Dance like no one is watching
When you attend a wedding, there are invariably many couples out on the dance floor just holding each other close and spinning in slow, never-ending circles as some slow tune plays. As pathetic as that may be, it still beats the folks who choose to just sit and stare at the dancers. There has to be a better way.
Many years ago, my lovely wife and I tried taking dance lessons. She was doing well but I was only giving it a halfhearted attempt so we never got much out of it.
In my defense, I just couldn't get into the way it was taught. Many people are visual learners and that's great. I wish I were, too.
Instead, I'm the kind of guy who needs to read something that's explained clearly in a step-by-step manner. (I guess that's why I enjoy computer programming so much.) Dancing as you might expect is just not taught that way. Bummer for me.
One time, there was a full-page ad in the paper announcing various classes at a local mall. One of them was dance, and get this — it was to be taught by a former “Rockettes” dancer. You know, one of those famous and beautiful long-legged, high-kicking gals that does the Christmas show each year at Radio City Music Hall. There can't be a better teacher than that, so we signed up.
The day of the class, the whole group was waiting in a big room at the mall for the teacher to arrive. Finally the door opens and in walks this older woman, limping, using a crutch! She actually had been a Rockette, but a very, very long time ago.
The best was when she explained why she loved teaching dance. In what can only be described as a Northern version of a slow Southern drawl, she said she did it because that's how she got her “soooocial interaaaaaction.”
Between the drawl and the crutch I didn't expect much, but she was actually quite a good teacher. We learned a little, which was great, but we didn't stick with it so it just basically went in one ear and out the other. How sad is that.?
If there's one lesson I can give, one that I wish I'd always followed myself, it’s that, if you're going to do something, then, by gosh, do it with all the strength and conviction you have. That’s not always easy because of factors both in and not in your control I know, but still.
You can't learn anything or get anything done right unless you put your whole heart and soul into it. Heck, if I'd kept at it, I'd probably be enjoying swimming, dancing, guitar-playing, and so many other things. So, if you're going to do something, then do it, and try your hardest. Wimping out is all too easy.
Birthday surprise
Getting back to dance — recently it was time for yet another round of Trying to Find a Good Birthday Present, a game that I'm not really good at, unfortunately. So I thought another round of dance lessons might be something fun to try.
I went back to the original dance school where we'd first gone so many years ago and got us signed up for some beginner lessons. When my wife received the gift card, she was really shocked that I would go there again. I guess she thought that dancing had come and gone for us. But, trouper that she is, she agreed to give it a try.
At the first lesson, we didn't know what to expect after so many years, but the teacher turned out to be a really nice and above all very patient guy; we just clicked immediately with him. Before you knew it, I was guiding my wife around the dance floor, holding her in the proper position, doing a simple fox-trot type of dance.
As simple as this beginning dance is — two steps forward and a little shuffle from side to side — it is so much more fun and satisfying than just going around in circles in the same spot over and over. How I wish we'd not taken this long to learn it. What a revelation, to actually be able to properly move around a dance floor as a couple. If you can do it, you know what I mean, and if you can't, look up a dance school right now. You'll be very glad you did.
I love music but I have no musical training. My wife, on the other hand, has been a professional musician virtually her entire life. While dancing, it's often hard for me to get the proper rhythm — you know, to keep to the beat.
I know I have to work on this but it seems to frustrate my wife very much because she's all about proper musical timing and all that. I'm hoping my good looks and youthful enthusiasm will offset my poor performance in this area to some extent at least — hahaha.
I know there's a TV show called “Dancing with the Stars” but I avoid it because I boycott all so-called “reality TV”shows as a matter of principal. However, I have watched the ballroom dancing competitions, and, let me tell you, there are some fantastic dancers out there.
Why ballroom dancing is not an Olympic sport is a mystery to me. If you see the skill and dexterity of these couples as they glide around the dance floor as if on air, you can't help but be amazed.
Show stopper
In a similar vein, a very wonderful couple from church gave us tickets to see “An American in Paris” at Proctors. Now I'm not normally a Broadway show kind of guy. Being full-blooded Italian, I much prefer an opera by Puccini or Verdi, but let me tell you this show was phenomenal
A big part of it was the dancing. We all know humans can't fly, but, if you saw this show, you indeed saw humans flying around that stage. These dancers’ moves are so smooth, it's like their bodies have rubber bones. I don't know if I've ever seen more beautiful dancing in my life.
Let me just try to describe one small move from the show for you. At one point, the leading lady is standing with her arms outstretched. Then the leading man places his head above her hand and slow rolls up her arm, around her back, and out the other arm, such that, if you didn't know it was a real woman, you would have sworn it was some kind of a prop
I mean, it was truly amazing. At the end, when he's leading her through the air, her pink dress billowing around her, she really was flying for all practical purposes. What absolutely amazing performers.
We'll never dance like that of course – I'd be in traction if I even attempted it. But let's forget about learning and practicing dance moves and steps for a moment.
Biggest benefit
When you boil dancing down to its core, at some point you realize it's basically all about holding a beautiful woman up close. Who wouldn't want to do that? Why didn't I realize until now that that's one of dancing’s biggest benefits right there?
Sometimes I'm truly shocked by how long it takes me to “get it,” but it is what it is. Maybe slowly going around in circles isn't so pathetic after all.
I don't know what we'll do when our dance lessons run out. We don't have any weddings coming up that I know of. Maybe we can find a club where they play old-time fox-trot music. Until then, don't be surprised if you see us dancing in the backyard or on the deck. May I have this dance, madam?