They should call this event a marathon instead of a dance
competition. Most typical ones last no
more than 4 days. This one lasted 6
including the opening heats that began on Tuesday evening - all the way through
Sunday afternoon with the professional show and awards following in the evening. Considering the travel time from Hawaii, time
to adjust to time zone changes, etc…adding yet another necessary day, we were
in Las Vegas a full week – we left on Monday and we are about to return on the
following Monday.
Some might consider a full week in Vegas too long,
especially if one lives in Hawaii, considering all of the second hand smoke that
bathes every human that steps foot into any casino. Second hand smoke is clearly the only
commodity of any Las Vegas journey that comes entirely without charge. Well not quite, the dry desert air comes free
as well. My skin has become dry as a
bone, progressively shriveling into parchment.
I’ve feel like I have aged a decade since last Monday with the humidity
a dismal 50% instead of the usual 70-80% level that my body has been accustomed
to be lathered by.
Some hotels are better than others at disguising the
prevailing cigarette smoke exhaust fumes and odor. Not surprisingly, expensive and fashionable newer
hotels like Bellagio do a good job of filtering the air, while some geriatric
sisters like Circus Circus built in the 60’s are failing miserably. Indeed, we had a first hand taste of the
“air” at Circus Circus when we went to dinner there at The Steak House. The venue of the dance competition was at the
Tropicana Hotel on the Strip where the ambient smoke level was moderate to bad. If there was a Richter scale for ambient hotel
cigarette smoke concentration, Tropicana would fall in the 4-5 range. Not enough to cause catastrophe, but
noticeable enough to be annoying and unhealthy, fill your lungs with gunk, and
make your eyes tear from the irritation.
The good news is that the dance competition was held in a
ballroom adjacent to a second Tropicana hotel tower that was far – more than a
football field away from the casino, the smokers and the pathetic apathy of
humanoid looking automatons sitting alone, glued to their casino seats, wearily
hoping for some miracle to regain their lost dollars, comforted only by a
package of cigarettes and some form of alcohol.
The ballroom itself was large enough for this typically very
large dance competition, which I’m told was less congested than in previous
years. Adorned by hundreds of poinsettia
plants and Christmas trees, the ballroom exuded a festive Christmas atmosphere,
successfully disguising its otherwise bland looking shell. Indeed, it was large enough to contain a
larger than usual competition dance floor, a practice floor in the back, perimeter
tables and chairs that were occupied by participants and spectators, and all of
the vendors (which were not that many) that were located at the opposite end of
the ballroom.
Overall the event was very organized and run well. It lacked some of the amenities and the
spirit of Michael Chapman organized dance competitions but he is in a class all
by himself when it comes to satisfying the needs of the students. A Gestapo looking guard at the entrance to
the ballroom insured 100% compliance with the requirement for showing your ticket
before entering. But maybe I’m being a
little harsh since I have to admit that he softened up considerably over time
as the competition progressed. Unfortunately,
the coffee stand set just outside the ballroom was excruciatingly slow and
inefficient. Many would-be coffee
drinkers just gave up and went without their usual fancily concocted coffee and
caffeine fix because of the perpetual long line of unattended patrons. This caused much unhappiness and
consternation.
In addition to myself and dance teacher Yanna, one other
student from Divino Ritmo attended along with dance teacher Lucas. Also, we were surprised to see Christopher
Bayot with two students, who performed very well. That rounded out the list of those attending
from Honolulu. Unlike some competitions
that have few competitors to contend with, this one was heavily contested. With the exception of three heats on opening
night, every heat that I entered had multiple contenders – there were essentially
no first place freebies to be had. Every
heat had a first, second and third place finisher leaving some contenders
sitting on the sideline wishing to be included in that list.
Not only that, but among the competitors were several that I
have had great difficulty competing against.
They included at least three that I had never beaten in any dance heat as
long as I can remember. Indeed, I was
particularly anxious and not looking forward to Saturday, the day scheduled for
international standard, with dance heats teaming with advanced competitors that
I could only imagine would send me embarrassingly to the bottom of the list and
result in a bad and unhappy outcome. It
was also the day that I had to perform my Egyptian solo, adding to the stress
and volume of dancing that I would have to face that fateful day.
