When Friends Become Enemies.

Fellow girls, you must know the feeling in a dance party when there are simply too many ladies waiting for their turn to dance with the few guys. You wish most of those bit**s would just go home leaving you more chances to have fun in the dance floor, right? It is cruel but true that the party is simply better when there is a shortage of good followers, making you feel like the most desired dance partner of the night.

There is one thing though: these bit**s are also your friends. Who would like their friends to get out of the great party?

The problem with a small dance scene is that there usually is just a handful of good leaders, but the amount of good followers is a double of that, at least. There can be many reasons behind this phenomenon, like that it is more challenging to be a good leader or that men generally don't start dancing as much as women do, but the problem remains. This is exactly what the Finnish Zouk scene is going through now. It is excellent that we have increasingly more great followers, but unfortunately the ratio between leaders and followers is getting more and more unbalanced. I like watching others having fun in the dance floor, but in the end I go to dance parties to dance, not to watch.

You could imagine that a surplus of ladies would draw more guys into the scene, but oddly that doesn't seem to be the case. Even if it successfully worked this way, no leader can become a great Zouk leader in a short period of time. Beginner guys don't take me wrong: it is fun to dance with you, but sometimes a lady just needs couple of awesome dances, a leader who makes her feel like the best dancer in the world. Zouk is not the easiest partner dance and naturally it takes time not just to understand the rules but to make those rules work in the dance floor.

It is exactly as my girl friend said the other day: "I'm sorry to say but I was glad you and the other good followers weren't in last weekend's party. It meant lots of good dancing for me." Yeah, I know. It's sad, because I would love to see all my friends in dance parties. It is just frustrating if there is some kind of fight of who gets to dance next. It does no good between the ladies plus in the worst case it exhausts the guys and leaves them with no freedom of choice. Dead end.

In a broader sense, one of the weaknesses, if you could say so, of partner dancing is that you need a good dance scene to enjoy it. There is no use of learning a dance that you cannot do in practice. I'm not the only one who must be thinking that why am I spending all my money and time to learn this dance so few dances in Finland? Does it make any sense that I have to travel somewhere else to use the skills I've learned?

In any case, what cannot happen is friends fighting with each other. A great dance scene needs great followers and a great dance party needs lots of good, beautiful and talented ladies. While waiting the guys to catch us up, we ladies just have to make sure we remain friends and not turn into enemies.

By the way, if you want to see another Zouk demonstration by me and Freddy from Oslo, you can find it in here: http://youtu.be/MXQ0x8KiAbU. You can maybe see that I'm more relaxed in this one and therefore it worked out better than the first one.

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.

Zouk Workshops in Oslo.

Dancing has taken me many places I never been before. Last time it took me to Oslo.

This was not an ordinary dance trip however. I was offered an exciting chance to assist Zouk workshops there with my Zouk teacher and, of course, this was something that I couldn't say no to. I’m so happy that I was given this chance to have this kind of experience and see what it is like to be in a workshop weekend not as a participant, as I have been many times, but as a teacher.

When I was offered this chance, I first couldn't believe that it was me who he was asking this. This kind of chance was not something that would happen often – actually I don't know if students have ever been assisting F&A in their classes. Secondly, since there are many good Zouk students in Helsinki, I would have thought that this chance would have been given to someone else of them: I feel like I haven't really been going anywhere but backwards with my Zouk lately. So, you can imagine my surprised and super excited expression when I got the message!

The second thought after the overwhelming excitement was that would I be ready for this? Am I going to perform so good that I won’t be a disappointment to anyone? Am I just good enough yet? What if I’m going to be a total mess? You know, it is not an easy task to replace a professional dance teacher! Well, surely these kind of thoughts are not going to help anyone to perform confidently nor to enjoy the moment when it comes. So, to get rid of these annoying thoughts I said to myself, every day before the weekend, that I can do it and I will do it as well as I can. In the end, I wouldn’t have been asked to go there if I didn’t have the needed potential. When the actual weekend came, the thoughts were not there anymore. One good thing that F pointed out to me before our classes was that he wants me to be myself and dance my own way. If I try to be someone else or imitate my teacher, I’m going to be no-one.

