice times. When I saw some of the dances I felt like I would have wanted to be in some of the slower ones instead of fast songs, because I think it would have been more my thing, but I'm sure I'll love all my dances when I learn them properly. What comes to scheduling, you can imagine how hard it is to match everyone's calendars! Somehow we made it even though tho whole weekend is booked for Spex go-throughs. Its amazing how adaptable everyone is!

Before Sunday's Spex practice I got together with JV after two and half week break from Zouk, and the long gap between our practices showed. The previous sense of lightness that I was able to find before was gone and it felt like I had forgotten almost everything JV taught me before. These kind of breaks are no good! Good thing is that I somehow happen to find really patient dance partners. After dancing Zouk we talked quite a lot about the Zouk feeling because I wanted to know what kind of emotional attitude I should have while dancing Zouk. I still haven't figured this out and it would really help me to give the extra thing into my dance. JV showed me some Zouk videos and explained the two main Zouk styles; the other is more dramatic and the other more cheerful. Looking the videos made me want to learn Zouk even more but unfortunately we both are going to be quite busy in the coming weeks so we just might have to have a long break again. Luckily I registered to a Zouk festival that is going to be held in Helsinki on 25.-27.11. I have no idea how I can find time for the festival but I figured that I would regret not attending so much that I'll find the time somehow. It is simply an event I cannot miss!


This is my only dance-free evening for the week so I decided just to take it easy, hang out home and maybe strech my tired muscles. I didn't expect that dancing would make my body so sore everywhere. Let's see if I even have time to update my blog during this week, but if not, you know I'll be busy dancing!

Yy, Kaa, Pusi Pusi.

On Thursday's intermediate HOT-dance class I got to know once again a new dance: Humppa. Apparently Humppa is not one of the most popular Finnish ballroom dances since there were only around ten people in the class compared to the normal 20-30 dancers' group. Humppa is a fast Finnish music style and the dance reminded me of Samba. The basic step has a lots of bounce as Samba does, but the rhythm is different, 4/4 beat, and the hip movement is missing. I was a bit afraid of going to the intermediate class with no experience of Humppa, but it turned out that also the others had difficulties with the basics, so we spend most of the time practicing the basic step and simple figures. Humppa is really energy consuming dance so all of us were quite exhausted after jumping around for two hours. I felt sorry for the leaders because they didn't have any breaks between dance partners; at least us followers could rest while waiting the next dance.

After "warming up" with Humppa, many of us continued to an advanced class of Cuban Salsa, which attracted lots of dancers who normally don't come there. Also for me this was a dance class I didn't want to miss! Even though the class level was advanced, we started from the very beginning. For me this was perfect because Cuban Salsa differs from the Salsa style I'm used to even with the basic steps. The hardest thing for me was to keep my knees bent all the time and to restrict my hip movement only to side to side movement (not to do the 8-shaped movement that I tend to do automatically). We also practiced some really basic Cuban Salsa figures, such as pausa, dile que no and dile que si. We'll have Cuban Salsa also for the next two times so we'll have time for some more advanced figures in the coming weeks.

On Friday I had my first actual Spex practice. As I told before, I'm going to dance in five dances in our student musical Spex. Since I cannot reveal the songs, I'm going to call the dances with numbers 1-5 in the order they appear in the show. So Friday's practice was for a dance 1, and this dance's song is definitely one of my favorite ones in the Spex. The choreographer for the dance 1 is one of the Spex dancer's sisters' boyfriend (someone correct me if I got this wrong!) and he is a dance teacher in Footlight dance school. In addition to his great skills in dancing and teaching we were able to use the dance school's space, which is a perfect place to practice! From the first glimpse, the choreography seems really awesome. It has lots of small tricks that look great but are not too hard to learn. I think most of the girls (including me) dancing in this dance don't have much experience in this dance style so the choreography couldn't even be too challenging or we wouldn't learn it well within the limited time we have. Because this dance style is totally new for me, even the simple and basic things takes a lot of time to learn, and most of the time I was the slowest one to get the steps. This leads to one thing that I really liked about our choreographer: he looked at me many times with a patient and kind look as saying "yes, be both know that you are doing many moves wrong but don't worry, you'll get them with time!". I could see after the practice that I wasn't the only one who got really excited about this dance and the choreography. I'm telling you: it's going to be spectacular!

