What if the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all About???

Dance Dance Life Dance

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh, I danced so much this weekend at the Western Washington Jazz Festival (mostly Lindy Hop, which is a form of swing dance, for those of you whom I haven't coerced into coming out to the Century Ballroom)...if my calculations are correct, I spent well over 20 hours social dancing and participating in workshops on various topics, such as Jazz Moves, Connection, and, of course, how to be a BADASS!

YES!

I have a little notebook full of technical details, but I think the most important thing I took from the weekend was the importance of relaxing, being natural, and having FUN rather than treating it as some sort of clinical thing...

I think it's easy when trying to pick up a new skill, especially a skill that involves teamwork with someone else, to overthink things and want to do everything just RIGHT all the time rather than just getting down to the basics, which are, in my case: following, and having fun.

One of my favorite moments was when Andy (drool!) (check out the site for he and his partner Nina - http://www.andyandnina.com/), an unbelievably fantastic dancer and warm person, said that if given the choice to dance with someone who is doing all the moves perfectly in a textbook, robotic way or someone who's having fun with the music and playing around but messes up occasionally, he'd much rather dance with the person who's at least putting themselves out there, being a little vulnerable, and having FUN!

It made me think of the importance of enthusiasm in life in general...I think if people see that you're putting your heart into something, they'll be more likely to give you a break, you know? I think this happened to me in college...I sometimes thought teachers might think I was smarter than I was just because I was so enthusiastic and curious about the subjects...I have noticed this on my subsequent jobs and volunteerwork experiences...attitude is everything, as my old soccer coach used to say!

I'm not feeling really well right now (didn't sleep enough this weekend on top of getting a little cold), but I want to ingrain these lessons into my head and, as corny as it sounds, live every day to the fullest!

Oh, and to those friends of mine who've been worried about me slipping into the swing culture past the point of no return (cough, shannon, cough), you might want to start actively keeping me back because i feel it happening...it's sucking me in! I love it! | posted by Cheryl, 4/03/2006 07:58:00 PM