So, how did everything go? Well, I simply loved it! The classes went really well and I felt like I actually had something to give to the participants. Of course, since I was assisting the classes, I had a smaller part to play, but nevertheless it was me who was showing the example, who the participants looked up to. I never had the feeling that they were disapponted of having me there as a replacement - no, everybody were really happy to have me there. And well, I must admit that I liked the feeling of being in the middle of attention. Some people don't like it but it gives me something.

However, maybe it was me who learned the most during the weekend. Observing others, answering specific questions and trying to figure out what could be the most useful tip for the group made me learn a lot. Also, being in front of everyone made me focus more on my lines, my posture, my steps, how I should place my hands, how to hold myself. I also learned a lot about F during our long and hearty discussions after the classes and parties. I appreciate the way he made me feel like equal and the way he gave me more of a teacher rather than a student role in the classes. This is one of the things that makes a great teacher to stand out.

Maybe the most exciting part of the workshops was to give improvised dance demos with F. I knew these were going to go to spread everywhere in Facebook - not the best time to mess something up. Now that I look at the videos I can spot the points where I could have done better, but hey, this is how I will learn more and more. And I don't want to underestimate the parts I do really well, because there is nothing wrong to say that I did.

There is one highlight I have to tell you about the trip. I was hoping to see one specific leader there who I knew was from Oslo. I met him two years ago in Helsinki Zouk Festival and I had just amazing dance connection with him, definitely the best dances of the festival. I was quite disappointed not to see him in Friday's party or Saturday's classes, but when I came to Saturday's party, I immediately recognized him. Apparently he didn't, so I asked him for a dance. Then he realized: we have been dancing before, haven't we? Yes we had. And for a couple of songs, we were back.

New Years Thoughts.

For many New Year is time to think about the past year and everything that has been happening in their lives. For me, the end of the year was more than just going trough the past year; the last couple of months have been making me think more deeply about myself, my life, my values, who I really am and what I want to become. There has been a lot of ups and downs during the past year, but those have taught me a lot and life has given me heaps of exciting adventures. For me, this New Year is also a start to a new phase in my every day life: I started a new job, which means less freedom to choose when to do what I want to do, but also new and exciting challenges.

I haven't been writing much about my dance autumn. It wasn't as exciting as my dance life in Australia, to be honest, but it had its highlights. The most obvious one is the Helsinki Zouk Festival that gave me the much needed Zouk trances I was so eagerly waiting for, not even mentioning the performance of our group choreography in front of demanding but wildly cheering audience. Weekend full of inspiration and pure enjoyment! In this stage when I have been dancing Zouk for a quite some time, I don't feel like a burst of improvement after Zouk festivals, but rather those give me a huge amount of motivation to start working on my technique and interpretation of music. I love watching the artists mastering their movements and giving the audience the chills with their presence. And what amazing artists did we have in the festival: Freddy & Andressa, Renata & Jorge, Leonardo & Becky, Bruno & Eglantine, Daniel & Leticia and Mafie Zouker. This is what I wrote right after the festival:

Dance weekends are one of the best reminders to the question why I dance. Even though there has been a lot of dancing in my autumn, I have been missing this feeling I had last weekend. A feeling that starting dancing Zouk was one of the best decision I have made in my life. A huge burst of motivation to keep on improving and developing my technique, following, styling, balance, flexibility, musicality, connection. If I ever was unsure to keep on zouking, those doubts are gone. This weekend was what I truly needed.

Another special dance event was the West Coast Swing cruise that took over 160 dancers to a big cruise ship for 23 hours. New dance connections, good atmosphere, packed lessons, good party, friends, ah! West Coast Swing has been the dance I have been trying to improve during the autumn, but to tell the truth, I'm not fully happy with my progress. Every time I feel good dancing it, I videotape myself and find out the awful truth: it feels good but it sure doesn't look good! Nevertheless, I'll keep on working on it, but maybe I'll settle for average-looking (but good-feeling) dancing.

I feel like my dance autumn was pretty quiet, but actually I did quite a lot: average three classes per week (Argentine Tango, Voguing and WCS) and a lot of choreo practices before the festival. I also did another Zouk choreo with Michaelo, but unfortunately we never ended up performing it. The autumn also included some irregular dance practices with different dance partners every now and then, and giving dance classes once a month. However, I feel like I wasn't going to any specific direction with my dancing, just going here and there without a clear course. Sure enough, much of my concentration was somewhere else than dancing. As much as I would like just to dance, I also have to graduate some day soon!

