1+1=3

Dances:  Waltz, Foxtrot & Quickstep
Part:  Lead
Workout:  Arms & back at the gym, mowed a BIG ASS lawn, & washed a mischievous super puppy.

I think it's about time I explain what all the SUPER SLOW foxtrot we've been mentioning is about.  During our last lesson with Kora we worked on foxtrot (which in retrospect may have been a mistake).  Basically it boiled down to this:  Since Sarah and I both come from fairly strong musical backgrounds, we're quite precise when it comes to staying on time/beat with the music as well as on phrase.  Naturally, that means that when beat one hits, you step down, you hold two for the slow, then step on three and four for quick, quick.  Of course with dancing you quickly learn that everything you know and do is usually wrong.  Apparently you're supposed to start moving (through the body and all that jazz) on beat one, then step down (transfer weight) on two, then continue moving through to three then step down on the "and" of three and the "and" of four (of course Kora will probably read this post and tell me I'm completely wrong, but this is how I interpreted the information given to me).

So for the last week, Sarah and I have practiced the foxtrot at deathly slow speeds.  It takes A LOT of concentration to break the habit of stepping on the down beat.  We've even enlisted the help of a metronome.  The result has left me feeling like I'm basically dancing my foxtrot off time.  Being part robot and part Asian, it just feels so wrong when you step down on the off beats.  My life consists of carefully calculated instances in everything I do and this is just sheer torture.  I have to basically calculate everything wrong by one.  So 1+1 is now equal to 3.  Sarah claims to notice a difference in the way our foxtrot moves, but honestly for me it feels exactly the same except shifted one beat late.  I guess only time and Kora will tell if this tedious practice has paid off.

While on the subject of foxtrot, and having the time because of the holiday, I thought I'd rant a little about the step Zig-Zag.  It's utterly useless and stupid.  I can't really see any reason why you'd ever want that step in any of your choreography.  Not only is it hard and awkward to lead, it's risky (women most likely won't follow it).  It also puts you of off phrase because the step is only six counts.  Now you need to come up with two extra counts somewhere else.  You might argue that the step looks fancy, but you'd be wrong.  Just to make sure I went on YouTube and looked at Mirko dancing the step.  It's nothing special.  You can barely tell he does it.  So why I ask you, does the step exist?  The bigger question is, why do people still dance it?  And the biggest question is, what the hell is it doing in my routine?!?!?  I'm sure Kora and Simeon will have something to say about this.  If they can't give me a good enough explanation, that Zig-Zag is history and in it's place (that's right, you guessed it), passing twinkles!!