At last month's Nationals, we took a workshop with Garry Gekhman, one of the judges for the competition. "Every Man's Dream" was a workshop on leading and following. In that one-hour group lesson, we learned SO MUCH basic information. It resulted in a fundamental change in our dancing. Since Garry is located only 2 hours from us, we asked if it would be possible to get a coaching/lesson with him. That was what we did today - a 2 1/4 hr dance lesson with Garry Gekhman. What a wonderful experience! Exhilarating and humbling all at once. It was only AFTER the lesson that I thought about the fact that I'd spent a significant part of the lesson time dancing with a World Vice Champion dancer. OMGosh!
Another round of fundamental change in my dance frame, which is going to take quite a while to replace what is already in muscle memory. And I found out that I've been dancing the spin turn wrong - no wonder it was so hard for us to get around....But I think I understand, at least intellectually, what he was asking me to do, so practice will tell.
Changes to dance frame and hold, head position, natural turn, spin turn, promenade link in Tango, chase, turning lock, chasse to the right, oh, just about everything we tried. And that was just dancing waltz and tango. We learned a trick to get to promenade position when you get interrupted - cool. The one positive thing was that we tend to use heels and toes properly....
Well, we've got a lot of practicing to do before we schedule another lesson. But not tonight - my feet are going to rebel if I put them back into high heels tonight, LOL.
will be dreaming of dancing tonight....
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Mid-Atlantic Championships 2011
A good competition for us. It felt like the best we've ever danced. Our placements were good - we made 3 of 4 finals, and had a 3rd place in Sr1 Silver Standard, 6th place in Sr2 Silver Standard, and 5th place in Sr2 Gold Standard. We were 9th in Sr1 Gold Standard. Altogether, these were our best results yet. Changing our dance frame and the technique differences that has created are starting to pay off.
On the "still to work on" side, looking at the video shows that there are still some fundamental things that need fixing - I kept dropping my right elbow. I think I was letting myself get too centered in turning figures. And, darn it, I was looking down still in the promenade sections of the tango oversway---I was even thinking - "look up". Of course, when I watch the video, I see the things I did wrong, rather than the things I did well.
Judges' marks were all over the place - which also suggests that we were being inconsistent in how we danced. One dance may have been rated anywhere from 2nd to 7th depending on the judge - which may mean either something particular the judge looks for, or what we happened to be doing when the judge was looking at us. More fodder for Karen at our lessons for the next few weeks.
We have six weeks until Nationals, so there's time to focus on a couple of key points (like more of "stay left") between now and then. I think this also calls for some routine gym time between now and then. Dancing silver and gold means more dances, and I was about done in by the time we were finished.
The weekend was fun. The new venue was beautiful (North Bethesda Marriott). We had the largest floor we've ever had for a competition, and this only used half of the Marriott's Grand Ballroom. It was great having David's sister, Kathy, come with us again this year. There was beautiful dancing to watch while we weren't dancing ourselves.
On the "still to work on" side, looking at the video shows that there are still some fundamental things that need fixing - I kept dropping my right elbow. I think I was letting myself get too centered in turning figures. And, darn it, I was looking down still in the promenade sections of the tango oversway---I was even thinking - "look up". Of course, when I watch the video, I see the things I did wrong, rather than the things I did well.
Judges' marks were all over the place - which also suggests that we were being inconsistent in how we danced. One dance may have been rated anywhere from 2nd to 7th depending on the judge - which may mean either something particular the judge looks for, or what we happened to be doing when the judge was looking at us. More fodder for Karen at our lessons for the next few weeks.
We have six weeks until Nationals, so there's time to focus on a couple of key points (like more of "stay left") between now and then. I think this also calls for some routine gym time between now and then. Dancing silver and gold means more dances, and I was about done in by the time we were finished.
The weekend was fun. The new venue was beautiful (North Bethesda Marriott). We had the largest floor we've ever had for a competition, and this only used half of the Marriott's Grand Ballroom. It was great having David's sister, Kathy, come with us again this year. There was beautiful dancing to watch while we weren't dancing ourselves.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Dancing in New York
This weekend is the Manhattan Amateur Classic in New York. We danced Senior 1 and Senior 2 Silver and Gold Standard. We didn't get to the ballroom as far ahead of our first heat as we usually do - and they were running 20 minutes ahead of schedule. We were there in plenty of time to dance, but we didn't get as much warm-up as we normally do. I think it threw us off a bit mentally. And it was a crowded floor, so we did not dance as well in our first heat as we would have liked (Sr 1 Silver). We danced better in Sr 2 Silver- even though that floor was even more crowded. We advanced from the quarter-final to the semi-final, but did not make the final. There were a lot of good dancers. Our gold heats were both full seven-couple finals. We did our best dancing of the day. We finished sixth in both gold heats. I'm happy with those finishes. We definitely danced better than at last year's MAC. So that's progress. We did not translate all of the technique we've been working on onto the competition floor, but we did make some improvements.