I always make three New Year promises to myself, and the most important I made this time was to think more positively of everything. This goes also for dancing: I don't want to find myself in the situation where I would put myself down because I don't improve, because I'm not as good as I wanted to be or because sometimes my body just doesn't behave the way I wanted to. This doesn't mean that I wouldn't want to improve or be better, oh no. On the contrary, I'm really excited to go back to F&A's regular classes after a huge break and finally being able to polish up the small details and mistakes. I would also love to take some other partner dance classes (my secret daydream is to learn how to dance competition rumba!), but for now it seems that it is going to be just Zouk.

One challenge with partner dancing is that I can't really do it alone. I'm super lazy going in front of the mirror alone and trying to practice styling, balance, spinning or some other dance techniques. I almost never get myself to do that. It is simply boring. So, if there are no dance parties or no practice partners available, I'm lost. During the couple of years partner dancing has become almost my only hobby and sometimes I get frustrated that it is so dependent on other dancers (sure, that's the beauty of it also). Well, slowly I have found another way than dance trancing of getting myself into this euphoric state of mind where dancing can take me: yoga. I have to admit: I'm addicted. Yoga has not only taught me a lot about my body but also about my mind, about myself. And I can do it whenever, where ever, at any time of the day (or night!), alone or in a big group. It just makes me feel so good about myself  - physically and spiritually. Try it and you'll fall in love with yourself.

To finish off, for those who didn't yet see our group choreo performance on YouTube, here it is:

P.S. There is one super exciting dance thing happening in couple of weeks, but I'll let you know later!

Dancing Updates.

Apologies for my low profile lately. I haven't really had much inspiration to start writing anything deep. I have kept on dancing and my dancing hours seem to be in a slight uptrend, but I feel like updates about my normal dance practices are not something much interesting. If someone disagrees, sure, I can share my thoughts, but without any objections I'll rather wait until some inspiration hits me.

I have been doing heaps of cool dancing things though. For example, my friend from Northern Finland came to visit Helsinki and we had many great WCS practices. It did really good for me since my technique still sucks. Its way too zouky: I'm too light, can't keep my frame and I dance above the floor. I got some of those 'oh now I think I got it' realizations and now I have many ideas how to improve my technique and styling. If only I had a regular practice partner like him *dreamy sighs*.

Also, I finally went and tried some contact improvisation. I have been having some practices with one of my dancer friends before, but couple of weeks ago I got encouraged and went to my first class and CI jam. Hm, how would I describe it... A good experience definitely; I got good new ideas and had some great moments. I now feel more confident with lifts, giving and receiving weight, and working with the floor. Maybe the biggest obstacle for me, however, is the lack of music. Dancing has always been so music-related thing for me so dancing without music feels strange. I want to live the beat, dance through the melody and interpret the lyrics. In CI the focus is not in the music, but in the contact. For me it even feels somehow strange that everybody call it dancing, but maybe it just takes some time to get used to.

One thing that has been taking a lot of time is the Zouk group choreography that we're doing for the Helsinki Zouk Festival. We have finally got all the pieces together, but it still requires so much work and polishing before we could even dream of climbing to the stage with it. I'm quite afraid that we're going to run out of time soon and I'm not the only one with my concerns. It was as recently as today when I watched my performance from video and realized how much more I need to give. Further, it is not just me who needs to nail it, but there are four couples that need to get all the timings right and synchronized. But we'll get there! Just practice, practice, practice!

Something that has been giving me the needed balance to the dance practices has been Kizomba. Actually its the only dance style I have been social dancing lately; no Zouk nor WCS socials in Helsinki, a fact that I'm not pleased with at all. Don't tell me I need to start dancing Salsa to be able to go to dance parties! Right, there has been some Finnish ballroom dancing parties but, I don't know, somehow I haven't been able to get any dance mood in those. Sucks. One more reason to be waiting eagerly the Zouk festival. Now that we're in the not-so-cool-things-topic, I could go on and complain about my Achilles tendon that has been teasing me for too long time now; some days it is even hard to dance without high heels because of the unpleasant tight and sore feeling. Maybe I need to admit that it is somehow infected and go to physio. Double-sucks.

