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~

Looking back to when I first began dancing, I so clearly remember saying, “I can hardy wait for a year to pass”. To be clear, I was not wishing away a year of my life, and certainly not wanting to hasten the path to the big “50? ( which is in May, dread, dread!), but what I was yearning for was a year of dance under my belt, or should I say feet? Being that dance did not come naturally to me, I could hardly wait for the time that I was able to walk on to a dance floor, with any leader, without feeling like I was going to throw up!

I am thrilled to say that I have reached that goal. It wasn’t easy and there were many times that I wondered if I would EVER look like I knew what I was doing, and more importantly, didn’t frustrate the heck out of my leader. The option of of giving up and throwing out the dance shoes never existed for me, since the dance bug bit me right from the very start….

A bad dance was better than no dance at all! Of course there were times that I had to BEG men to dance, but that didn’t stop me, I forged on, and now one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to be sure and ask those brand new, beginning dancers’, to dance. Today’s beginners are tomorrows dancers. All dancers have one thing in common: We all started at the same place. The beginning. Even all of those fabulous professionals started at the beginning. The only difference is WHEN we start! I know that I wish I had discovered the world of dance many years ago, but the way I look at it is that times a wasting and I’d better get busy. I have a whole lot of making up to do!

I have actually been dancing close to two years now and am so glad that I stuck it out. I still have a long way to go, but am now enjoying every step of the way.

So remember that a year is going to pass by whether we like it or not.

The questions is: What are you going to do with it?

Will this New Year be filled with new beginnings and new experiences, or will the end of 2009 just end with aspirations for 2010 to be better than 2009.

If you have ever watched anyone dance and heard this little voice in your head say, “I wish I could do that or I want to do that”, well you can. I challenge you to get out and kick up your heels. Learn to dance. Your body, heart and soul will thank you, and you will help to make the world a more joyful place.

For Online beginning instruction and additional articles be sure and visit: www.LearntoBallroomDanceOnline.com

The New Year started with a bang, or should I say a splash or two, or three, of champagne, while dancing the night away at the Palm Springs Swing Dance Classic. After five days of dancing and workshops, Ras #1 and I have so much to talk about, that we have actually been in a “quandary” (not to be mistaken for “at a loss of words”), as where to begin. So, rather than sit and stew, I thought I would just pull one subject out of the hat……hmmm……what is it going to be? I suppose that I will talk about the subject that stands out the most, and that would be………how one dancer can make another dancer feel. I’m not just talking about whether or not you were able to follow or lead during you dance or whether or not you were making eye contact with your partner while dancing with them, but were you smiling? And I am talking about smiling from the inside out. As a dancer, I can tell you that I can “feel” another dancers’ smile!

For those of you who are new to dancing, it is important to make eye contact with your dance partner, while not staring at them. Dancing with a partner who either stares at you, or at the opposite extreme looks at everyone else, on and off the dance floor, with the exception of you, is very uncomfortable. Focusing on your partner while you are dancing increases your awareness of how they’re moving and what they are doing and makes your partner feel like you are actually part of a dance team. In addition to focusing on your partner………smile! Social dancing should be fun. A snobby, arrogant attitude based upon anything, including your superior dance skills (if they indeed exist), is inconsiderate and very intimidating, particularly to a beginner. Considering how passionate dancers are about dancing, we should be doing everything in our power to encourage others to discover the joy that can be achieved from dancing. Joy, now that is an interesting word…it may sound like corny verbiage attached to dancing, but Ras #1 and I are here to tell you……………..dancing is pure “Joy”. The more we dance…..the more joy we experience and the more we want to dance. Yes, it is a vicious, addictive cycle!

One more thing I want to add is….….when you have a genuine smile on your face, your parnter “feels” it, not just “sees” it, it’s like putting the icing on the cake.

We danced with one particular gentleman in Palm Springs, who we’d previously met and danced with. I am here to tell you that dancing with Mark is simply, pure joy! Every dance that man dances, he smiles, with his entire being! It is as though he is dancing the best dance he has ever danced! Dancing with him is pure “joy”. That is the kind of partner we aspire to be, the kind of partner that everyone should aspire to be!

Happy New Year and Enjoy,

Ras#2

Unbelievable……another year has come and gone. As usual, I just don’t understand how time passed so quickly and what was I doing that I missed it going by?

Oh yeah, that’s right…..I was dancing, or attending dance festivals, or dance workshops, or looking for someplace to dance, etc. I guess there was also the two cruises that Ras#1 and I went on, and oh yeah, there is that other necessary evil thing (for some of us) called employment.

So now……..I guess its time to contemplate some New Year resolutions…………… hmmmm………what to do…..what to do! Well………..I’m thinking that we should all commit ourselves to improving the world in which we live by improving ourselves……………I think that can be translated to…………..LETS DANCE!!!!

New Year’s Resolution………………..improve your dancing skill. And…….…..to improve the world around you (cause you do remember how dancing makes you feel……….better, remember?), encourage someone, a friend, a family member, and/or a neighbor…… to take up dancing. Cause we dancers all know………that if everyone danced…..the world would be a happier and more much fun place in which to live.

Happy Dancing and Happy New Year!!

Ras #1 and Ras #2

PS If any of you are at the Palm Springs New Years Dance Classic, be sure to find us for a dance!