In Friday we had also a small Spex dancers' evening party at one of the dancer's cozy apartment. Everybody brought something small to eat which ended up a table full of different kind yummy treats. We ate well, took some drinks and got to know each others. We, for example, played this game "who of us would most probably..." which revealed some interesting things about the other dancers. I must say the evening was a success and everybody had lots and lots of fun. I can't remember when was the last time I laughed that much (no wonder my abbs hurt when I woke up this morning)! Around midnight we headed to a near bar called Korjaamo from where we later continued to Roska for some party dancing. Around 2:30 am I was already heading to the main bus station with two other dancers to get a bus home, but we ended up to this new night club on our way and danced until the place closed! Today it wasn't a hard decision to skip the dance class I was planning on going and to sleep late. Thank you all Spexers for the unforgettable night!

By the way, today I finally bought myself new dancing shoes! I love my high-heels but they just don't go with every dance and I have been needing flat shoes for a long time. I went to Suomen Tanssitarvike and after trying on different kind of shoes I settled on black leather sneaker-like dancing shoes. They just felt the right pair for me the moment I put them on. I can't wait to wear them in tomorrow's practice and see if they were worth of the buy!

Back From The Holiday.

Usually I hate coming back home from my travels. I'm rarely homesick, and the only thing I'm usually glad about coming home is not having to live from my backpack all the time. This time, however, I was happy to come back to Helsinki, not because I was homesick, but because I missed dancing. Fortunately I came home late on Tuesday night which meant multiple dance practices for the rest of the week starting from the very next day. I managed to arrange a dance practice with my new practice partner, Mr. A., already for Wednesday, so I got my dancing back on track right from the beginning.

I couldn't say I got that much new out from yesterday's beginners Waltz lesson, but it is good to go back to basics every now and then. In short, we started with Vienna Waltz and after an hour or so continued to Slow Waltz, the emphasis being on the basic steps and the rotation of upper body. Interestingly, some of the beginners' class leaders, who apparently want to get feedback and guidance from me (and have noticed that I easily give it!), have spotted me and kept coming and asking me to practice with them. Somehow I also unintentionally kept on bumping into one specific leader, which actually turned out to be a good thing in a way that we were able to adjust our dancing into each other's style. In the end off the class we did much better than in the beginning (plus we had much fun dancing together!).

Even though it is good to practice the basic steps, I must admit that I enjoyed my practice with Mr. A. after the HOT-dance class much more than the basic step training. After dancing with beginners it was so comfy to dance with someone who is an excellent leader and knows what he is doing. This was our second practice together, since we practiced once before my trip to Spain, but I felt like we already danced quite well together and were able to find a good connection. What I have noticed is that it is not enough your dance partner is a good dancer or a good leader to be able to dance with him well. I find it really hard to follow some brilliant dancers whose dancing style differs lots from mine even though they definitely know how to lead their partners. Well okay, I'm still just a beginner, but I bet I'm not the only one feeling this way.

I know Mr. A. could teach me lots about dancing, especially about some dances I haven't danced before, but for now I feel like I should stick with the dances I already know when practicing with him. I liked the feeling that we didn't have this teacher-student relationship that I had with Nic and have with JV, but that we both could somehow learn without the other's teaching. If there was something to comment on the other's dance, we did that, but other than that we basically just danced different dances, mostly Slow Fox, Fusku, Tango and Cha-cha. The best way to learn to dance, after all, is to actually dance. Okay, I have to admit that going for new dances with Mr. A. would mean stepping out of my comfort zone, so in a way I'm just taking the path of least resistance. Well, let's see how this partnership develops.

