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!