“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”

— Friedrich Nietzsche

(Can you tell I was almost a philosophy major?)

My dancing

This page isn’t much yet… and that’s because I’m not much yet (at least in terms of dancing). But it serves as a little digital memory folder to capture the joy of learning, the struggles of beginning, and eventually, the satisfaction of seeing how far you’ve come. I may not be a state champion title holder right now, but that’s just so that when I am one, you can say, “I saw her back before she was cool!”

In the words of Billy Joe Shaver, popularized by John Anderson: “I’m just an old chunk of coal, but I’m gonna be a diamond some day.”

A compilation of my first two months of being a dancer. The technique is missing but the joy isn’t!

Dance is far more than a hobby or social activity. It is a silent conversation between two people (who often have never met before in the social dance scene). Dance does not become an art until both parties are well versed in communication, cooperation, team-work, and compromise. It is a constant oscillation between giving and taking, between showing off and showing off your partner. Although the roles in swing are defined as “lead” and “follow,” these lines get blurred the more advanced and skilled the dancers become. Leads start to lend more room for creativity to their follows and follows start to take the reins every now and again to contribute to the creation of more risky moves with higher visual payoffs.

The fundamentals and techniques of dance have real-world applications especially in team-building scenarios that are often encountered in the workplace and interpersonal relationships.

Finally learning some musicality and how to draw the music into my body while also listening to my lead’s queues.

I have been dancing for about 9 months now, have taken group lessons almost every week since, and have competed in my first ever competition in the lower Jack and Jill and my second competition in both lower Strictly and newcomer Jack and Jill (which I took home the 3rd place title for). I look forward to taking private lessons and improving my technique and frame as well as competing more in the future. The goal is to one day make it to State Finals and win a belt buckle!

Footage from my second ever competition. Shown here is a more West Coast style swing dance although my typical style is Country Swing:)