For not ending the post with nagging, I'll tell you one more thing that has been pretty cool this month: giving dance classes. Last week I gave ladies styling tips in HOT's advanced class and got lots of great feedback from my teaching. I have also been teaching dance technique and body movement to gymnastics groups. And six months ago I thought teaching wasn't for me! Never say never.

So, until the inspiration hits.

What Makes a Good Dancer?

This is one of those posts that I started writing, because I felt like that would clarify my thoughts, but while writing ended  up being more confused. So I let it rest and came back to it. I started the post with a question of "what makes a good dancer?". This topic raised into my mind mostly because I felt like many dancers try to determine who is the best and make tight comparisons between others. I was wondering if there really was a set of criteria that determines whether someone is better dancer than another and if dancers can be put in line as who is the best, the second best etc. Tough questions with no simple answer.  Thus, I'll give it a second try and see how I do this time.

So, can dancers be lined up as their "superiority"?

Yes, might be your answer; isn't that, for example, what the dance competitions are for? However, I don't find it as simple or black-and-white as that, especially when it comes to partner dancing. A good partner dancer for me is - this is how I firstly tried to describe it - someone with who I enjoy dancing with. This doesn't necessarily have to be tied together with the "level" (e.g. beginner, intermediate, advanced) of the dancer - something that would in the first glance be an indication of how good of a dancer that person is. I can highly enjoy dancing with a beginner dancer and regard that person to be in a way "better" than an intermediate or advanced dancer. Sure, it is possible to draw some lines between beginner and intermediate level, but the lines are anyway very broad and fine. Besides, these classifications are not there to point out whether one is a good dancer or not - or can you sincerely say that any beginner dancer can't be a good dancer, or that any advanced dancer is a good one?

Then, is the superiority of dancers a highly subjective thing? In that case, is a good dancer simply someone who many people regard as a good dancer? Or is it just me, disregarding the others, who can make the distinction? What I said before about a good partner dancer being someone with who I enjoy dancing with, that would be exactly the case. But then again, there are definitely dancers who I might not enjoy dancing with, but who I undoubtedly regard as good dancers. So it is not that simple after all, is it! Maybe the most relevant question to ask, then, is that why I regard someone as a good dancer (or why I enjoy dancing with someone for that matter)? Nevertheless, even though there might be some more or less "objective", or rather generally accepted, measures for a good dancer - say, for example, great body control, impressing spinning technique, superior balance, good musicality etc. - I still think that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that is, the superiority is just one's opinion. If there are others who agree, then there are several similar opinions.

Generally speaking, I don't like ranking dancers into general categories nor do I like superficially objective discussions of who is the best dancer or comparisons stating that one is better than another. All that is just about opinions and different preferences. I don't see the point of lining up dancers, because I think it creates mostly bad energy. In that sense it is pointless. What I like, though, are discussions about different strengths those dancers possess (or if you wish to be more criticizing or constructive perhaps, weaknesses). This makes it possible for the others to learn from those strengths and it also creates more positive energy. For me it is also fascinating to hear opinions about with who others find it enjoyable to dance with. It is interesting that some followers seem to prefer the same leaders as I do, while others have totally different taste. There are some followers whose opinions I have learned to listen carefully since those usually lead me to great dance experiences with leaders also she enjoyed dancing with. However, this doesn't in any way mean that some of my friends like dancing with bad dancers while others are better off with good dancers. We simply prefer different things. Just as I get along better with some people doesn't mean that they would be better people than those with who I don't get along with as well. Or that just because I prefer apples to oranges would make apples better fruit in general.

Then, if it is me who can decide who is a good dancer and who is not, can I also decide if I am a good dancer or not? Yes, that would be the case, though many times other's opinions seem to play quite a big role in that decision. So, do I see myself as a good dancer? There has been many times others have told me that I am a good dancer, but that is, ultimately, their opinion. So what is truly mine? Well, to start with, the main reason I dance is that I dance for myself. Sure, partner dancing is about giving and receiving, leading and following, so in that sense I dance for the others too. But if I danced just for the others, that is, just to impress them, I would be in a wrong path. Since I have had plenty of amazing dancing experiences, in other words, been very successfully dancing for myself and for the others at the same time, and I also have lots of strengths and good motivation to work on my weaknesses, I do think I am a good dancer. This is not to brag about myself, but simply my opinion. Well then, do I regard myself better than some other dancers? No, I don't want to line up myself nor the others. It is pointless. I'd rather think there are many good dancers than couple superior ones. Everyone have their strengths and weaknesses. That someone else is good is by no means something that is away from me, quite the opposite.

