"Dancing Through Life"

At last, Pro Partner and I connected to dance together! I admit to some degree of nervousness since it had been years since we'd danced together. I give him very high marks for excellent instruction, patience, and great humor. It's always nice when you are working with a partner to have lots of laughter.

We first tackled the Hickory Hoedown as this is one of the dances we are competing in at Worlds. One pattern - then stop. Never a good sign. With great diplomacy and sensitivity, Chris corrected some of my bad (and they are bad) habits. I tend to flatten the chassis at the opening of the dancing, and use too much of my body for the drop-three the end pattern. He wants to see a t-position for the feet in the drop-three, as this sets one up nicely for the following back edge. These were the two most significant issues. Others were minor, which really surprised me. Chris gives good clues about where I should be looking ("Look right into my eyes now," or "Look at the top of my head") to make head positions more dance-like.

Moved on to the Willow Waltz., I thought the dance was pretty good, as I passed my USFS test with Coach P last October at the ice dance weekend in San Jose. Now I'm not so sure. Major fixes were in dance hold, with a change in arm position. My thumb must go right into his armpit, with pressure from the palm (not fingers) on his shoulder. Pressure on the right hand should be on palms, not my "break-the-fingers" death grip. And, for pity sakes, can I not stop dropping my elbows so my arms look like chicken wings? This really needs attention.

It was a great time dancing with Chris. And, yes, it IS much different dancing with a male partner than my female coach, who has always been such a good sport to dance with me in the absence of a male dance partner. We agreed to get together again (TBD) two or three times before Worlds to continue working on the dances and to tackle the Ten Fox, which I still need to pass to move out of this dang Bronze level. It's getting quite boring now to be here!

Of course, my experience with Chris confirmed (again) how much I love dance and miss it. Must, must, must get serious about it while I am preparing for Worlds, to lay the groundwork for getting back into it in a big way post-Worlds.

Now I have to figure out what dress I am going to wear to compete in dance at Worlds. Think I will use the blue and white one I'm using for my technical program, as the skirt is dance-length. Don't fret, Dear Husband, I am NOT buying another dress for these tests. Light bulb idea: I can wear the dress we are using for the ensemble number. Great idea as it has a very nice length skirt and is very pretty and feminine.

Won't skate again until Tuesday, when I will turn attention back to FS programs. After my dance experience with Chris, my level of anxiety has diminished even more. I am truly looking forward to going to Worlds! Hooray!

Onward we go!