I haven't had muscle ache from dancing for a long time but now I can definitely feel last week's dancing in my legs. Saturday's Zouk workshop for ladies was great and I think it really helped me to improve my basics. Now I just need to practice and practice to make the movements natural. Here is a glimpse from what we did:
On Saturday evening I ended up going to Fresca's Salsa party to Senaatin Hiili. I wonder why Fresca and BailaBaila always organize two big overlapping Salsa parties at the same nights when they could make parties in different nights and both have even bigger parties. Makes no sense to me. Anyway, the party was pretty good (I even enjoyed dancing Salsa!) until like 2 am when people started to leave. The night ended randomly going to a "normal" night club with one of my dancer friend, dancing crazy in the middle of drunken party people (right, maybe we weren't that sober either...). How awesome! I hope dance parties would have that kind of party atmosphere until the bar closes.
My dance week ended to Sunday's Zouk practica where I was happy to see many new faces. Our Zouk scene is getting bigger, yay! But even though I did heaps of social dancing last week, I didn't get into a dance flow at any night. I had many great individual dances but not that kind of continuous feeling of ultimate happiness that I've experienced before. What a shame! Other than that, my dance week was pretty much perfect.
Today I'm going to take a day off from dancing and spend "traditional" Vappu with my non-dancer friends. Tomorrow, then again, I was planning on having a dance Vappu and go to three different dance events. So, have a great Vappu, and come dance with me tomorrow either to Ullanlinnan Vappusalsat, Ylioppilaskunnan Vapputanssiaiset or Havanna's Zouk Flow!
This week is going to be a week of social dancing: I've already been in three dance parties and there is two more to come! Yesterday I went to HOT-Dancing's spring dance party to Otaniemi and here are some pictures from the evening:
It was great, for a change, to actually have some space for dancing! I don't mean that there weren't enough dancers, quite the opposite, but the dance floor was big enough. Even though there were many familiar dancers I wanted to dance with I was trying to do my best and dance with some new dancers I never danced before. I also really liked HOS Big Band's music and groovy energy. In addition, we had a surprise demo performance from F&A! Aren't them just great:
Talking about Andressa, I am going to her Zouk workshop for ladies today. It is going to include things like body and head work, beauty and sensuality, stetching techniques, balance and following skills, so many things I really need to work with. Let's see if I still have energy for tonight's dance party after all the dancing this week.
I have been wondering lately what could be the reason behind the fact that not many people ask me to dance with them in social dancing events. When I think of it, I usually dance only with the few same people. For example, in last Zouk practica I danced only with six leaders during the whole 2,5 hours. Okay right, I also enjoy the most dancing with those few leaders, so should I really be complaining? Still, is it that I look like I don't want to dance with others or what is the thing here?
I think one reason is that others are like me: they like dancing with the same people. If the dance party is big and you have many friends there, there isn't just time left for new dancing connections. If there is a good song coming, you want to dance that with someone who you know you can have an awesome dance. The problem is that when I go to a dance party from where I hardly know anyone, it is easy to feel like an outsider (I feel like this happens in every Salsa party I go to). It doesn't help that I am pretty shy to go and ask someone to dance with me, especially if I haven't been dancing with him before. I read this blog posting the other day about how to make a local dance scene bigger, and one central thing the writer was saying was that you should always dance not only with the experienced dancers you love to dance with, but also with those who are lower level than you are. I feel like some dancers are a bit too picky on their dance company, and I must admit that sometimes I tend to be that kind of dancer too. However, that is not the right way to attract new and potential dancers, or to make some new surprising dance experiences for that matter.
The above said doesn't apply to situations where there is a dancer I have danced with before but he doesn't seem willing to dance with me again. So what if my way of dancing is just something that only few people like? Right, I do think that you cannot have a good dancing connection with everyone - it is just like you cannot get along with everyone outside the dance floor either- but are people giving up too easy after the first impression? After all, one dance is usually not enough to adapt to the other's dance style. I understand that social dancing events are for having fun but maybe there is a chance of learning something new when dancing with someone the connection doesn't come that naturally. Dancing circles are small, there's no denying it, but would it be that hard to make your own circles bigger?
So after thinking this through I could come to a conclusion that it is me who is keeping my own circles small. Not many leaders ask me to dance with them but then again I'm not really doing that much to change it. I keep on dancing in my comfort zone with the leaders I feel most comfortable dancing with. I think there is nothing wrong with that as long as I keep stepping out from that zone every now and then. Phew, I think I have to start changing my social dancing habits!
Here are some of the pictures my friend took last weekend. You can check out more of her pictures from here. I love how she was able to capture my passion for dancing, or what do you think?
Thank you Katja for the beautiful pictures and all the effort and time you put into them!
