Puzzling Promenade Practice Predicament

Dances:  Foxtrot, Quickstep
Part:  Lead
Workout:  Arms and back at the gym.
Happy Hour:  Matador - Bowl of Chili
TV Show Downloaded Today:  Nikita - Season 1

Today was kind of an odd day in that it was Tuesday.  We had to cancel practice yesterday due to another project I was working on.  On the plus side, we did end up having an impromptu barbecue because of it which involved hamburger meatballs rather than patties and expired cheese.  So Sarah and I started out week one day off.  Arms and back was up again and I'm glad to see that Sarah is doing a little more weight now and her form is getting better.  I don't have to worry as much about her hurting herself during our workouts.  After a fairly average workout, we headed into practice.

We focused mainly on foxtrot today hoping to leverage our fresh memories of the most recent lesson.  That of course meant working on our promenade position, both getting into it and staying consistent throughout the entire figure.  This proved to be a challenging ordeal.  We both understand what technically needs to happen, but it's hard to tell whether we've nailed it or completely failed, and if it was the latter, what we need to do to fix it.  Sarah and I tried many tactics from different frame holds to lock our shoulders parallel to each other, to no frame at all.  In the end we concluded that we'd just try our best for right now and consult our coaches for more effective exercises the next time we see them.

Practice ended with a little work on our quickstep.  Primarily the opening section which contains the cursed Tipsies.  We still can't quite get our timing right.  Always a bit too slow resulting is us playing catch-up every time.  I did try taking smaller steps and that seemed to help somewhat.  I'll have to make a mental note to tell Sarah about that next time.  We also ran through the Six Quick Run section a few times.  Now that we've been approved to use a little rise in the lock step section, the part is MUCH smoother and easier.

Sarah and I have both noticed that since our skill level is advancing, the things our coaches work on with us are becoming increasingly broader in scope and finer in detail.  Because of this we've come to find it harder to focus and stay on track during our practices.  It almost as if we're drifting a bit aimlessly.  Tonight we discussed and brainstormed some ways to combat this issue.  I think we're going to try out making some sort of practice calendar that we adhere to.  Kind of like a lesson plan.  We'll need to take some time at the end of each week to plot out the exploits of the following week.  However I'm sure this is a system that will need to altered and honed a few times before it becomes fully effective.  We'll keep you posted on how it goes.