Biodanza.

I'm the kind of person who likes to try new things,especially if it is related to dancing. So when I was browsing through a pamphlet about Malaga area's events, my attention was drawn by an ad of Biodanza. Immediately I was like wait what is this thing and why haven't I heard about it before? It must be something to do with dancing since the ad said no dancing experience needed. I convinced my sisters to come to the evening's class with me and so we headed to this place called La Casa Invisible later that day.

When we arrived to the place it seemed a bit suspicious. It was located in a small side street and there were bunch of people smoking weed outside it. It took a while for us to find the right room, La Sala Verde, but when we finally got there, there was a small group of people smiling at us and welcoming us in.

The Biodanza class started with a short introduction of Biodanza since me and my sisters were there for the first time. The instructor was really kind-hearted and warm person, and her eyes were full of happiness and beam. The way she described Biodanza was unforgettable: she said Biodanza had opened her a landscape of butterflies, flowers and beautiful colors. Yes, sound really hippie-like but the way she expressed it, wasn't. All the other people in the class also said Biodanza has had a big effect on them even though the classes have just started in Malaga not so long ago. That is also the reason why the group was relatively small.

The class was definitely different to any dance classes I've been. It wasn't about any dance technique or music genre, but more about expressing yourself through the music and connecting with the other persons during your dance. We were emphasized that it was really important to watch into each others eyes during the whole class; in that way you couldn't isolate yourself from the others. It was also prohibited to speak during the class. It was only the instructor speaking while she was giving us instructions. We made a different dance to each song and each dance had it's own theme, which usually included some specific emotion, like happiness, anger or pride. Connecting with the others started gradually first with eye-contact, then continued to gentle touches and hugs. The strong contact with the group during the whole class made me feel like I would somehow know the strangers even though I hadn't spoke a single word with them.

Since dancing for me is a way of expressing myself I really liked the emotions connected to the dances, even though sometimes it was hard to find the right emotions in a short time. I also found some surprising emotions inside me. What I would have wanted more was more actual dancing. Anyway, Biodanza was really liberating experience for me, and I hope my sisters also enjoyed it as much as I did. Unfortunately Biodanza is not danced in Finland, at least yet, so I won't be able to continue it any time soon. Maybe I'll stop by on Monday's class if I have some time.

Dance With Me?

I know I have been dancing enough when I don't have time to write about it. I've spent most of my week going to dance practice after work and just crashing to bed when I get home. I don't know if it is because of that, but now I feel really tired and happy about the free weekend.

Well, a lot dancing-related has happened. On Tuesday I had a Zouk practice with JV and I feel like we are now slowly getting into the same wavelength in our dancing. To be able to concentrate more on my technique, I first have to get used to my partner's leading style so that I don't have to think about it too much. At least I enjoy dancing more when the following comes naturally, without thinking. That is why I'm also happy about having a practice partner, and JV has already proven to be a good choice (he, for example, saved me from an awkward situation later that evening!).

JV had a good idea of videotaping our dancing so that we could easily see our mistakes and learn from them, and so I took my camera with me. Now that I have a video of me dancing Zouk in a real beginner level, I can later see my development concretely. This is what I should have done with ballroom dancing too. And it is true what JV said, the camera is cruel what comes to mistakes! I noticed my hand work is horrible and that I really have to work with my stance. I have been watching some Zouk videos on YouTube to improve my hand movement so maybe next time I can try to work on those. I also have to concentrate on stepping with toes first, because now I'm doing too much heel steps.

After our practice we went to Havanna for Noche Romantica -party. There were heaps of people and many good dancers, which is always a sign of a good party. Downside of it was that the dance floor was little bit too crowded from time to time, which can sometimes lead, like what happened to me, a painful elbow hit to head, ouch! My friend's friend came there too, and I definitely got her hooked on social dancing. It is good to know I now have a party friend for Salsa clubs! It was such a pleasure to see her smiling face when dancing. I love meeting people who gets as much happiness and joy out of dancing as I do.

