Dear Diary,

I haven't been opening my heart to you for a while. I should have since it always makes me understand what is going on in my mind. My approach to dancing is the same what I have for life: I go with my feelings first. This doesn't make my life easy and it does cause some extra drama every now and then, but its not a thing I would like to change really. Usually listening my feelings leads me to the right track and shows me the way I want to follow. One other thing that then again that doesn't apply both dancing and life is thinking before doing. Dancing is at its best when I don't have or want to think of anything. I just do what feels good or right, or even better: what I don't even realize doing. Doing the same thing in life, however, tends to lead into trouble or, at least, makes it a bit more complicated. Unfortunately sometimes I follow my feelings so slavish that I find myself doing things I might have not done after thinking it through.

My feelings are one thing to blame when it comes spending all my time (and money!) to dancing. Dancing can just feel so amazingly good and sometimes it makes me discover some feelings I have never felt before. Before the summer I decided that I was going to have a relaxing and quiet summer: no commitments, no plans nor tight schedules. But what have I been doing the whole June: running from one dance event/practice/class/party to another! Damn you dancing, you ruined my peaceful plans! Then again, the summer has already made me so happy and there is no denying that I have had heaps of fun. So, if you don't hear from me, I'll most probably be doing the same I've been doing the last couple of weeks.

You know what is the best thing of coming back home from dancing weekends? The people you've danced with add you in Facebook and send you thanks-for-the-amazing-dances-messages! Even though its a small thing, it gives me a good feeling every single time, and it just happens to be that the messages come from the dancers I enjoyed dancing with the most. I bet all of my favorite leaders just don't happen to also be polite and the leaders I didn't like that much not. What I like the least after coming back home is (in addition to the lack of sleep and huge amount of tiredness) going to a local dance party and not having a possibility to get surprised of great connection with people you've never met before. However, after coming back from Berlin I had a great night in Havanna's Zouk&Kizomba evening when I had no chance of leaving the dance floor. I hope my homecoming will be that easy the next time too.

So I have again huge amount of videos from Berlin and also from Tampere Bachata & Kizomba festivals in my camera to post here. But you know what, Diary, it is summer now and I don't feel like having any more extra responsibilities, so I might just keep them to myself.

Zoukking in Berlin. Photo by Berg Chabot.

Can You Control Me?

So here I am, at the airport waiting for my flight to Berlin Zouk Congress! The reason I'm still waiting is a Finnair's strike that just happened to start two days ago. Let's see when my flight actually leaves... Anyway, unlike last congresses, this time I don't feel nervous or anxious but just super excited to meet new dancers and to have so much fun in the dance classes and parties. The weekend is going to be awesome, I tell you! This week I also signed in for a week-long Mzouk intensive course that is going to be held in Barcelona in the beginning of August. All of the Finnish Zouk dancers that went there last year said that its definitely worth going to so I couldn't resist. I also got N Girl to go there with me. We still need to sort out our accommodation, flights and stuff but I'm already so happy that I decided to go there even though I'll have to limit all my summer holidays just for these two Zouk events.

Last Zouk class the whole group got some personal feedback from F&A. It is little bit ironic that my biggest weakness is also my biggest strength. See, I have lots of energy when I dance, which is really good, but sometimes it is hard for the leader or for me to control that energy, and that is when things start going wrong. Then again, it is better to have too much and take some out than not have enough and try to put something more. I just need to concentrate to control my movements and following better and I can move to the next level! Its great that we can get this kind of feedback especially when F&A have been following our development for a longer period of time.

Okay, my flight is finally leaving! Berlin here I come!

If You Dance With Your Heart, Your Body Will Follow.

So much to write about but no time to write about it. So many great dances and new dance feelings. No can do, I need to sleep too. This is what I have to tell you though: on Thursday evening I will be zoukking in Berlin! It is summer and life smiles.

When One Is Not Enough.

What is better than dancing with a great leader? Dancing with two great leaders of course! Couple of days ago I had my first ever threesome Zouk practice with JV and Big O. I have no idea how I was able to get two of my top three favorite Finnish Zouk leaders all to myself for one evening, but more relevant question is: how can I make this happen again?!

There is no denying it: I love dancing with two leaders. I feel like being in the center of attention (and who wouldn't like getting attention...?) and since guys usually have tendency to change everything into a competition, they give that extra something into their part of the dance. Also, the leaders have to adapt their leading in according with the other to be able to make the changes fluently. I guess it also gives new ideas to the leaders, and no one knows what is going to happen next. Refressing, surprising and highly recommended! Oh, and an easy way of making other followers jealous for occupying two leaders all to yourself, hehe.

Right, dancing with two leaders isn't the easiest thing to do, especially if their leading differs a lot. You have to adapt your following in a snap dozens of times during one dance, and find the connection again and again. What a great (and fun!) way to practice following though!

Anyway, here is a video from our practice. Notice my super happy face in the end of the dance. When can we do this again boys?!

By the way leaders: feel free to ask me for a threesome dance whenever you feel like it. Yeah, no objections.

