Ballroom Dancing

When I was still living in Beach City, I flirted (briefly) with the idea of getting into ballroom dancing. I found a studio in north county and attended a couple of classes that were terribly boring--we only learned two 8-counts of basic choreography in an hour. I just couldn't be bothered to spend the money and make the drive to the studio to accomplish so little.

After six months in LA, I decided to give ballroom dancing another try. I did some research (so many options here compared to Beach City!), chose a studio, and went in for an evaluation/sample class right before Christmas. I immediately liked the teacher--something of a feat since I've become more than a little difficult to please as a student after teaching a different form of dance for a number of years in my early 20s.  He has a solid technical foundation, is receptive to my many questions, and is downright likable.

After the holidays, I was back at the studio and signing up for classes. The studio director gave me a pair of shoes on the spot to encourage me (I still think it was a bit of magic that he guessed my shoe size on sight!) and I have been taking a one-on-one class and as many group classes as possible each week since. I'm having fun and so happy that I gave ballroom dancing another try.

CONS:

• This is an expensive hobby.  One-on-one classes are pricey, but the studio policy is that a student taking a one-on-one class during a given week can attend group classes that week at no additional charge.

• Group classes are hit or miss.  The staffing changes on a week to week basis and very few of the other students are proficient dancers.  I'm no Yulia Zagoruychenko (far from it!), but I know how to move and make pleasing lines after growing up in a dance studio.  Many of my fellow students have never danced before, slowing the pace of the group class considerably.  After less than a month of one-on-one classes, group classes are starting to feel like a waste of time.

• Fitting in with the other girls my age is not coming naturally.  I was hoping that I might meet some friends by attending the group classes.  Instead, the girls my age are giving me the cold shoulder and acting very clique-ish.  I'm not entirely sure what is behind this and am still sorting out how I've managed to put them off.

• Only one student-lead my age that rotates.  There are men my age that attend classes, but, with one exception, they attend with their fiancee (wedding dance lessons appear to provide the studio with a lot of business) and do not rotate partners during group classes.  This is in line with what I expected, I just think class would be even more fun if there were some more leads attending.

PROS:

• My teacher.  It is so much fun to dance with someone who knows how to lead.  Despite all the pas de deux under my belt, I've very rarely had the opportunity to social dance with a strong lead.  I briefly danced with two great partners while in college, one socially at parties and the other as my partner in West Side Story, but that's it.

• Confidence.  After a couple of classes at the ballroom studio, I had the gumption to head over to the Edge for some other dance classes.  The ballet and jazz classes that I'm taking there are helping me rebuild the core strength and flexibility that I once had.

• Reconnecting with my body.  It feels great to move like this again!  It's also encouraged me to get to the gym more often.  In just one month I've noticed an improvement in muscle tone and flexibility.

• Getting out of downtown.  The ballroom studio is 10 miles from home but in an entirely different sort of neighborhood.  It's been great to escape downtown every once and a while to be around people who aren't lawyers.

• Grandma is excited!  Thanks to a philandering grandfather, I have many grandmothers.  One, in particular, was a competitive ballroom dancer when she was my age.  We don't have a close relationship, but she really lit up when I told her I was taking ballroom classes.  Recently she gave me a bag of ballroom shoes--she stopped dancing decades ago but had saved a bag of her favorites that are, coincidentally, just my size.  There will be a dancesport competition in her town this summer and I'm hoping I might participate in it so that she can come watch.  If I'm not ready to participate, I'm going to get us tickets so we can go as spectators and she can reminisce about the days when she was a competitor.

• I have a lot to learn.  My ballet/jazz background is an advantage, but I'm starting from scratch so far as the ballroom figures are concerned.  There is plenty of challenge here and I'm enjoying that.