To my surprise, I nowadays like dancing Bachata more than Salsa. Actually somehow I've lost my confidence in Salsa, and I feel like I cannot really dance it anymore. I had terrible difficulties following many guys, but then again they were dancing Cuban style. Well, we're going to have Salsa classes in HOT-dance and I think after those I'll do lots better. I also bought a voucher for Baila Baila dance school's classes so I can take some Salsa classes there too.

On Wednesday's HOT-dancing we had a revision class, so we went through the main things we have learned in Foxtrot, Bugg and Cha-cha. It is amazing how fast you can forget even the basic things! Again, I was so lost in Bugg, didn't do that well in Foxtrot, but loved Cha-cha. On Thursday the intermediate and advanced classes continued with Waltz. I had pretty horrible day and I was quite pissed off before going to the classes but after dancing I was wondering why I even thought my day was that horrible. This might show how much I just love Slow Waltz! After the classes I also got an irresistible proposal: I was asked to start practicing ballroom dancing with someone. Actually, I had been thinking earlier if I could somehow ask him to be my practice partner in a way he would agree (I know he is quite busy with dancing and already has many practice partners), so I was really happy he was the one asking me. We might start practicing after I'm finished with Spex though. Let's see how much time I will have when the Spex training starts.

Talking about Spex, I finally found out in which dances I'm going to dance in! I'm dancing in four songs in total, so the exact amount of dances I hoped for. Two of the songs are what I really wanted, and I avoided the two songs I disliked, so it's just perfect! The practices will start in two weeks, can't wait!

On Monday I'm going to Spain with my family for a week, so I might have a short break in dancing unless I find something from there. Okay, I admit, I have been looking for dancing schools and Salsa clubs already online...

Connecting People.

Saturday I almost had the same feeling as when I went to my first Zouk practice; the Zoukkers had a birthday party for Zouk in Finland in Helsinki Salsa Academy's studio. The location was definitely the kind of place you wouldn't just happen to jump into and find out there was the most amazing party going on, so good thing I'm already getting into the Zouk circles! Even though the studio was a bit secluded place, it was a great place to have a dance party.

The plan for the night was simple but couldn't been better: to dance Zouk, dance a little bit more Zouk, and then dance some Zouk. My mission to dance with as many different people as I could was accomplished easily when all the dancers formed a big circle and did a Roda, which is a group Zouk dance. Basically you do certain moves after which you change partner. It was a good way to get everybody involved and after that I didn't feel uncomfortable asking people to dance since I already danced with everybody. Later we also did a birthday dance for two dancers who had their B-days. All the girls circled the B-day boy and the boys did the same for the girl, and they got to be in the middle of attention and dance with all of the opposite sex. How cool, I want to get that for my birthday too!

The only thing that was bothering me was that I promised one of my best friends to go out night clubbing with her later that evening. The moment I walked in to the Zouk party I knew I didn't want to leave early! I almost texted my friend I'm not coming after all, but I didn't want to be the kind of person who breaks her promise. So after midnight I had to say goodbye and head to the Tiger. It felt so nice that everybody were trying to make me stay, asking me for the "last" dance over and over again. Even though I am a new Zoukker and didn't know most of the people there, I didn't feel outsider even for a second. It is amazing how dancing connects people!

I am already spreading my zest for Zouk to other people. I took one of my friends to the Zouk party and yesterday I got a message from him saying he has been thinking about Zouk a lot since that (oh I know how that feels like!). Today I'm taking a new acquaintance to Noche Romantica, a Kizomba, Salsa and Bachata party in Havanna. I met her through my friend on Saturday and she seemed like a person who would just fall for the dance. Right okay, I might have a hidden agenda behind this, since none of my current friends are into social dancing, which means no one to go with me to Salsa clubs!