Phew, I don't know if that made my thoughts any more clear. Probably it just made also you confused. Well, I think I have to keep on clarifying my thoughts and to come back to this topic yet again. Or would you have an opinion to share?

Excitement.

I'm excited about this autumn. Excited because there are so many new dancing things happening. First of all, I'm excited about a Zouk group choreography that I'm part of. Actually I was pretty skeptical whether I would be accepted to the performance team in the first place, but there I am and more than happy to be in that position. We had our first practice last week and, wow, it is going to be so cool, I tell you! The performance is already in November so there is going to be hard work ahead of us. A lot of hard work. I love the song, so far love the the choreo and our team is great. So, yes, excited!

Secondly, I'm excited about Argentine Tango. I've had only two classes in Balanssi Studiot with Michaelo, but already falling in love with the dance. So detailed, so delicate, so challenging. I like the way the teachers teach in the studio; it is quite different to other dance classes I've been, but works really well. Even though I feel pretty lost at times, it is not a desperate kind of feeling, but more of enthusiasm to learn something completely new.

Thirdly, I'm excited about West Coast Swing. I'm so happy that I'm able to continue this dance after spending four months learning it in Raw Connection in Brisbane. Our class on Thursday afternoons is pretty crowded, but I like the fact that the teacher nevertheless makes sure that everyone gets something from the class. Last week he grabbed me after the class to go through my stepping technique for he was worried that I wouldn't get enough out from the course that he regards bit too basic for my level. I really appreciate this kind of personal attention some teachers give. And actually this week he kicked me out from the class and moved me to higher level.

Then, I'm excited about another choreography I'm planning to do with Michaelo also in November. We chose the song and the story of the dance couple of days ago and we're going to start building it soon. It is a very strong story so I'm excited to see how we're going to express it.

Next, I'm excited about Zouk ladies styling course that started last Saturday. This is the kind of course I've really been waiting for and I'm sure it will upgrade my dance technique. Plus, I have to give respect to Andressa for making my abs so sore I can't even remember when I had such a nice muscle pain over there!

What else I was excited about... Right, my Voguing classes started this week, yay! And yes, excited about yoga.

Since I didn't have any deeper to say this time, I tried to find some wise related quote to end the post... But I couldn't find something I was really looking for. Nevertheless:

“The end is never as satisfying as the journey. To have achieved everything but to have done so without integrity and excitement is to have achieved nothing.” - Unknown

Re-program Me.

Yesterday, oh my gosh, I had a terrible dance demoralization. I went to the autumn's first Zouk practica and left home, well, annoyed, pissed, sad, frustrated - some words to describe the overwhelming negativity in me. As soon as I got home I wanted to open my blog and publicly declare that I'm done with Zouk all in all. Fortunately as strong as my emotions sometimes get, I am aware that those will, after peaking, calm down. After couple of nice fb messages from dancer friends and a well slept night I am now ready to better examine that peaking. No, I'm not making that initially intended declaration for sure! Rather, I realize that I need to be re-programmed.

A lot of dancing is psychological, a fact that can be easily noticed from yesterday. In the beginning of the practica I felt good and I felt that I danced good. Little by little I started to get this suspicious feeling that the other dancers were judging me in some way; paying attention to my, oh still so many, mistakes in my technique. So I started to pay attention to those and - no surprise here - started to dance badly. The last straw was a dance with my teacher who not even slightly tried to hide that he was testing everything, every single move, on me, whether I was able to get through with those or if I was I a lost case after my six-month dance holiday. After that dance it was just impossible to dance well, follow well or to do anything well for that matter (not even that fake smile that I tried to put on, damn it). Why? Because I thought I couldn't and that restricted my dancing tremendously. If you think you can't dance well, you simply can't.