Last night's Sr Championship level Standard rounds were very enjoyable. And Adult Championship Latin and Youth Championship Standard were awesome as usual. Tonight is the Adult Championship Standard and the Youth Championship Latin- more awesome dancing to watch!
Last night's Sr Championship level Standard rounds were very enjoyable. And Adult Championship Latin and Youth Championship Standard were awesome as usual. Tonight is the Adult Championship Standard and the Youth Championship Latin- more awesome dancing to watch!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Carolina Fall Classic
It has been a beautiful day for a drive. We got to Greensboro around 2PM, checked in to the hotel and got our registration packet for the competition. I even managed to pick up the dress one of the ladies in the Dancing with the Stars of the 'Burg wants to try on as an option for the event. We even found a vest for one of the men. The costuming is getting there!
Our first heat is not until 12:59PM tomorrow. Hair/makeup appointment is at 9AM.
And we get to visit with DS this evening - that is a pleasant surprise.
No luck in finding jewelry for the DWTS event - not much selection from the one vendor with jewelry. So I'll have to do that on-line. Don't know if we'll have a chance to see any of the championship level dancing tonight. But I'll willingly give that up for a chance to visit. We haven't seen DS since February.
Our first heat is not until 12:59PM tomorrow. Hair/makeup appointment is at 9AM.
And we get to visit with DS this evening - that is a pleasant surprise.
No luck in finding jewelry for the DWTS event - not much selection from the one vendor with jewelry. So I'll have to do that on-line. Don't know if we'll have a chance to see any of the championship level dancing tonight. But I'll willingly give that up for a chance to visit. We haven't seen DS since February.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Busy Day
Well, kinda. Today started EARLY - up at 2:30 a.m. so we could take DMIL to the airport. Leaving her at the security line seemed almost as bad as leaving one of the children there by themselves. Even if we know that she's perfectly capable of managing her bag and getting through security and to her gate all by herself, LOL. We did get a call mid-afternoon that she has safely arrived at her destination.
Dance practice this afternoon. Some things are working, and some just aren't. I think I'll be working on natural spin turns forever....When we go in to practice tomorrow, I expect they'll be better - it seems to work that way. One day the timing is just off, then the next it works. At least I hope so. Even the things that don't feel like they are working right are much better than they were at our last competition, so I'm really pleased with our progress. Having the dance floor in the living room where we can really work on one figure at a time is helping.
This afternoon I worked some more on organizing my sewing room. I got rid of all of the batting scraps that were piled in the corner. They were mostly usable sizes, but had become a favorite cat bed, so they got tossed. Underneath the batting were two cardboard bankers boxes. Both had sewing things - one had my BOM blocks from several years ago, still in their mailing envelopes. I had wondered where those had gotten to....so they now reside (out of the mailers) in a plastic shoe box on the shelf of the spare bedroom. The other box had miscellaneous dressmaking scraps - those went in the trash, and some quilt books and magazines. The books are on the shelf in the spare bedroom, and the magazines got boxed up with most of the others from the sewing room to go to the storage building until things are straightened up enough that I can decide where to keep them. I also found my Featherweight - it was also hiding under the batting scraps. I knew it had to be in there somewhere, but couldn't figure out if it was in the back under the cutting table or where...
Tomorrow I'll run to Walmart and get some more plastic drawers to put where the bankers boxes were - I can make a nice stack of those to hold some more folded stash. I'm trying to get rid of all of the totes that are stacked around - they're too difficult to get anything out of, so nothing in them actually gets used. By having everything folded and in the drawers, I can see everything and get to it to use it. Once it's all folded, I'll have to go through everything one more time to sort by colors, but that will wait for now. I'm also going to get a couple more plastic shoeboxes for storing UFOs - if I keep everything for a project together in its own box, then I can just pull one out and work on it - then put it away in its box if it reaches a stopping point before it's done. Storing those in the spare bedroom closet also frees up space in the sewing room.
