Personal Reflections - a hodgepodge of nonsense. Here I am one day after returning from LA with my right foot swollen and in pain from an ankle injury sustained during the competition. At least I think that's where it originated. Just so happens that several others in our Divino Ritmo contingency were suffering from serious and painful ailments. However, as usual, I WAS the only one that was whining and groaning about it - the others stoically sucked it up and performed as if there was nothing bothering them, hiding the truth, miserable inside.
But for no other reason than I can't walk around my house doing things because of my darn ankle, I would like to share some nonsense with anyone willing to read it. Not in any particular order, not inspired by any particular event, things just happened at the competition that weighed in on me. I remember these things, not everything, but some that are either gratifying, embarrassing, painful or lessons learned, or whimsical.
I did try my best during the competition. Talking to another student, he confided that he felt rather confident when competing against students at his level, but uncomfortable when competing beyond his level. That makes a lot of sense and is clearly the reason he usually takes first in all of the dances that fit this category. My brain talks differently to me. I am more worried when I dance against students at my level because I expect something of myself in terms of performance. Of course the stress incited by this pressure cooker is not ideal for dancing - maybe the reason I don't score 1st places consistently. But I really like the more advanced dances and couldn't give a hoot about the advanced dancers competing against me. I just dance freely and try my best expecting the worst. But the truth is that I really REALLY enjoy these dances and I usually do pretty well considering. For example, while I scored a bunch of 2nd places and some 3rd in the bronze closed dances, my scores for silver smooth were just as good or better and I won first in all of my open dances for smooth and standard. Clearly there are other factors at play, as it may also reflect the number of competitors. Nevertheless, this is a consistent observation. If I just danced like I did in the silver and open routines when I danced bronze, I'm sure I would score higher in those dances. Such is life.
But insecurity often translates to a broken down frame that rapidly deflates with the slightest pressure - Yanna's attempts to correct me are to no avail....examples below.
- Most of the time, what Yanna tells me on the dance floor floats from one ear out the other. My body doesn’t easily convert verbal commands to any meaningful kinetic energy of movement.
- The best advice that I was able to process from Yanna was….”dance like you would in the studio”
- I have so many dysfunctional body parts that it’s difficult to prioritize what to focus on.
- Head up, not bent, facing forward, not too much to the left, stretch up till your cervical spine dislocates and your head shoots up so high it butts against the ceiling, dislodging the asbestos covering the ceiling which finds its way on to your dance clothes and into your nostrils, eyes, mouth and lungs.
- Tummy in, tummy in! tummy IN!…..ouch, OK, I get it.
- Left side up, NO, not left arm, left side. Do not compensate with your arm when its your side that is slumping down like a de-innervated cripple.
- Heal lead, NO, toe heal, no foot turned out, NO, this is not Latin, brush your feet, and while you’re at it brush your teeth!
- No toe leads, everything is heal….this is Tango, not Foxtrot
- Knees soft and slightly bent, NO, not your upper body, just your knees.
- Toe leads for everything…drag your feet; never let them leave the floor. Push down hard with pressure and feel like you are pushing the floor into China.
MORE Later....need to get some ice for that lame ankle.....
No comments:
Post a Comment