The Dance Primer

When I learned my first competition cha-cha routine, there was a move I struggled with more than any other. It involved spinning quickly from one side of my partner to the other, back and forth. I had to move fast, keep my feet moving in rhythm, direct my body to the right place, and keep from falling over all at the same time. Remember, I had never done solo dancing (other than rejecting my ballet class in first grade, but that’s another story) so individual skills like spinning had never been an issue before.

My partner would get frustrated, and start pulling on my arm, or pushing on my hip to get me to the right spot. Didn’t help. (He was as much a novice as I was.)

I worked so hard, spinning across rooms whenever I had the chance – but when I rehearsed with my partner, I never seemed to get better. It seemed hopeless that I would ever be a decent dancer.

Suddenly, our last rehearsal before competition, something clicked in my body. I was spinning around him with ease! It was suddenly easy to pinpoint the problem… our previous rehearsals had been VERY early in the morning (I’m talking pre-6a.m. - it was the only time the high school gym was available), and on top of that I had been taking an ear medication that “may affect balance.” Hmmmmm! I spun like a top during our competition, and had a wonderful time. No, I wasn’t suddenly good enough to win anything, but we did make it past the first round of cuts so at least we weren’t awful.

Fast forward a few years later, when I’m seeping in swing fever. I’m attending workshops left and right, and dancing in and out of town as often as transportation and finances allow. But I still have one major problem: I’m simply terrible at spins. Even one simple turn and I’m all over the place, ending up nowhere near where my lead intended. Luckily, I had kind leads who never made a fuss about it, but I was certainly making a big internal fuss. This was happening in the evening, and I wasn’t medicated. There was no excuse!

I searched for answers in the solo-dancing world. I signed up for lessons from a friend of mine who owned a modern dance studio. Together, we worked on my spins, but I never felt like I was getting better. I took solo jazz classes, and dance technique classes from the college, feeling like a flapping fool in a room full of body-control professionals. I got over the fear of other dancers, but not my fear of spinning.

I practiced intensely, and became jealous when my swing dance partners started pulling out fancy spins. I figured it was something I’d likely never be good at, but I kept working anyway. I never did have a sudden “Aha!” moment with my spins again, like I did for the cha-cha competition. Spins were always in my mind as a problem.

One day, I was dancing some sort of Lindy/West Coast hybrid with a boy who was mostly a Westie. He LOVED to spin me back and forth through the slot. If felt like I was spinning non-stop. I hadn’t noticed that it was happening simply, and I wasn’t getting dizzy or losing balance, or going all over the place until he exclaimed, “you can spin! You don’t know how hard it is to find a follow who can spin well. I love this!” And he continued to spin and spin and spin me for the rest of the dance.

The point: don’t give up on your weaknesses, they may become strengths without you even noticing. If you give up, and avoid them, the will certainly remain weaknesses. But if you practice you will overcome them (even if it takes years).

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*Photo by Neogene on flickr.