Life Without Dancing Is Like...

... Food without spices.
... Rainbow without colors.
... Computer without keyboard.
... Love without affection.
... Summer without sun.
... Nightclub without music.
... The perfect moment without anyone to share it with.
... Blueberry muffin without blueberries.
... Credit card without credit.
... Skating without ice skates.
... Sex without an orgasm.
... Forest without trees.
... Crying without tears.
... House without a door.
... Friendship without trust.
... Candy without sugar.
... Social media without users.
... Having cheese without good wine.
... Money without value.
... Sky without stars.
... Living without never being in love.


There is just that something missing.

Assume Nothing, Dream Big.

Last week was an exception to my normal dance full life. I think the last time I had as few dancing as last week was on January! Well, I hope my hard work with my law books pays off and I'll pass the exam I studied so hard for. On Wednesday and Thursday I had to do some zoukking though or else I would have gone crazy, and Wednesday's Zouk class did save my otherwise horrible day. Seriously, I felt like hitting my head against the wall before the class. Its amazing how dancing can change my mood completely. On Thursday I went to meet some zouk-newbies to Polijazz's dance and hang-out event. I tried to teach Zouk to a total beginner and since I have no idea how the leaders' steps go (or how to lead for that matter!) my teaching went like "okay, lead me here when I'm about to step with my left foot here" and "yes, that feels like you're doing it right, good!". Pathetic. Now, many of you leaders who have been telling me I should learn to lead must be saying I told you so, but you know I first have to master following before stepping to the other side! And after all I was able to teach him the things I wanted.

On Friday I was planning on going to a Salsa party but I felt more like clubbing. I have learned that if I go out dancing when I don't really feel like it my mood usually don't change during the night and I end up feeling like an outsider. So instead of dancing I went to see some dancing: Finnish National Ballet had this 1,5 hour free ballet performance in the Senate Square. It was so packed I was lucky to find a seat, but definitely worth going to. They had at least dozen of short choreography from classical ballet to contemporary dance and many tasters from the ballets they were having during the spring term. Not surprisingly, my favorite piece was a romantic pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet, ah! By the way, the Ballet is going to have the same performance in many other Finnish cities so you can still go and see it yourself!

Saturday was an exciting day because the FinZouk performance team had their premiere in HSA's dance party. It was the first Zouk group choreography ever performed in Finland! Great job everyone, it was so beautiful and the audience loved it! I loved seeing everyone so excited about their performance. It made me think back to my first dance performance last December and all those big feelings I was having back then. I videotaped the performance but I'll post a better quality video here later. The evening's party was also great even though the place was so hot it was like dancing in a sauna! Seriously. Here are some pictures I took from the other performances they had in the party:

The performance team had another show the next day in the World Village Festival and also I jumped in to dance some freestyle Zouk with them. My Sunday evening was spent in the Opera, dancing Salsa and hanging out in the sunshine but before that I had my week's only dance practice, this time with Big O. He gave me amazingly good feedback from my zoukking. This is exactly what I need to improve: someone to push me do things differently than what I'm used to. For example, he noticed that I'm stepping some of my steps too early. I have no idea how I have been able to follow the lead while doing this all the time! Life is full of surprises.

Music Makes Me Lose Control.

I'm addicted to music. I don't go a single day without listening to music. Whenever I wake up or come home the first thing I do is open my laptop and put on some music. Whenever I feel happy I put on energetic and fun music, and if I feel down I play really sad songs. My friends must have been used to my comments like "why there is no music?!" when I pop up to their place. It feels weird to be in silence.  I guess listening to music would go but I have a tendency to sing and, of course, dance to the music. I can't really help it, my body just starts moving! Good thing that I've never owned a mp3 player so I don't start dancing in a bus or somewhere people would think I've gone crazy.

At the moment I'm listening to Bachata and hoping that tomorrow evening would come fast so I could go dancing Bachata to Havanna. I'm also looking forward meeting N Girl tomorrow and hear all about her Zouk trip to Amsterdam (jealous!!!). She better teach me everything she learned there or...well, I get more jealous!

Now I can feel how badly addicted I am when I'm having my day off from dancing. I feel so restless! Well, this week I have to concentrate on my Friday's big exam and take it slow with dancing. Good thing is that this weekend is going to be full of dance parties. I'm also hoping that some dancers would show up to World Village festival for couple of random dances (wink wink!). Ohh, weekend come quickly pleaaase...

Oh btw, I'm having my birthday party together with Michaelo on June 29th so reserve that from your calendar. We are going to perform our first choreography there so you don't want to miss it. We started to work on that couple of weeks ago and, trust me, it is going to be awesome! Now we just have to find a good place to dance, chill, party and have crazy fun. Let me know if you have any good suggestions.

Photos by Jukka Laurila from HOT Spring Party.

Mission(s) Accomplished!

