Dance Numbers.

In the end of last year I saw some dancers posting their dance numbers on Facebook: how many dance parties, how many dance trips, how many dance practices etc. they had that year. I thought it would be cool to keep up such a list myself. I'll give it a try. So from January my score would be something like this:

Dance parties: 4 (2x Zouk, 2x Kizomba/Zouk)
Dance weekends: 1 (Oslo!!!)
Dance practices: 2x WCS, 2x Ballroom, 5x Zouk
Dance practicas/socials: 4
Dance classes: 5 (as a teacher, still 0 as a student)

Hmh, in some areas quite a slow start (though my trip to Oslo gives some extra points!). A lot of time has been spent on my yoga mat instead. However, this week will change the figures, because I’m finally, after a long long break, going back to F&A’s Zouk classes. I’m so, super, hyper, excited. From now on, my Tuesday and Thursday nights will be spent first in a beginner and then in an intermediate class. Yeah!!

Some might wonder why to take beginner classes. The answer is simple: if you master the basic things everything else will be so much easier. Beginners are usually so impatient to go forward and to learn more difficult figures that they forget this. Therefore it is usually the basic things that need improvement. I know that my basics, at least, still need a lot of polishing. Also, it is mostly about your attitude in the dance class if you are going to learn something or not. If you think that I know this already, you won't learn anything. Every movement can be done better or in different way. When I started Zouk I most definitely got different things out of the beginner classes than what I’m going to now. Now that I already have some knowledge in my head and technique in my body, I can focus on smaller details and nuances, and the way of implementing everything to my own way of dancing. It is the details that I want to learn, because that is exactly what dancing is made of. Even a slight change in the position of your finger can make a difference. Actually, Tuesday's beginner class was one of the most useful Zouk classes I've had for a while!

Also, I’m happy to announce that I have found a new practice partner and it seems that this has a potential to develop into a longer-term practice partnership. At least we both have been offering each other some new challenges and have been having heaps of fun in our practices. And our dancing goes well together, that’s one of the most important things! We were having a practice the other day and some dancers came to ask how long we had been dancing together. They were amazed to hear that it was our second practice! I’m eager to see where this will lead – hopefully into something good.

Talking about practice partners – and dance partners – this was something that I noticed missing about Finland when I was away. Here it is common to have your private practices and it is pretty easy to ask someone to have a practice with. In addition to improving my dancing, I also find it a great way to get to know to other dancers better. Maybe the biggest challenge on finding a more regular practice partner, though, is that both must be able to give the other something from the practices in a longer term. I don't mind having a practice with a beginner, giving tips and advice – it can be fun and useful. Maybe this sounds cruel, but I still rather have regular practices with someone who can challenge me in some way, let it be in some other dance style, technique or way of moving. A dance partner, then again, is something more than a practice partner, at least for me it is. It is not just random practices every now and then, but there is something more, some kind of commitment to your improvement as a dance couple. So far I've had many practice partners, even quite regular ones, but I would count only two of them as dance partners. Hm, maybe I should write down more thoughts on this later on.

Me dancing in Helsinki Zouk Festival 2013. Photo by Berg Chabot.

This weekend is special in a way that we have three Zouk events in Helsinki: Kizomba/Zouk party on Friday, Zouk party on Saturday and Zouk social on Sunday. This might be the first time since I came back to Helsinki that we have this much going on in one weekend! I highly appreciate the dancers who have the enthusiasm to organize events and parties; I know it takes a lot of time and effort. Frankly speaking, I'm not an organizer kind of person. I used to work in a charity organization for so many years that I got enough of organizing events. Hopefully these dancers won't and we'll have more weekends like this.