I almost have the longarm table cleared off - without putting it all on the ironing board or cutting table, so I'll be able to load some of these tops and get them quilted. The next project after that will have to be finding somewhere to store all the finished quilts - or sending some off for others to enjoy.
Dance practice this afternoon. Some things are working, and some just aren't. I think I'll be working on natural spin turns forever....When we go in to practice tomorrow, I expect they'll be better - it seems to work that way. One day the timing is just off, then the next it works. At least I hope so. Even the things that don't feel like they are working right are much better than they were at our last competition, so I'm really pleased with our progress. Having the dance floor in the living room where we can really work on one figure at a time is helping.
This afternoon I worked some more on organizing my sewing room. I got rid of all of the batting scraps that were piled in the corner. They were mostly usable sizes, but had become a favorite cat bed, so they got tossed. Underneath the batting were two cardboard bankers boxes. Both had sewing things - one had my BOM blocks from several years ago, still in their mailing envelopes. I had wondered where those had gotten to....so they now reside (out of the mailers) in a plastic shoe box on the shelf of the spare bedroom. The other box had miscellaneous dressmaking scraps - those went in the trash, and some quilt books and magazines. The books are on the shelf in the spare bedroom, and the magazines got boxed up with most of the others from the sewing room to go to the storage building until things are straightened up enough that I can decide where to keep them. I also found my Featherweight - it was also hiding under the batting scraps. I knew it had to be in there somewhere, but couldn't figure out if it was in the back under the cutting table or where...
Tomorrow I'll run to Walmart and get some more plastic drawers to put where the bankers boxes were - I can make a nice stack of those to hold some more folded stash. I'm trying to get rid of all of the totes that are stacked around - they're too difficult to get anything out of, so nothing in them actually gets used. By having everything folded and in the drawers, I can see everything and get to it to use it. Once it's all folded, I'll have to go through everything one more time to sort by colors, but that will wait for now. I'm also going to get a couple more plastic shoeboxes for storing UFOs - if I keep everything for a project together in its own box, then I can just pull one out and work on it - then put it away in its box if it reaches a stopping point before it's done. Storing those in the spare bedroom closet also frees up space in the sewing room.
I almost have the longarm table cleared off - without putting it all on the ironing board or cutting table, so I'll be able to load some of these tops and get them quilted. The next project after that will have to be finding somewhere to store all the finished quilts - or sending some off for others to enjoy.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Home from Manhattan
We competed in the Manhattan Amateur Classic yesterday. The MAC is the third largest all-amateur competition in the US. We competed in three heats - Sr. I and Sr. II Bronze Standard, and Sr. I and Sr. II Silver Standard. I didn't dance as well as I had hoped - didn't feel solid on my feet. Out of all we had 2 x 5th place finishes and one 6th place finish. The one bright note is that in one heat, we were scored FIRST by one judge in Quickstep! Yay! Of course, it all depends on what each judge sees you do, but I'm very happy with that. I think the competition was as strong as we have ever seen it.
I had been feeling pretty good, and we got warmed up well, but our first dance of the first heat just didn't feel good - too many nerves, a little unsteady. It didn't set a good tone for me for the whole day.
I've also gotten out of the way the thing no one wants to do - I fell at the very end of the quickstep in our first heat - either turned my ankle or stepped on my dress, or both. Down to the floor I went without any warning, pulling DH over with me. Yikes! Unfortunately, I tweaked my ankle when I fell - and it continued to get worse throughout the rest of the dancing - I was barely able to finish the last heat - luckily that one was a bronze, so only had 2 dances. I had to coast the last half of the last quickstep. The ankle is still sore today, so I'll try to be good to it and rest it, which means no practicing today, probably.
One thing we did was go out and push the limits - we were dancing big, but we pushed to the point that we weren't altogether under control. I think we had flashes of staying in our new dance frame, but it wasn't consistent enough. We need to spend more time in the studio than we have done for the last couple of months. It needs to be back to every morning. And gym time in the evenings when we don't have dance lessons. Stamina was a problem. Because or routines don't fit into the studio, we don't dance for a whole song without breaking. We have to figure out some way to dance continuously for a complete song and still dance big.
Next up, Mid-Atlantic Dancesport Championships in Bethesda at the end of February. So we have 6 weeks to get ready for that one.
I had been feeling pretty good, and we got warmed up well, but our first dance of the first heat just didn't feel good - too many nerves, a little unsteady. It didn't set a good tone for me for the whole day.
