. . : the things guys won't tell you : :

Wow. So I went shopping with Tashtash today to get her sister some shoes. That trip turned into the most enlightening ballroom experience of my life. There is so much PG wasn't telling us about competing!! Here are the subjects he neglected to touch upon...

Shoes --

Whether International Standard or Latin, shoes are tan, tan, TAN! I sorta noticed that at comps everyone wore tan shoes... but maybe it was just a fad? Apparently it's an unwritten law. The idea is that my feet will blend in with the floor and my legs. As for Standard shoes, they must be courtshoes. This means they are like your typical pumps, with a 2-3" heel and satin covering. Some Standard shoes either expose a nail or will over time, so it's mandatory to wear plastic heel protectors with them. They will protect both the beautiful floor and save my heels. However, some companies, like the Italian Dance Natural, won't ever need them. ^_^ Standard shoes must also be very, very snug so that they don't slip off when I dance! Plastic bands are commonly worn around the arch of the foot so that they stay on for sure. As for Latin shoes, they must be strappy sandle-like shoes. Heels should be around 3" tall, but never much more than that. There are many things to worry about when getting this type of shoe... Avoid a lot of straps without mesh in between because baby toes tend to get pinched or to stick out. The shoe must not have an open heel (an open heel is for more advanced dancers). The strap must attach to the heel cup for support. Lastly, Celebrity is a good shoe company for International Latin since they can make any style of shoe I want.



Hosiery --

One word: fishnets. And they should be a little darker than my skin color, so I don't look extremely pale. Apparently, tan is in. =( But I'll never ever tan or even get a fake one so the judges will just have to live with my pale skin.

Hair --

For competitions, a simple bun just doesn't cut it! I should go all out~ A more fancy and beautiful hair style is a plus; the lady at the shoe store even suggested a french twist. It would appear some people might get their hair done, but I'll have to just curl it or what not myself.

Makeup --

Same as hair: go all out. Think stage makeup to the max! Heavy eyeliner (remember to line the rims), bright lipstick and rouge (so I don't look pale), colorful eyeshadow. Even add gaudy accessories to brighten up the outfit!!

Clothes --

Eventually, probably by the end of the summer, I should have two separate dresses for the two different styles. Basically, I just need to imitate what I see on the dance floor. However, it's not appropriate for a newcomer to be wearing those showy Latin dresses. But the Standard dress should be flowy and go down to the ankles. For Latin, think Charlotte Russe. For Standard, I could easily sew up a few things!!

Oh PG... there's so much you didn't tell us...

. . : san diego dancesport : :

Yayy! Mary signed Tash and me up for being runners at San Diego Dancesport~ I'm gonna wear my black dress and black suitcoat during all the evening shifts. Anyways, here is the schedule it seems for the competition:

Friday:

7:30 - 10:00 AM Awards Ceremony
10:00 AM Take Tashi home possibly?
7:00 - 9:00 PM Runner
9:00 PM Finish watching competition and having Tash sleepover

Saturday:

9:00 - 11:00 AM Runner
1:00 - 3:00 PM Runner
3:00 - 7:30 PM Free time to spend eating, resting and watching the dances!
7:30 - 9:30 PM Runner

Sunday:

10:00 AM Arrive at the hotel in Coronado early
11:00 AM Be ready to compete!!
12:00 - 7:00 PM Free time
7:30 - 9:30 PM Runner
9:30 PM Watching the final rounds!

. . : rumba - detailed technique : :

As for the rumba, the major correction yesterday was that I need to pay more attention to alignment, especially in the hockey stick. Going into the hockey stick from the fan position, the amount of turn is as follows: 1/8 (to face the wall perpendicularly) 3/8 and then 1/8 (to face the opposite wall). The way to correct this is to not be so anxious and "excited" and to not rush the dance at all by paying close attention to the music. As for head positions and alignment, remember to be looking at PG at the beginning, through the arm's "window." Then spot the walls/corners to ensure correct alignment and end up looking back at PG at the end.

The other huge correction/improvement (^_^) had to do with leading with the shoulder. In the open hip twist, remember to lead with the right shoulder. As PG always says, "Go all out!" XD In the waltz, the shoulder leads are either really obvious or look-up-able in the Technique of Ballroom Dancing.

So overview: two new corrections and things to be aware of:
* Alignment
* Shoulder Leads

. . : newcomer routines : :

Newcomer/Intermediate Bronze Waltz:
Danced at the 14th Anniversary Showcase
Danced at San Diego Dancesport Championships

I don't think this is exactly what PG was thinking though... I remember him throwing out terms like a weave and some complicated position name... I believe the weave goes after the first spin turn.