One thing that have been bothering me lately is that I have almost none pictures of me dancing. So when one of my best friends, who happens to be a great photographer, came to visit me from Tampere this weekend I asked her to take some dancing pictures of me. Michaelo was being nice and agreed to model with me, and I loved the results. I can't wait to get the pictures and post the best ones here!
I don't have bigger thoughts to share with you this time. When I have to run between university, work and dance practices there is no much time left for deeper thinking. Someone asked me the other day that how can I manage do as much as I do, but I feel like the three things - studying, working and dancing - are balancing my life pretty well. When I start doing something, I concentrate only to that and don't think about others. If my mind starts to wander I feel like I'm not getting the most out of the moment I'm living in. I think the importance of embracing every moment is emphasized really well in dancing. Every dance is unique but if you give all of you in it, you can capture the dance and store it into your heart. I love opening those special memories and letting them to make me smile.
I feel like the spring sun is giving me more and more energy every day. I can't wait for the warm and long summer days and dancing outside in the sunshine. I booked one more dance festival for June so I have one more good reason to be exited about the signs that are saying: the summer is almost here!
By the way, here is one song that I listened in repeat at least dozen times when I first heard it. I love the positive energy of it and the way it makes me feel like dancing with a big smile. Now I'm off to Sunday's Zouk practica which just might crown the perfect weekend I'm having.
I shouldn't keep this long break with my updates since I seem to forget all the different dancing feelings I've been having lately. Many people who go to dance congresses are usually having this coming-back-home-depression when there is no mind-blowing dance parties every night, but I have been in a really good dancing mood since Prague and I hope it keeps on going till the next congress. I feel like I'm not dancing as much as I want to, so I'd like to start something new, but then again I know I should finish my school work for this term first.
Prague's congress triggered me to think about me as a dancer from another angle, and I have been realizing some important things. Things that kept pushing me down before. Things that I needed to find out. See, many people like giving advices and I am usually really careful listener. I came across this quote and I couldn't agree more.
It is important to listen to the advice you get, but what I did wrong was forgetting to listen to myself. I was thinking too much what others think of me as a dancer and what did they think about my dancing. What about my opinion? Am I the kind of dancer I want to be, or am I just trying to be the kind of dancer I think others want me to be? So I listened to myself. There is no right way of dancing, just different ways, and I like the way where I am going.
Oh, JV asked me to post here some of the pictures I took from last Saturday's White Party. I must say, that even though I had many great dances in the party, I was kind of disapponted to the night. The music wasn't the way I expected, and most left quite early so I couldn't dance all night long as I would have wanted. Hm, better luck next time.
Last week it felt weird to go back dancing ballroom after dancing just Zouk intensively for couple of weeks. We had Cha-cha and Bugg on Thursday's classes and those woke up a different side of me that has been sleeping for a while. Even though I love some dances more than others, dancing a variety of different dances gives something to all of them. The best thing is to come home after long dance classes, exhausted but with a huge smile on my face. That's what I was planning to do tomorrow!
Last but not least, I have to mention one thing that made me happy this week. Michaelo asked me if I wanted to be his dance partner in Zouk, Kizomba and Bachata competitions next autum. I understand Zouk, but he could have asked someone who actually knows something about Kizomba and Bachata. Instead, he asked me. So I guess I'm not the only one who likes the way where I am going.
I'm happy to tell you that I did my first Zouk demo last night! Michaelo had organized us to promote Zouk in Tampere's Bachata party so we gave a short impro demo there. It was also great to have that kind of dance feeling with Michaelo that we haven't had for a long time. The atmosphere was warm and I think we left a good impression about Zouk to the audience. JV kindly videotaped the dance so I can share it with you (this is actually the first time I post a video of my dancing here so I feel a bit nervous now!):
We haven't been dancing that much together lately with Michaelo, so before our trip to Tampere we had a short practice to get used to each others dancing again. Actually we chose the song on our way to the party so we didn't actually practice the demo beforehand. However, we both enjoyed the short performance to the fullest. It just passed by so fast that it left us wanting more of that amazing feeling. Who knows, maybe we'll get another chance some day soon...
I don't even know where to start telling about last weekend's Zouk Congress. There was so much of everything that workshops, parties and days are mixed-up in my head. Compared to Amsterdam's Zouk festival, Prague's congress was bigger, longer and had more participants and teachers. This time there were also quite a big group of zoukkers from Finland in the event so there were at least some familiar faces around. It was also easy to go with the group with accommodation and such (I was really happy about our hostel, btw, which was only 5 minute walk from the congress venue!).
The congress started on Thursday with three workshops in both advanced and intermediate level. I didn't make it to the first workshop though, but the weekend included so many workshops that missing one didn't really matter that much. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday the workshops were from 11:30 am to 8 pm, so six dance classes every day. The workshops were divided into two levels (intermediate/advanced) added with alternative workshops that mostly included ladies/men styling classes. I first hesitated going to the advanced classes but I after all I didn't notice that big of a difference between the levels, so I ended up choosing the workshops according to the teachers. F&A had recommended some teachers so I tried to take their classes as much as I could. I also wanted to take couple of ladies styling classes and it was a good thing I did since those did proved themselves to be quite useful.