Before the today's party JV is giving me another Zouk lesson. After introducing Zouk to my friend in the Zouk party, I might now understand why some are willing to practice dancing with beginners. It feels great to see their positive reactions to a new dance. It is like giving something precious to the other person, and I do like to make others happy (then again, who wouldn't?). Well, I just have to first learn myself before passing the present along.

Shy Dancer.

I have this weird tendency of getting really nervous when I dance with someone for the first time. I get even more nervy if I dance with someone I know is a good dancer. When I get nervous I cannot relax and follow the lead, and the dance ends up near to a disaster from my side. So basically the better I know my partner is, the worse I dance. Shouldn't it be quite the opposite: the better my partner knows how to lead, the better I should be able to dance with him from the start? Okay, there are few good leaders who I feel comfortable dancing with starting from the first dance, but I cannot really know why. I wonder what the reason could be.

Today I had my first Zouk practice with JV, and I must admit I was quite nervous about it, even though JV is one of the exceptions from my main rule. Maybe it was because I really wanted to dance with him and was worried of doing something so wrong he would regret ever asking me to practice with him. Writing this down now sounds pretty foolish, doesn't it! Not surprisingly, I couldn't relax enough in the beginning, but after an hour or so I was finally able to get over from my nervousness, and I feel it really reflected to my dancing. I was even able to forget my surroundings during dancing, which was good because there were lots of people going around and organizing some kind of party for the evening.

JV taught me some basic elements of Zouk that don't appear in most of other dances, and so are maybe the most difficult to adapt intuitively. We started with head movement around and from one side to the other, and the signals to make the girl move her head. It is quite hard to make the movement relaxed and slow enough, and I felt like loosing my balance quite easy while moving my head around. Next teaching was moving the whole upper body all way down to horizontal level. I know it is going to get more natural for me, but at the moment I just feel somehow uncomfortable doing these kind of movements. I just feel ridiculous stooping my back and staying there for quite a long time. Well, it was a great choice from JV to teach me these kind of things. All I need now is just lots and lots of dancing to get used to them. Anyway, thank you JV for the great advice and pleasant dancing moments, I'm already looking forward our next session!

What happened in HOT-dancing this week was, firstly, that I realized Foxtrot is not my dance. Seriously, I almost left the dance class on Wednesday. I don't know why I find it so hard taking long steps backwards, and when I make my steps too short, I get walked over. Foxtrot is not even that fun dance to dance it would motivate me to start putting a lot of effort on learning the steps right. It is not that I am going to reject the whole dance, but I am just saying there are so many other dances that I'd rather do.

One of those dances is my favorite standard dance, Slow Waltz, that we luckily practiced on both Thursday's dance classes. In the intermediate class the emphasis was more in the technique while the advanced class concentrated on figures. Even though Nic taught me lots of technique I learned lots of new things about the basic steps and how to make the "waves" right. The thing most of us were doing wrong in the beginning was going down on the first beat even though you should already start going down the waive on the third beat. Waltz is actually really hard dance although many people think is the dance everyone can dance.

I must say that even though technique training is really important and I like doing it, I enjoyed the figure class more. Our teachers taught us American Slow Waltz which is really figure-focused and space demanding dance. Still the dance has the same glory as the competition Slow Waltz, and I love imagining myself in a big old ballroom wearing beautiful evening dress, trying to do all the movements as exquisite as I can. Lovely! Thursday's Slow Waltz class ended up in a way I wouldn't have ever expected: my teacher gave me shoulder and feet massage! What a good run for my money this dance class has proven to be!

It has definitely been a great dancing week! I have also been thinking a lot about my relationship to dancing, and I've also discovered some new aspects of myself. I've realized I don't quite know what I really want from dancing at the moment, I just want to keep on doing it. Tomorrow I'm going to the Zouk in Finland 1st Birthday Party, and my goal for the night is to dance with many different people to get over my fear of dancing with new partners. I'll report later how I managed it!