* Natural Turn (2)
* Natural to Reverse (1)
* Reverse Turn (2)
* Whisk (1)
* Chasse from Promenade Position (1)
* Natural Spin Turn (2)
* Reverse Corte (1)
* Reverse to Natural (1)
* Natural to Reverse (1)
* Outside Change (1)
* Natural Spin Turn (2)
* Reverse Corte (1)
* Reverse to Natural (1)
(repeat from here!)

17 bars of music total, 2 full repetitions usually takes a little over 1 minute

Newcomer/Intermediate Bronze Rumba:
Danced at the 14th Anniversary Showcase
Danced at San Diego Dancesport Championships

* Open Hip Twist (2)
* Hockey Stick (2)
* Change Weight w/ Right Step Back*** (1)
* Two Rumba Walks Forward (2)
* Underarm Turn to Left (1)
* 3 Checks (3)
* Underarm Turn to Left (1)
(repeat from here; there will most definitely be more added soon)

12 bars of music total, nearly 3 repetitions are needed to fill a little over 1 minute
*** Count 2: R foot back w/ a backward walk; Count 3: Shift weight back to L foot; Count 4~1: L foot fwd w/ a fwd walk (I have no idea if this is a named step or something PG has me do to fill space...)

Newcomer/Intermediate Bronze Cha Cha:

Get the proper names for these steps!!

* Lock Step Back (1)
* Lock Step Forward (1)
* Half-turn to Lock Step Back (1)
* Hockey Stick (2)
* 2 and 3 Lock Back 4 and 1 Lock Back (1)
* Lock Step Forward (1)
* 2 and 3 Lock Fwd 4 and 1 Lock Fwd (1)
* Underarm Turn (1)
* 3 New Yorkers (3)
* Underarm Turn (1)

13 bars of music total

Newcomer/Intermediate Bronze Tango:

Get the proper names for these steps!!

*
*

. . : excerpts from 'technique' : :

The Technique of Latin Dancing is the most wonderful book to find technique, steps and arm styling all laid out on paper. These are a few of the most important excerpts that are most helpful for my newcomer/intermediate Bronze rumba.

Poise --

"The correct poise for Rumba and Cha Cha Cha is achieved as follows:-
1. Stand with feet together in a normal relaxed manner.
2. Raise diaphragm as far as possible, taking care not to raise shoulders.
3. Take a step to side on either foot and fully straighten (i.e. lock back knee of supporting leg). Transfer full weight to this foot allowing the pelvis to move back so that the weight is felt to be near the heel of the standing foot. The degree that the pelvis is moved back must only be such that the position achieved by the upper part of the body when the diaphragm was raised is not affected.
It is important that the poise is achieved using the movements in the order given above. If the pelvis is allowed to move back before the diaphragm is raised, a bad poise will result." p. 6

Use of Free Arm and Contact Arm --

"The positions achieved by the free arm(s) and contact arm(s) when dancing the syllabus fig. are given in the charts. Due to space considerations the words used to describe these positions have been kept to a minimum. While the wording in the charts is adequate for examination purposes, a more detailed description is give below to help the student to achieve accurate arm positions.
1. To side slightly retracted: the arm is held outwards from the side of the body in a position which is just below shoulder level and slightly forward. The arm is bent slightly at the elbow to form a soft curve from the shoulder to the hand.
2. To side retracted: the arm is held outwards from the side of the body with the elbow lowered and bent so that the hand will be slightly forward of the body in a position approximately halfway between touching the side of the body and the fully extended to side position.
3. Extended to side: same as 1. but with the elbow straightened.
4. Forward slightly retracted, forward retracted, extended forward, as 1, 2 and 3 respectively but with the arm in the fwd pos. and not to side.
5. Held loosely across front of body: the arm is held across and approximately 6" away from the front of the body. In the case of the lady the arm will be just below chest level ..." p. 9

Rhythmic Interpretation --

"The Rumba is fundamentally a 'body' dance. Hip actions which will result from the correct use of ankles and knees will normally occur through a controlled transfer of body weight from one foot to the other. Each foot movement should take a 1/2 beat of music. A body action then occurs on the second 1/2 beat of music for steps taken on the 2nd and 3rd beats of the bar. On steps coinciding with the 4th beat of the bar the body action uses 1 1/2 beats of music." p. 12

. . : competitions and showcases : :

I've compiled a list of all the competitions, showcases and what-nots for 2004 and 2005. So ta-da! Here it is.