Almost all of the workshops followed the same pattern: a short warm-up, learning a figure and a demo from the teachers. It would have been nice to have a little bit of variation between the classes but I guess this is the easiest way of teaching a big group. I think I got a lot more out from the classes now that I know more about Zouk. I personally liked when the teachers paid attention to the right technique since I still have so much to learn with that. However, it was a lot easier to pick up some technique after going to F&A's classes for one month.
In addition to the workshops, a big thing in the Zouk congresses are, of course, the parties. The "hard core" zoukkers actually come to these events only for the parties skipping the workshops and dancing all night long until early morning. In Prague we had a theme for every party: pajamas party on Thursday, brega party on Friday, gala night on Saturday and troca de sex on Sunday. In every party the best dressed were able to win full passes for coming Zouk congresses. I can tell that the costumes some were wearing were just unbelievable! Too bad I didn't realize to take some pictures to post here!
Go FinZouk!
The parties were definitely a place to practice Zouk intensively. It was interesting to find out that for a dance to feel amazing with someone is not that much to do with skills. You can have amazingly fun (or not feel comfortable at all) with really experienced dancer or quite beginner. I got quite many recommendations of good leaders but dancing with those didn't really turn out to be that great. I found my own favorite leaders with who I felt like clicking immediately. It feels indescribably good do have a great connection with someone during a dance. You forget the surroundings, the time, the music, everything. I cannot help mentioning my best Zouk since far. It was with one of the Zouk teacher whose way of leading was just perfect. After the dance he asked: "Wow, thank you so much! Where do you dance, I mean, teach?" After the dance (and the comment) I must have had the widest smile ever for hours.
So, the weekend was really intensive both physically and mentally. I feel I found the dancer inside me again. I also found some sore muscles that I didn't even know I had! I didn't see much of Prague, only the two blocks between our hostel and the congress venue, but these events are not for sight seeing anyway. I have been in this weird state of mind all week, just thinking about zoukking. Actually I have been seeing dreams of dancing Zouk every single night after coming back. The weirdest thing is that before I didn't use to see dreams of dancing at all! Something in me must have changed in Prague...
Oh, something funny happened on Thursday. We were having F's birthday party in Silk Club downtown Helsinki when suddenly me and Michaelo were the only ones in the dance floor. Everybody stopped to watch our zoukking. Some were even clapping after our dance. How weird! I don't know if Michaelo got excited about this but we are having our first Zouk demo tomorrow in Tampere's Bachata party. Let's see how that is going to turn out!
This Easter weekend has been almost dance free, only a short Zouk practice with JV on Friday. I have been working with my seminar paper for uni which deadline is tomorrow morning. I mean, who puts a deadline for Easter Monday?! Anyway, this morning I woke up with huge pain in my neck and upper back. I've been trying to stretch, take pain killers and everything but nothing seems to help! This is what you get after working with a computer too long. I think last weekend also has something to do with this since I got my neck stuck already there. I still find it difficult to keep my head relaxed in Zouk and the wrong technique leads to muscle tension. Outch, not a nice feeling.
Okay, here is some videos from Prague. I have plenty of there so if you want to see more just let me know!
It is hard to process all the feelings I had during last weekend's Prague Zouk Festival. My body is exhausted from the extreme dancing and my mind is wondering if all that really happened. It feels kind of surreal to be back home and really hard to go back to my normal life. I don't know if that was a way of making myself feel better but I already booked my next Zouk festival today!
When I was on a plane to Prague I made a promise to myself. I promised that I would get back my dancing confidence. And you know what, thats what I did. The first two days I actually felt like quitting Zouk. I thought that I'm just not good enough of a dancer, that I can't follow well enough and that it can't be fun to dance with me. Then after the Friday night's party someone said to me: "the only problem you're having with Zouk is your lack of confidence." I took those words with me and decided to go back being myself in the dance floor. I realized that somehow I had lost myself and was trying to be something else I couldn't be. I broke myself loose and wow, the amount of enjoyment and happiness I was able to get from dancing again was indescribable! I have never had that much fun dancing as I did during the weekend, so thank you so much for those who gave me many special dancing memories and helped me go back being me.
I'll let you know more about the weekend after I've recovered from the lack of sleep and got my undone school work done, but I can already say that the festival was maybe the best dancing experience I've had. I learned so much, met so many awesome people and had heaps of fun. Also, I cannot help mentioning two teachers that made the workshops really worth of every euro spent. Alisson and Audrey are yet another reason to move to Australia some day soon!
