My First Dance Lesson

            

This is my dance space. This is your dance space.

I don't go into yours. You don't go into mine.

You gotta hold the frame. ~ Dirty Dancing

Ok, so I was a little nervous about my first official dance lesson at Studio B.  All day long I was flashing back to when Russ and I worked with our friend Tammy Walker to learn our first dance for our wedding.  I went into that endeavor feeling overly confident, thinking no matter how bad I was, I would most definitely be better than Russ.  I don't mean that as a slam on Russ.  I just assumed that with my performance experience, I would have an easier time than my spotlight-avoiding fiance with size 13 feet.  Well, that experience taught me not to make assumptions, because Russ ended up being a very strong partner, and he actually remembered the choreography on the big day, which is more than I can say for myself.  So, I approach this experience with a more humble attitude about my abilities.

My partner/instructor Cory informed me that this first lesson would be a very easy-going one...more of a diagnostic than anything else.  I took that to mean he wanted to look under my hood to decide if I could be salvaged or if I just needed to be junked.  What we really did was walk (very slowly) through several styles of dance to see which ones fit best for us. 

I decided tonight that Cory is the perfect instructor for me, because he doesn't just address the technical aspects of the different dance styles.  He paints a vivid picture of the character of each dance.  I loved when he was explaining how the Foxtrot and Waltz are very "gentlemanly" dances.  If the lady goes somewhere, the gentleman follows.  (I visualized Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy stepping after me when I stomped off in a huff.)  Cory then described the tango as a more Latin lethario dance.  If the lady walks away, the man confidently awaits her inevitable return.  (You probably can guess that I was picturing Antonio Banderas as Zorro at this point.)

Above all, I was very pleased at Cory's approach to the dance partnership.  Tammy and Russ will confirm that I struggled with the concept of  the man leading and woman following while in rehearsal for our wedding dance.  Cory's approach to a dance partnership is more of a harmonious cooperation.  We did this neat exercise where we walked through some steps while palm to palm instead of in a dance hold, and it was decidedly easier to move together when we found the balance of giving and receiving equal amounts of pressure and energy.  (Yes, I was picturing Patrick Swayze.)  Cory explained that a man cannot turn a woman or move her in any way if she doesn't want to be moved.  He went on to say that the man can suggest the desired movement from the woman, and if she is receptive to his non-verbal communication and her goal is to match him, she will.    

I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Studio B, and I found everyone to be very friendly and warm.  I also thought it was adorable that Dolce, the owner's adorable dog, matched the furniture (or vice versa).  I can't wait for lesson number two when I will hopefully get to break a sweat!  I know.  Be careful what you wish for, right?