2004 Competitions --

San Diego Dancesport Championships
June 11th - 13th in San Diego, CA (Coronado)
Website

International Grand Ball Championships
July 30th - August 1st in Burlingame, CA (San Francisco)
Website

Nevada Star Ball Dancesport Championships
August 19th - 22nd in Las Vegas, CA
Website

Embassy Ball Dancesport Championships
September 3rd - 5th in Irvine, CA
Website

Pacific Dancesport
November 5th - 7th in Los Angeles, CA
Website

California Star Ball Dancesport Championships
November 26th - 28th in Costa Mesa, CA
Website

Holiday Dance Classic Championships
December 11th - 14th in Las Vegas, CA
Website

2005 Competitions --

World Pro/Am Championships
January 6th - 8th in Irvine, CA
Website

San Francisco Open Dancesport Championships
April 1st - 3rd in San Francisco, CA
Website

Emerald Ball Dancesport Championships
April 28th - May 1st in Los Angeles, CA
Website

And lastly I just have a few scattered thoughts about what would be awesome to dance as a solo in a competition or a showcase... A Jive to "I Don't Want A Lot For Christmas," a jive to "Hey Ya," a rumba to "Take My Breath Away"... Any of those would be a ton of fun.

. . : counting the rumba : :

It took me forever to figure out how to count rumba music... And I think I have an idea now. The strong accent of music is supposed to be on count one, because the rumba is all about the hip movement on count one. So do count the music 1 2 3 4 but do the dancing on 2 3 4~1.

I'm brilliant.

Even more on counting the rumba from Laird's Technique:
"...the predominant musical accents will be associated with the 4th beat of each bar." p. 12
Hopefully his expertise coincides with my discoveries about rumba music... Hmm...

. . : basic technique of rumba : :

From the Saturday lesson on May 15th, 2004, at 1:00pm:

First, general suggestions on how to practice all this technique --
To begin, dance the routine focusing on the actual steps, the correct posture and proper stance.
Second, dance while focusing on correct footwork and while maintaining good posture and dancing the correct steps.
Third, dance the first two but add on the arm technique and styling.
Fourth, dance it with all the above and make sure the head is placed properly.

Theoretically, by the time I complete the fourth step I should be dancing nicely. ^_-

Posture --
* Flatten the curve of your spine. Doing so will cause you to lean forward and lead properly. "Move with your guts."
* Always maintain a very erect stance. This is accomplished by rolling the shoulders back and pushing them down while lifting up the sternum.

Footwork --
* For the most part while dancing the rumba, on count four the weight is split or shared between both legs. On count one, the weight should be shifted to only one leg.
* When dancing the rumba walks, the moving ankle should brush the standing one. On the open hip twist, remember to keep the ankles together.
* Keep the leg muscles tight in general while dancing. The legs are never loose or uncontrolled.
* Take small steps. Large steps can throw you off balancing and aren't necessary for a large 'stage presence.'
* Be cautious not to over-rotate the turn into the open hip twist. Remain in control of the turn, and end up facing perpendicular to the wall, shoulders, bellybutton, and all. If necessary, undershoot the turn.
* When dancing the rumba walks, keep a forward posture, as if you are always falling forward and catching yourself. This is achieved by remaining forward on the feet and with correct stance. This is much like the stance for sprinting.

Arm Styling --
* Always keep the lat. and shoulder muscles tight. This is the one dance where I get to be tense!! This ensures a firm connection with PG so that he can properly lead and follow.
* During the rumba walks, mirror whatever arm styling PG is doing!
* On the last rumba walk, into the turn, just gently bring the arm closed instead of the normal technique.
* On the open hip twist, whip the arm closed on count one.
* The fingers are supposed to be 'energetic and lively.' Point the middle finger down.
* "When in doubt, leave the arm out!" (PG's so cute~)

Styling of the Head --
* On extending the arm during the fan, look out past the left extended arm.
* When preparing to turn after the fan, look over your shoulder at PG, in the 'window' the arm creates. Look into his eyes like your in love!! But remember, it's just pretend...

. . : a passion aroused : :

About nine months ago I was introduced to ballroom dancing, at the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year, with Mr. G's dance class. About five months ago I began the Bronze Samba class with Ester. And about two months ago I fell in love with ballroom and head over heels for PG.

It's the week after APs; I just turned in the biggest paper of the year; I should be working on my English presentation; and all I can think about is ballroom, ballroom, ballroom. :}

Cheers to a life-long passion and the start of my ballroom notes!