An Exciting Suggestion.

I don't know how good of a person I was in my last life because life is treating me so well now! On Monday evening I got a surprising Facebook message from this one Zouk dancer I've met couple of times. I got so excited about the message I had to hold back not to jump around my apartment and scream hysterically. My reaction was due to this: the dancer said that he would like to start practicing Zouk with me! I mean, wow, this was exactly what I hoped for! I don't know why he would like to practice with me, a total Zouk beginner, but it doesn't really matter for me! Apparently my huge enthusiasm for dancing compensates my lack of experience. Oh, I'm so happy about this! Okay, maybe I shouldn't count my chickens before they're hatched, since we haven't had our first practice yet. I hope it will go well and we will actually start dancing together. You should see my wide smile when I am even thinking about this!

Oh, yesterday evening I went to one dance party in bar Havanna and learned a new dance, Kizomba. It is a African pair dance, originally from Angola, danced to Zouk-like music. I have seen people dancing it in some Salsa events, but I never got the basic steps and so didn't try dancing it before this. Somehow I had the image that Kizomba would be a mixture of Salsa and Bachata, but after trying it, I don't think so anymore. It is a slow, wavy and sensual dance, and the dance stance is r-e-a-l-l-y close. I happened to meet one Salsa dancer just before the short Kizomba lesson and it was almost awkward to dance that close body contact with someone you just met. I am already used to the strong physical contact in other dances, but I might not recommend Kizomba as a first dance to start with to some who haven't been dancing pair dances before. Other than that, it is easy to follow and allows you enjoy the music and closeness. Anyway, we were both Kizomba beginners and ended up having heaps of fun learning this new dance. The basics are quite easy so we got into the dance pretty fast. The hardest thing for me was the down-backward hip movement, since I've used more to right-left movement, and after dancing a while I could definitely feel it in my back. Great night all in all, the only thing missing was a bit more people in the dance floor.

Spex Secrets.

Saturday was an exiting day: they revealed the script for Spex! All spexers gathered to "read-through-party" where we also finally found out what songs are going to be in the show. I cannot reveal anything but I can say this: it is going to awesome! All of the dancers got super exited about the songs and I think we are all looking forward being able to start working with the choreography. There were couple of songs to which I would really like to dance to, but the division is up to our team leaders. I think next week I will know which songs I'm going to be in. So exiting!

After reading through the script we headed to Swing karaoke bar for an after party. Everybody were having a great time singing karaoke, having couple of drinks and going crazy in the dance floor. Accidentally, some of the HOT-dancers were having a social dancing party in the same place, which ended up me being in the dance floor most of the night, either with them or with spexers. I even tried to get some of the dancer girls to try pair dancing, but my efforts were not that successful.

How cool is just to go to a bar and conquer the dance floor with a bunch of dancers? And who said ballroom dancing would be boring?! One of my favorite moments was dancing something Tango-like into heavy metal music. This proves that there are no rules in social dancing. I love it!

Oh, we also had a dance practice before the party earlier that day. I had some serious difficulties finding the practice place and the others had already started when I finally got there. We did some technique training and a fun oriental-like choreography to the end. I am really hoping they will not put me into a choreography where I have to do lots of spins because I just cannot make them right. This is the problem of a short dancing history: a lack of technique in countless things. Good thing that our dance group is so supportive and everybody is really helpful. I am sure this dancing experience is going to give me so much. At least a dozen of new friends and sore muscles.

Here is a video of me dancing to the heavy metal in Swengi. It is a bit dark but you might get the idea from it. Fun times!

Dance Marathon.

Thursday was an amazing day: I had Tango + Cha-cha + Zouk practice! I don't know if you can get high from dancing but at least I felt like flying in the air after dancing five and half hours in a row. Today my feet were sore but it was so worth it.