Those negative feelings I gathered during the evening reminded me some of the feelings I had about dancing six months ago. That I wasn't never good, that I was totally useless if I didn't go forward all the time, that it was my responsibility to improve if I wanted to get, as a prize for that improvement, enjoyment from dancing. And if I didn't see that improvement I got angry at myself. However, all of this negativity is just in my head; none of it is true. A better question is that why I had these kind of feelings again now that I'm back home? I never, ever, had that in Brisbane. The problem is, I think, that I have accidentally somehow programmed my mind to work that way here. So if there is some triggering factor, I easily overreact. As I said, I need to be re-programmed.

Really, there was no-one judging me. No-one except my hardest critic: me.

Dreaming?

Have you ever had a feeling when you wake up and you are like wait, did yesterday really happen? That is pretty much the feeling I'm having now.

Sure, I had my first WCS class yesterday at Comets Rock'n'Roll Dance Club that totally exceeded my expectations, but it is not that. I also, by sudden idea, went dancing to a lovely choir concert, but its not that either. Further, I received positive news that my Zouk practicing is, after all, going to continue this fall, but no, not that...

It is that I had, out of the blue, kind of a private Kizomba party last night. Dancing for hours until late with an amazing Kizomba dancer. Getting to know to this passionate dancer, hearing fascinating dance stories from a perspective of an instructor. Not being even slightly intimidated by the fact that I'm dancing with a dance teacher, as I usually easily am. No thoughts crossing in my mind, except couple of those is-this-really-happening-to-me-suspicions. Music, connection, magic. Unreal.

Or was it just a dream after all...?

Dance Directions.

Lately most of the dance bloggers have been posting their weekly autumn training schedules into their blogs. As I wrote earlier, I feel uneasy about having such fixed schedules, but I guess as a dance blogger this is one of the compulsory posts to make.

So, the last days I've been trying to figure out what is going to happen in my dance life this fall. Most of it has been reasoning that whether I should continue with Zouk or take another direction. On the other hand I would love to improve my Zouk even more and take a step towards to an advanced level, but on the other hand it might be good to give it a rest and try something else. There is of course the financial side of everything and also this influenced to my final decision. So here we go: its time put the dance style I've been dancing so much almost the last two years to a rest and direct my dance passion some other dance styles. Phew.

Now, I know some of you my beloved readers will object, but this doesn't mean that I would give up Zouk totally. I'm already looking forward that the autumn practicas will start rolling and there is no doubt I'd like to go dancing in Zouk parties. I'm also taking Andressa's ladies styling course and going to the Helsinki Zouk festival in November. What this means is that I won't put my objectives into improving constantly or think that I would have to get any better. I'll go forward if it comes naturally and if I don't then I won't stress about it.

So, what next then? Well, I have now signed in for a 12 week Voguing course and 10 week West Coast Swing course (even though I wouldn't like to fix my weeks, but this was almost the only possible and most affordable choice to make). Moreover, I was planning on going to Argentinean Tango every now and then. However, where I would want to put my biggest efforts into would be West Coast. I would like to find a good practice partner to get my technique sorted out and to be able to attend some bigger events with high-level teachers. Let's see how things work out.

I have also been wanting to start doing something for ages now. Something that contributes to dancing as improved strength, balance and flexibility, all of which I really need and want to improve. So now I've finally making it happen. I'm talking about yoga. Last month I had an excellent chance to do yoga outdoors when some of Helsinki's yoga instructors organized free yoga sessions in some of the many parks around the city. This week they opened a pop-up yoga studio called Pranama in the center of Helsinki and I just love the idea behind the studio: they want to make good quality yoga available to everyone by giving people an option to pay as much as they want from the classes. All the profit they make goes straight to the instructors and to their training. This is a place I'm definitely going to go weekly. Yoga has already made me feel a lot better in my body and that is something really important to a dancer: a healthy, strong and flexible body to dance with.

Yoga in the park together with almost 200 people. Photos by Sinebrychoff Park Rangers.

One of the things I want to include into my normal week, however, is enough emptiness. By emptiness I mean unplanning, flexibility, time for anything, spontaneousness, free evenings, random dancing, whatever comes to my mind at that moment. It might sound like I have already booked all of my days with the dance courses, but actually the timing of the classes enable me to have quite a lot of nothing for every day. If someone suddenly asks me to, say, have a dance practice or just to catch up maybe, I want to be able to make it happen if not the same day then the next. Being too busy is not good for me.