For those of you that remember my last dance competition, things did not go very well. The event was in Portland, Oregon and we had flown there the night before the competition. I am not entirely sure what happened, but for whatever reason, I was totally wiped out and in a brain fog. I did compete and I survived, the only thing was that I really don’t remember much of it at all. I DO however remember my black dance panties! I have THAT on film.

The competition this past weekend was in San Jose, Ca. and it did not require a plane ride. It was a six hour drive, but I seemed to tolerate it much better than being in the air. That, coupled with the fact that I did not dance until noon, bode much better for my overall well-being.

In some regards I felt that I danced better than I did in Portland and in others not so much. The not so much was directly related to my making some pretty major changes in the way I actually dance, due to my muscles, tendons and joints finally healing, after being poisoned by Cipro for the past 15 months. Ironically, my muscle, joint and tendon pain seemed to dramatically improve after my chemotherapy. Maybe the Sprycel is helping to keep it at bay; who knows?

Since I do get a one day per week reprieve from Sprycel, I chose to forgo my daily dose the night before I competed. I definitely had a bit more energy and was much more clear-headed at this competition than I was at the last one. I once again came in 2^nd Overall, but my individual scores were much improved; and that for me is a win! I still have a ton of things to work on and we got a brand new Cha Cha routine while we were there, so I hope that my brain and body will decide to start co-operating on a more regular basis.

I AM going to dance my way through this damned leukemia!

I won’t tell you that it has been an easy road, and I won’t tell you that it has been fun; but I will tell you that I am thrilled to be here and able to dance. I am not nearly as prepared or as strong as I would like to be, but the fact that I am here at all; is a small miracle. All of the well wishes and prayers from my friends, family and extended dance family have given me the courage and strength to persevere and push through the fatigue and bone pain in order to do something that I love.

I know that the “smart, wise” thing to do would probably have been to not push myself so hard and to just “sit this one out”, but there is something to be said for needing a healthy mind, spirit and soul in order to have a healthy body. Not attending this event would have dampened my spirits greatly. When I was first diagnosed with leukemia, I secretly made a pact with myself. I said, “Self, you are going to get out of here and be well enough to attend LAPD (Los Angeles Dance Premier), you are going to compete and you are going to be OK. You CAN and WILL do it!”

I must admit that there were times that I really didn’t think that it was going to be possible. The very first time that I stepped onto a dance floor after chemo, I was VERY weak and wobbly.  It was very difficult to hold my arms in dance frame. The muscles were practically non-existent and where the jugular catheter was, still hurt like crazy. I had very little stamina and was still a bit short of breath.  Dancing one routine was physically exhausting!

Joe insisted that we only dance 5 routines. A good call, as I probably would have attempted to dance all eight. We left out the most strenuous ones; Polka, East Coast Swing and Cha Cha, although Waltz is probably even more strenuous, we needed to dance it to have this competition qualify me towards World’s.

We arrived Friday evening and checked into the hotel. I was scheduled to compete at 8:00am. After checking in, we went down to check into the event. Running into so many familiar faces was almost overwhelming. So many had been following my story and wishing me well and praying for me; it was what gave me the strength to be here. Being here made me realize just how precious and fragile life can be; your whole world can turn upside down in one single second.

Life is precious and can be short. It is filled with ups and downs, happiness and sorrow, challenges and victories. It is our choice to live our life as we see fit; but my advice to you is to live it to the fullest. Take chances and push yourself; do when you can and accept when you can’t. OK, I may not be the best example of this, but I DID cut down the dances from eight to five! I am here and I am going to compete in the morning!

Joe and I did a quick run through our routines and peeked into a ballroom. I, of course heard music and wanted to dance. Joe, the responsible one, on the other hand said, “No, we are going to bed!”  I turned down my lip in hopes of encouraging him onto the dance floor at least once, but it didn’t work. Up to bed we went and I was asleep within minutes. Imagine that!

I have just completed my first year of dancing on the UCWDC circuit and it has been a tough year! The first part of the year I was dancing on an old tendon injury in my foot and the second half of the year I was battling Cipro poisoning that effected my entire body. Nonetheless, I placed ninth out of twenty three dancers from around the world. Most importantly I danced my own personal best at the competition.

For those of you that have never competed, but think that they might like to give it a shot I would suggest attending a UCWDC event and watching the competitions. I competed in eight dances: Triple Tow Step, Polka, Night Club 2 Step, Cha Cha, Waltz, Country Two Step, East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing. Competing  is a great way to improve your dancing. It inspires you to work hard from one competition to the next. It gives you a bench mark of where you have begun and tracks your progress, or decline if you do not practice!  I have found that meeting other competitors can be both pleasant and unpleasant. I have found that I agree and disagree with the judging. I have found that every dance instructor has their own opinion and I have found that I still love dancing!

I never would have imagined that I would have danced in front of anyone, let alone be judged as I am very shy; but I can say that with each competition the nerves have declined and the confidence has increased. It has been an up and down roller coaster but well worth the E ticket!

If you’ve never been to a dance event before, the Los Angeles Dance Premier is a great one to attend. It is a country event with competitions and workshops in Country 2 Step, Night Club 2 Step, Cha Cha, East and West Coast Swing, Polka, Triple 2 Step, Hustle and even Waltz. There will be a Swing room and a Country room.

There will be a great teaching staff:

Ronnie DeBenedetta & Brandi Tobias
Gary McIntyre & Susan Kirklin
Aaron & Tiffany Lorenzen
Mike Eads & Annick Paquet

just to name a few. Joe Tschirhart and I will be teaching a Country 2 Step Lesson as well. If you’re there, look me up for a dance or two!

I can’t think of a better way to spend Memorial Holiday Weekend than at the Frezno Dance Classic.  They will be celebrating their 25th Anniversary and it is sure to be a party! The theme this year is “The Wild, Wild West”, so Saloon Girl or Cowgirl? Hmmm, guess you’ll have to stay tuned to see!

One of the greatest things about attending a dance event like Frezno, is the vast variety of workshops, instructors, competitions, parties, shows and tons and tons of dancing!

As they put it:

Fabulous dance event.
Rich in Fun, frolic and good times.
Excellent dancing on many levels.
Zealous dancers who are passionate for “dance”  and want to share their talents.
No better Master of Ceremonies than “STEVE ZENER”.
Others’ have tried to imitate, but Frezno Dance Convention is still the best.

Hope to see you there!

As much as I don’t like to admit it……..there are dancer’s that I just do not want to dance with. I am also certain that I am that person for some dancer’s as well, so I guess that is just a dancing fact!

While attending The Palm Springs New Year’s Bash, I got brave enough to sign up for 3 Jack n Jill competitions. For those of you that are unfamiliar with a Jack n Jill, it is a competition where dancers are randomly paired up. You do not know who your partner is, or what music you will be dancing to.

While checking in for the competition, my friend commented that she hoped she wasn’t paired up with the guy that she was standing in front of. I said that there was really only one guy, in the whole group that I didn’t want to get paired up with. Turns out, it was the same person. Guess who got the guy.

Yup, it was me……..karma……..seems that if I put it out into the universe, it happens!

Now, for the confession……the dance really wasn’t that bad at all. I was actually pleasantly surprised. The leader was no longer difficult to follow and he even stayed on time. Moral to the story…….keep your mouth shut, feet moving and a positive attitude. Shame on me for having negative thoughts!

I didn’t even make semi finals in that West Coast Swing category, but I did place third in Hustle. Just goes to show you, you never know what is going to happen~