I've also gotten out of the way the thing no one wants to do - I fell at the very end of the quickstep in our first heat - either turned my ankle or stepped on my dress, or both. Down to the floor I went without any warning, pulling DH over with me. Yikes! Unfortunately, I tweaked my ankle when I fell - and it continued to get worse throughout the rest of the dancing - I was barely able to finish the last heat - luckily that one was a bronze, so only had 2 dances. I had to coast the last half of the last quickstep. The ankle is still sore today, so I'll try to be good to it and rest it, which means no practicing today, probably.
One thing we did was go out and push the limits - we were dancing big, but we pushed to the point that we weren't altogether under control. I think we had flashes of staying in our new dance frame, but it wasn't consistent enough. We need to spend more time in the studio than we have done for the last couple of months. It needs to be back to every morning. And gym time in the evenings when we don't have dance lessons. Stamina was a problem. Because or routines don't fit into the studio, we don't dance for a whole song without breaking. We have to figure out some way to dance continuously for a complete song and still dance big.
Next up, Mid-Atlantic Dancesport Championships in Bethesda at the end of February. So we have 6 weeks to get ready for that one.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Home sweet home
Back from vacation. We got home, unpacked the car, then went to the studio to practice. (stay left, stay left...) Back home, pick up DS and go out to dinner.
So far, I've avoided checking work email since Monday. At this point, will wait until tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow will start a new effort to get back into the gym on a regular basis. With the time change, it should be easier to get up earlier. We'll probably alternate between the gym and the studio in the mornings.
Speaking of the studio, there are a lot of interesting group lessons on tap for November - American Tango, Zumba, Charleston. We'll have full weeks this month!
So far, I've avoided checking work email since Monday. At this point, will wait until tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow will start a new effort to get back into the gym on a regular basis. With the time change, it should be easier to get up earlier. We'll probably alternate between the gym and the studio in the mornings.
Speaking of the studio, there are a lot of interesting group lessons on tap for November - American Tango, Zumba, Charleston. We'll have full weeks this month!
Monday, October 26, 2009
High Point Classic Results
The High Point Classic was very well run. The facility was very nice - I just wish the dance floor had been a little bit bigger - we had to rework our set routines Saturday evening because they wouldn't fit. But we broke them into pieces and never had a "brain lock" moment, so that worked. The floor itself was great - smooth, no ridges from the metal rims that some of the sectioned dance floors have. The people were great! We'll come back here if they hold this again next year.
Best part - DH ordered a new tailsuit. I'm excited about that. It should be ready in time for the MAC in January.
I think we danced about as well as we could. We made all of our finals. We got videos, and have posted them to YouTube. We're couple 152.
Sr. 1 Silver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ql963APwSU
Sr. 1 Bronze Finals: http ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvTpeDZRXY8
Sr. 1 Bronze Semifinals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1y0CK4C
Best part - DH ordered a new tailsuit. I'm excited about that. It should be ready in time for the MAC in January.
I think we danced about as well as we could. We made all of our finals. We got videos, and have posted them to YouTube. We're couple 152.
Sr. 1 Silver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ql963APwSU
Sr. 1 Bronze Finals: http ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvTpeDZRXY8
Sr. 1 Bronze Semifinals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1y0CK4C
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Almost a Weekend
The hectic work week has continued, but is coming to an end. And this will be the first weekend this month that I'm not working through the weekend.
The weekend will be devoted to dancing. The High Point Classic DanceSport Championships are this weekend in High Point, North Carolina. This is a Regional qualifier for USADance National Championships. This will be our second qualifier this season. I'm looking forward to competing, even though we haven't been able to spend as much time in the studio this month as we normally would. I think we've fixed more than we've broken in the last few weeks, so our dancing is improving. We're competing in Sr. 1 Bronze (WQ), Sr. 2 Bronze (WQ) and Sr. 1 Silver (WTF). What a great way to spend a weekend!
The weekend will be devoted to dancing. The High Point Classic DanceSport Championships are this weekend in High Point, North Carolina. This is a Regional qualifier for USADance National Championships. This will be our second qualifier this season. I'm looking forward to competing, even though we haven't been able to spend as much time in the studio this month as we normally would. I think we've fixed more than we've broken in the last few weeks, so our dancing is improving. We're competing in Sr. 1 Bronze (WQ), Sr. 2 Bronze (WQ) and Sr. 1 Silver (WTF). What a great way to spend a weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)