What comes to Tango, I feel like I'm finally learning how to follow. This time I was able to keep the body contact better. I was even able to follow the instructor that was really hard for me last week. We practiced dancing without hands again, which is really hard, and even though it's not my favorite thing to do it is really good practice. It s funny that I said I'd try to keep my mouth shout this time, because we also had to give some peer feedback after dancing with different partners. So I finally got some advice about my dancing and it seems like I'm doing pretty good job. Many said that I'm following really well and that it's easy to dance with me. I should try to keep my contact better with my legs and try to avoid leaning my upper body too far away though. So the competition dance stance is not working in Finnish Tango. "Have you been doing competition dance before?" seems to be a comment I get quite often especially if I dance with someone more experienced dancer. What can I say, Nic taught me well!

In the advanced class this week was the last time we had Cha-cha and I already know I'm going to miss these classes. Cha-cha is definitely my favorite ballroom dance at least for now! This time I learned quite important thing about my  dance position: I seem to lean back too much with my upper body which leads to some balance problems in spins. Good thing that I'm a fast learner because I almost got rid of this bad habit already. Couple of more classes and I'd be able to do balanced spins. After the class the Cha-cha instructor (who is, by the way, really funny guy!) asked me dance with him. I felt kind of flattered, and it was so much fun to dance with someone who does crazy and unexpected figures. Great dancing!

As a finale, my new dancing friend gave me a Zouk lesson and I think I'm getting so addicted to this dance. I could have danced all night long with him but at 10:30pm I had to call it a day to be able to wake up early next morning for a court sitting. It is so peasant and easy to dance with him, and I felt like I was absorbing the dance technique pretty well. It is so amazing that someone is willing to teach me even without me asking for it. I might post some pictures of us later if I get the pics one girl who was photographing us during the session. The Finnish Zouk dancers are going to have a big Zouk party in 8th of October and there are going to be some free beginners classes. Definitely a must-go for me!

Tomorrow we're going to have second Spex dance practice with our dancing group. I'm also hoping to find someone to go to one Salsa party with me later the evening. I might be repeating myself but I love love love dancing (still can't stop smiling when I think about yesterday)!

Note To Self: Shut Up And Dance.

Yeah, me and my big mouth that seems to be impossible to keep shut. Like in today's ballroom dance class. I think my goal for tomorrow is just to shut up and dance.

Last week's Tango class.

Why do I even have this obsession to analyze everything in dancing? Oh, now I did this wrong and, geez, I should have done that different. Why can't I just forget everything like that and go with the music? I guess it would be somehow okay if I wouldn't extend my analysis to others. "If you did that different, it would be easier for me." Hello miss princess, the world doesn't spin around you! In the end of the dance course there won't be anyone left who is brave enough to dance with you!

This doesn't mean I wouldn't have enjoyed today's dance class, quite the opposite. I cannot believe how fast the time goes. Two hours doesn't seem to be enough for me, and once again I lingered in the edge of the ballroom after the class, hoping that someone would feel like dancing a little bit more. I'm sure my greediness will backfire on me somehow, like with turning the pressure I can already feel in my lower back into a nasty pain. If I only had someone to massage my back good again...

So today we went through the things we did in Bugg last week, and I noticed I already forgot so many things it was even hard to get started! Well, after a while I was able to catch up and I think I'm already doing a lots better with my following. I did not do my homework and practice the bounce, so it wasn't a success this time either. Next time then!

Other dance we did today was Foxtrot. We were told to concentrate on a pushing step, to a upper body movement and taking longer steps. I don't know why it is sometimes quite hard to follow Foxtrot even though the steps are so simple. But I must say, if the guy is doing the body rotation right, the following becomes so much easier. Next week we'll have more Foxtrot and I'm hoping to learn some figures because, to be honest, the dance is a bit boring if you just go with the basic step. Maybe tomorrow I'll even get a short Zouk lesson after the classes!