Hey, you’re taller…????

Backstory: One of my friend’s had a wedding in Maui and him and his now wife lindy. So of course, they invited a few of their dancer friends to the wedding. Knowing this, I couldn’t bring my usual “formal” shoes which consist of a stiletto heel because I knew they would play a few “swing” songs. I decided to bring my Seychelles shoes, ~2 inch heels, with a faux-leather bottom. As I started to dance, it was OK at first, but my feet started to feel sore and I could feel the pain in my knees. I figured for low heeled shoes I could get away with it. Boy, was I wrong. I was limping by the end of the night and I had to be carried and walk barefoot around Maui. Luckily, I didn’t mind because…hey… IT’S MAUI! lol.

That is when I realized I needed to buy some decent “formal” dance shoes just in case scenarios like the one above happens. I searched around and a lot of them were really expensive $100+. Yes, it’s an investment to buy good quality dance shoes and suede them, but I didn’t have the money at the time nor did I want to spend that much on a pair of starter shoes. I didn’t want the ballroom type shoes for the same reason and the heel for ballroom shoes are skinnier. I wanted some wider, low heels. I stared at these black mesh shoes from Aris Allen for a while, but didn’t want black since I wear a lot of earth tone clothes. All of a sudden, I saw a new order email for these brown shoes from Aris Allen and I bought them instantly. They look like the ones I own right now and they match all my nice clothes! Sueded and all. Yay!

The only problem is that, I suck dancing in heels. LOL! I’m not use to it nor do I feel like I am in control. So morose. I tried dancing in them at LindyGroove, but felt awkward, so I changed in my keds after about 2-3 songs. I got greedy and wanted to dance. I know dancing in heels takes time, so that is one of my challenges I will take on. Not to dance in heels like a pro, but just feel FIRST AND FORMOST in control when I do dance at formal events, especially at events with strangers because strangers get curious and with curiosity comes conversation! Once I get use to my heels, I’ll experiment how my body feels with and without my new shoes.

I think right now the only difference I can tell is that

1.) I’m always on the balls of my feet in heels because I have to be from the shape vs. in my keds, I have the option to be flat footed (heel and balls of feet on the ground) so I can step into my steps when the music allows.

2.) Not only that, when I do quick turns or double turns in my keds, I know that I have to be on the balls on my feet because it makes it easier vs. in my heels, I’m already on the balls of my feet, so I either get more onto the balls of my feet or not. If I don’t, the heel scratches the floor a little, so it stops me a little or causes me to hesitate. Make sense a little? I am horrible with describing my dancing. Maybe I should work on that too lol.

Ok so here’s the dealio…

I went to Lindyfest 2011 in good ‘ol Houston, Texas with the One2Swing Jitterbugs to do a special performance during the Saturday Night Show. It was a huge honor to be asked and believe me, EVERYONE WAS STOKED!!!  We didn’t know what to expect really. We knew once we got to Houston:

1.) we had to perform in front of our favorite peers (aka “The Rockstars” as we fittingly named them )

2.) we were excited to take the workshops and learn from instructors we normally don’t see or hear about in SoCal

3.) we were going to eat some darn good ‘ol BBQ and Steak (nom! )

4.) we were going to have some pretty crazy ass fun together before our “hiatus.” (notice the quotes )

Lindyfest was a HUGE inspiration. I never realized how BAD my dancing was or how complex it can be! Well, not bad… I just never thought about it so much and I knew I needed improvement. I think everyone felt that way. We definitely hit a “Lindyfest high” while being there and when we came back, we all hit a low. We were spoiled in a good way. WE NEEDED TO DANCE! LOL! Plus, I wanted to improve and try to find my personality and the enjoyment in Lindy Hop. This is where I started to think, “OK, I can go out social dancing and dance with some good leads to get an understand, but will I make sense of it? Will I know what I am doing wrong? Should I try new techniques? How will I know?” etc., etc., etc. I have been dancing for a while and I wanted a challenge. I NEED a challenge, just like how the workshops at Lindyfest challenged me.

This is where the blog comes in. It use to be a ranting blog when I was 18 years old, so I decided to convert it ( no one needed to know about my boy dramas and puberty problems). I needed a place to reflect and write down my thoughts and “discoveries.” Little epiphanies here and there. All on this blog. What am I reflecting on? Any challenge that is presented to me. Any dare that someone tells me to do for X# of months/weeks/days/ or until I get it right. I need to be challenged in my dancing. Anything, in dance or in my regular day to day life. I already have one that my boyfriend dared me to do: jog the entire Rose Bowl (~3 miles). It’s not a lot and I have jogged/walked the whole thing before. It’s getting my body to a jog-able state that’s hard because my skin goes crazy from allergies and rapid expansion in the capillaries.

So, here it goes so many… what to start on? I was thinking about cutting out all the styling aspect of dancing and focus on the basics… triple steps instead of swivels… or what I learned from Kevin and Jo: do only rocksteps, triple steps, and steps to feel the connection between your partner and feel different syncopation?… maybe learn how to lead???? IONO… I’ll have to think about it and decide. To be continued…..