Among the critical aspects, advancing your dance skills in American Ballroom is directly related to one's ability to stretch. Here you see me tall and curving away from Jana, appearing comfortable and reasonably poised. Jana of course is stretching more than I am, as evidenced by the arch of her body planted squarely and balanced on one one leg, the other gracefully lifted and pointed more than 135 degrees north of the standing leg. Believe it or not, Jana was not depending on me for support, and in fact was providing stability for me to pose in this fashion without the hiccups that invariably find their merry way into any amateurs dance routine. While Jana performed this tiny pose effortlessly, I was in pure agony.
Stretching is not just done in one dimension. Here I am trying to stretch my head away from Jana to create a nice curve between our bodies. But the left leg is also stretched creating a vertical arch from leg to head that complements the picture created by our upper bodies. But there is yet another dimension which is stretch of the torso and head up, toward the sky that plays a role in creating elegant dance lines.
Despite the minimal curves that can be detected in this picture, despite what would appear to be a minimally discernible, but not exaggerated or uncomfortable looking pose, what was experienced by my AGING body was hurting like hell. Stretching toward the sky, then the body curve, then the leg planted straight at the knee, toe place with the heal off the ground and all of this originating, not from my back which is easy to arch, but from my core which is not. Thank God that this was a momentary pose; if it were not, my joints would have given way, .........I would have caved in and slouched inward, with my head floating passively on my shoulders, my mouth curving down, all evidence of total body failure.
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