Metronomic Foxtrot Claims Another!

Dances:  Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep
Part:  Lead
Workout:  Chest & shoulders at the gym.
Happy Hour:  The Parlor - Cheeseburger & Hot Wings

Another typical Tuesday routine today.  Only notable difference was the fact that Sarah actually did weight lifting today.  I'm trying to get her to lift on a consistent schedule, but she keeps fighting herself about it.  Sarah's concern is that she might get too big and muscular and that she will loose flexibility because of it.  I have to keep reminding her of how hard she actually has to work, both in lifting weights and diet control (in her case, eating A LOT more) for that to happen.  Not to mention the fact that her frame and body type won't actually allow her to get that big to begin with.  We were pressed for time anyways today, and didn't quite get the workout I wanted in.  Nevertheless, it's better than nothing and I still have Friday to make up for it.

We started by running our Waltz today.  I gotta say, it went really smoothly.  No real balance issues or anything weird.  Just lots of control and powerful drives.  It's hard to tell if we've actually gotten better from all the practice or if our muscles are just less tired since it's early in the week.  Maybe it's the fact that everyone had Monday off and took it easy.  But even then we had practice and worked out on Monday.  Either way, the waltz went off without a hitch.  I find it amazing how much difference your head and the direction it's facing makes.  It's been an interesting and challenging ordeal for me getting used to turning my head to the right.  I mean you spend most of your early dancing life learning to keep your head to the left, turned left and up.  For the most part in the beginning stages of dance that seems to dramatically improve performance.  However, after beating that into you countless times they now want you to turn your head right SOMETIMES.  I have to admit though, it does help A LOT.   I also found it interesting that most of our dances are now fitting exactly to the room's dimensions.  I've tested this at several ballrooms now, and we're always right up to the edge no matter how large or small the room is.  It's a good sign that we now have enough control over our routines to adapt them to the environment it's in.

After the waltz we were back on our SUPER SLOW foxtrot.  We tried it a few times to music then started up the metronome again.  I have to say, the metronome, while annoying, has been incredibly helpful.  We've gotten quite good at dancing to it at the slow speed.  Patrick was in there with us practicing today and was quite intrigued by our metronomic foxtrot.  So we took a little time and explained it to him.  A few minutes later we saw a frustrated Pat in the other corner attempting a SUPER SLOW foxtrot of his own.  All the same beginning symptoms:  falling over, off balance, forgetting which step you're on, stepping on a wood slap instead of a cowbell, etc.  It was fun to see someone else join the struggle at an exercise we had spent the last week and a half on.  I do think it's starting to pay off, but we're still a long ways from home.

We ended with the quickstep and tango.  Not much to report here.  The tango went well other than the fact that I forgot to breathe during it.  Quickstep on the other hand is still a little shaky.  We just need to keep hammering at it and it'll work itself out.  Another important issue is the song you choose to dance to.  "Going to the Supermarket" (not joking here) was a poor choice.  Sarah couldn't stop laughing (which then made me laugh because they started singing about moon cakes and spam) and it wasn't long before the whole dance just fell apart.