This week ended up being a good dance week even though it first seemed to become quiet. Actually Monday was the only day I didn't go dancing. As always, I spent Tuesday evening in Havanna's dance floor and Wednesday I had Zouk practice with Michaelo before my Zouk class. Thursday was a national holiday so I was able to arrange two dance practices for the day, both of which went really great. Friday I had Finnish Tango practice and also went to a free Kizomba class to Alppila Latin Social. On Saturday I gave a dance lesson with Mr A. to bachelorette party group and on Sunday evening I danced surprisingly lot Salsa in Opera. Not bad at all, right? Also, on Saturday evening me and Michaelo decided to give it another try to our let's-get-drunk-evening after faling badly the other time, and this time it was a success. So the week was not only full of dancing but also gave me some good discussions about dancing.

The bachelorette party thing was a fun incident. The group were going to lavatanssit later that evening so Mr A. taught them some Foxtrot and Fusku. The girls were a bit more concentrated on their sparkling wine than dancing and had hardly any dancing experience so it wasn't the easiest group to teach. But at least I had lots of fun as they seemed to have too. After me and Mr A. gave them a short demo I realized that one year ago I would have watched our dancing the same way the girls did, hoping that I would be able to dance like that. I have come so far during this year and I have to say that I am pretty proud about that. I still have a long way to go but one year ago I would have never guessed how much I've already reached.

I thought it was funny that the only question coming out from the bachelorette party group was that what do I do if I find out that the guy I'm dancing with gets a hard-on! Strangely, I have never really thought about that. Well, I'm not going to go deeper into that topic but instead post some pictures from Alppila's Kizomba class:

On the Opera Salsa I got a surprising comment about my dancing. This girl I've never met before came to me and asked if I was a dancer and said that she loved the way I danced Bachata. "I would have paid to watch that kind of dancing" she added. How happy I was to hear that, especially when I haven't been taking any Bachata classes! Lately I have also been getting comments from people who recognize me from this blog. "You're the dance blogger!". How celebrity-like feeling!

I'd Rather Dance With You.

Last weekend was supposed to be a dance free one because my mum and sister came to visit me (and there were no weekend dance parties in Helsinki. Again, second weekend a row! I'm getting worried about the city's dance scene...). However, here I am, my thighs actually hurting from dancing. I met up with N Girl and Eazy on Saturday for Zouk ladies styling practice that I found very useful. We went through the videos we took from Prague's ladies styling classes and Andressa's workshop, and concentrated to the basic things. It was great to have the girls there to give some feedback and explain how they do the things I have problems with. I felt like I now have a better idea of my body work. Thanks honeys, let's do this again some time soon!

Pretty girl <3

Later that evening I went to Zouk Social to HSA. Before I went there I was a bit worried how the evening would turn out because there were no one else than JV from my "regular" zouk leaders coming, and usually I dance just with those leaders. This was actually a good thing because now I had to dance with new people (and they had to dance with me because there weren't that many people, ha!), and I had so much fun! I was really happy to find good connection with some that I hadn't had that before, yay! I now notice how much I have learned during the last few months I've been taking F&A's classes. My body work had started to look like I'm actually dancing Rio style Zouk and not something that reminds that. My following has also gone a lot better I think. And it is not just me who has improved but all the people taking their classes. After a while we'll have great Zouk scene here and a lot new dancers. How awesome is that!

On sunny Sunday evening I found myself in Opera Salsa. I didn't spend that much time on the dance floor but enough to keep me warm in the gradually cooling evening. It is going to be so nice when it gets a little bit warmer, hmmm. I don't know if its the weather or what but I've noticed that all I've been wanting to do lately is dancing. No motivation for studying tax law what so ever. Today I watched my calendar and felt bad not having enough dancing there for this week. Well, maybe I'll figure something out. At least I can always force someone to have a dance practice with me!

POT Sping Party.

A month ago I had never been in Smökki and last Thursday was already the third time I went to a dance party there! This time it was time for POT's spring party and I absolutely loved the evening. Even though I know there are going to be lots of possibilities for social dancing during the summer I am going to miss these kind of parties. They had a live band Hurma playing, and of course I had to test their dancing skills. As a result I can say that they can play music a way better than dance. But they do know how to play well.

I got this idea I would take a picture of every dancer I dance with and would comment their dancing here, but then I thought that after a while no one would dance with me again! And how weird it would be to ask for a picture after every single dance... Besides, dancing with someone depends on many things, not just how "good" dancers they are. So here are just some random pictures from the evening.

 

My one and only Mr A.

Yum!

Who are those weird dancers over there? Oh, the zoukkers...

Notice the interesting sounding dance styles like moshaus or hiidas valssi.

I must say that in my opinion POT's spring party was a bit better than the one HOT had. The band worked better and I also liked the DJ's choices even though some songs were quite challenging to dance. It might just be that I had really good dancing feeling that night and I had many great dances and also got some new good connections. I danced so much that I was completely exhausted when I got home. I think I was really sound asleep that I didn't move a muscle because when I woke up it was hard to feel my body. At least I slept well! Thank you for the organizers!