Ballroom +

As you may or may not know, Graham and I started our first dance lessons last spring in preparation for our wedding this summer. We have now moved on from the Beginner Ballroom class to Ballroom Plus.

We're going to pretty much be dancing superstars once our wedding rolls around...

Last Sunday was our first class and it was a lot of fun. Of course we had forgotten all the steps we had previously learned about dance, but we had a quick refresher course and we were back to side stepping and rotating through our waltz. It’s a little bit like riding a bike.

I'm in the process of editing the Y Champions Hockey weekend video, so I’m sorry the posts have been short.  If there are any programs, classes, lessons, etc. you guys want me to try at the Y, leave a comment and I’ll try to be there.

I need to get back into a fitness routine anyway... I'm starting to notice the effects of too much vacation. Primarily in my mid section :(

Ballroom Dancing: Lesson 5

Today was our last class. (*tear) It’s a 6 week program but we are unable to attend the last class because Graham will be writing exams. L

I loved this class! And Graham and I are defiantly going to register for beginner ballroom plus in September. We have learned so much in 5 short weeks, and I feel that we can now confidently navigate ourselves around a dance floor (although still a little awkward at times, but confidently awkward).

In last night’s class we reviewed the waltz for the first part of class and learned a dip for the rumba in the second part. Seriously the dip is so much fun! Graham just tosses me and we somehow finish in a beautiful dip. 

Yup just like this…

My eye opener from ballroom class->

The guy has so much more responsibility in ballroom dancing.  It’s crazy. I (being the woman) don’t really think about anything, and Graham (being the man) has to lead, prepare our next move, navigate around a room of people, and ensure proper timing.  I'm so thankful Graham has it together. No offence to Graham, but he is way better at dancing than I had thought he would be. Super grateful.

Any who, dance class at the Y with Alison and Atilla has been so wonderful and they are great instructors. If you have a wedding or event coming up and are hoping to impress on the dance floor, you should defiantly check out this class. Classes begin again in September.

I'm so happy that we are no longer limited to the penguin shuffle.

Here’s a video of the class courtesy of Shaw

Beginner Ballroom: Lesson 4

Alright. I know I talked about a video last week and here I am this week, again with no video. 

Here’s the verdict.  Graham is in the middle of exams and is super busy. I don’t really even get to hang out with him very often. And when we do get time to spend together; making a video of us dancing isn’t the first thing we think to do. So I apologize. I’ll try my best for next week. Perhaps pictures at practice will have to do? We shall see.

Sunday’s dance class was a lot of fun. We continued to practice our waltz moves but we also started to learn the Rumba. The Rumba is a sexy Latin dance. I felt so goofy doing it because moving my hips all sexy is totally not me, and put me out of my element.  I felt strange. And pretty envious because Alison (our instructor) looks so good Rumbaing (Is rumbaing a word? Or Doing the rumba. Is rumba a noun or a verb?).

Anyway, if you have ever watched Dancing with stars then you have probably seen a Rumba. Just imagine a much much much more simplified form. 

Beginner Ballroom: Lesson 3

Uh oh, So I forgot to take photo’s but I’ll try to take a video sometime this week.  Graham is in the middle of studying for exams but I will try to steal him away to show you guys the new moves we learned last class. They are super fun.

We learned the side step and a spin of some sort. The spin is a little complicated but it looks really pretty (when we get it right….)

It’s only class three but I’m starting to feel like Graham and I are actually dancing. Not just bobbing awkwardly around the room, but actually dancing. It’s so much fun and Attila and Alison are fantastic instructors.

During the class I started getting emotional and I started to picture us dancing at our wedding. I was getting a little giddy.

EeeeEeeeEeeee, I can’t wait to dance our first dance! 

Beginner Ballroom: Lesson 2

Dancing is hard. I thought I would be good at this but I’m not. I have some experience in ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop dance but they are nothing at all like ballroom. The biggest difference is dancing with a partner and following the lead of someone else… I really just want to lead all the time.

I'm a terrible partner.

I've started closing my eyes so that I can feel Graham lead me without any anticipation. I like to turn my own corners and back lead a lot, so closing my eyes really helps. I trust Graham to lead me but I just trust me more…

Besides my inner turmoil of allowing someone else to lead me; this week we learned how to do a quarter turn and a mini-dip… (I can’t remember the proper dance name for the “mini-dip,” so let’s just call it a mini-dip for now.)

Class started with a warm-up song, allowing us to practice what we learned the previous week. 1,2,3…1,2,3 in a counter clockwise circle. Graham and I had been able to practice a few times in our living room last week, so I think we have this down. Then we learned the quarter turn which went pretty smoothly for us… but then the mini-dip. This was tricky and I’m still not sure how to do this but Graham and I will practice this week and I’ll tell you how it goes. It involves throwing me out of the way as if a bus is coming..?..

I have to remember to take pictures next time and maybe even a video so you can check out our progress. Hmmm perhaps a before and after video? We shall see…

Beginner Ballroom

Graham and I had our first beginner ballroom class on Sunday. 

Alison and Attila are the instructors of the class and they are so great. They were super helpful, approachable, and great instructors.

Lesson 1 was all about leading and following. The rule is he leads, she follows. Period… I need to work on this part. For some reason I feel that I should lead. But I sucked it up and tried to let Graham do his job.

In our first lesson we also learned about frame. Alison had all the ladies lean against the wall with our hands holding us up. She told us that this is the feeling you should hold against your partner when you have frame. And Alison said to yell “F.U,” as in frame up to your partner if you feel they are getting loose and are not in proper frame.

We continued the class by practicing backward and forward stepping with our partners, and it’s defiantly harder than it looks. Social dance etiquette had us moving counter clockwise around the studio. We danced in circles, practicing our frame and footwork. 

Next we learned about the waltz, which has a 1,2,3 count instead the usually 1,2,3,4 count. We continued practicing around the room to the waltz beat and before we knew it the class was over.

Alison and Attila suggested that we practice dancing to one song a night to keep what we learned in class fresh.

They have a website where they have a suggested music list.>http://www.jazzmatazzdance.ca/Index.html<

We practised to 3 times a lady by the commodores last night. So beautiful... the song, not our dancing.

Stay tuned for Lesson 2 

Beginner Ballroom

Post to come about my first ballroom class.