How you face a competitor who has always beaten you is
rooted deeply in your character and persona.
There will always be more talented contenders waiting to dispel any
notion of your abilities. But do you
just give up knowing your history of taking second place in every prior
encounter. Do you defeat yourself by
acknowledging your limitations even before the dance heat? How indeed can you muster up the energy and positive
spirit to go out there, fight and do your best, knowing your prior record of
defeat? For me on that fateful day,
there were at least four contenders that I would put into that category.
It’s of course easier to ask questions than to provide
answers. I don’t really think I did
anything different this week. I had no
expectations but I also did not dwell on my advanced competitors because it was
pointless since there were too many. I suppose that fact allowed me to focus on
my dancing rather than my competition. I tried my best to execute and listen to
my teacher’s real time instruction. The results were shocking to me and even my
teacher. My happiness drove tears to my
eyes. At that moment I thought about how
much time I had spent and effort I have made in ballroom dancing over the last few years to
understand the context of my success for the week’s effort. It left me a very happy man. This is a very best Christmas present.
I have indeed dedicated at least 50% of my existence to
advancing my skills in ballroom dancing for the last several years. Recognizing a lack of any talent, every
improvement would result only from hard work and dedicated focus. Luck would
have its place because for some reason, no individual body part was hurting or
limiting my movement this entire week – almost a first. But I came prepared with an ice pack, heating
pad, ibuprofen, and a suitcase filled with braces for my knee, my ankle, my
groin, and others to fit almost any body part that might surprise me on waking
for the next day of the competition.
And unlike those humans on the other end of the hotel – it
might as well be the other end of the world - who are consumed by dreams of
riches from that lucky jackpot as their solution to life, I have always figured
that hard work and dedicated focus was the only method of reaching for any goal
worth reaching for. As a doctor and a
dance student, this has been my approach to life. And the value of any
accomplishment following a valiant and persistent effort is so much more
appreciated than having it come by chance or surreptitiously. At least this is what I believe.
A few final related and unrelated notes! One
of my competitors who was beating me easily on the previous encounter,
commented that he must have inspired me to new heights and that he would have
to return the favor. That never happened
but it was true that as I watched what it took to beat me, it allowed me to
alter my dance technique just enough to follow suit. I now often visualize
myself dancing outside of myself looking in from the perspective of the judges
and audience and make real time adjustments when possible.
The Tropicana hotel had an amazing bank of elevators that
almost instantly were there for you after pushing the call button. In all of the years of waiting for slow and
poorly functioning elevators in hospitals and office buildings, etc…this was
certainly a refreshing treat.
Apparently, the hotel doesn’t want its patrons wasting too much time in
the elevators that would better be spent in the casino.
Another first was what was included as standard equipment in
the thousands of taxi cabs cluttering the strip going nowhere, and doing so
very slowly. They all are now all
equipped with cameras mounted on the taxi windshield to provide for two-way
views. The one looking inward insures
that every movement of every occupant is tracked real-time. This is to deter those who might want to
hurt or steal and apparently it has worked very well since becoming the legal
standard. The other view is to the
outside following the driving movements of the cab driver. This rather simple devise would allow
authorities to instantly determine fault in any traffic mishap, document any
unusual behavior in the driver including cell phone usage, texting, and a horde
of other risky behaviors that are known to occur while driving. If installed in every licensed vehicle, it
would relieve the local police from having to patrol the streets for moving
violations in favor of focusing on the real crime committed in every
community.
Lastly, I had a
nice chat with another student dancer in my age category who I have been
recently competing against in both Rhythm and Latin. He had lost his wife 3 years ago and was
engaging in the same type of behavior and thinking as I have been for a bit
longer. Its amazing how similar we are in our thinking, how we have approached
this new world of ballroom dancing with dedication and vigor, and how we have
considered all aspects of improving our skills from lessons to weight training
to stretch class.
Its nice to see how older gentlemen facing the loss of their
spouse have to make adjustments in their lives if ever a chance for renewed happiness. Ballroom dancing is only one solution that
has worked for us and probably countless others. Other possible scenarios includes marrying the
first woman who comes along, isolation and depression, golf, alcoholism, world
travel, reading, writing, moving to Costa Rico or Italy, painting, being a
good parent and grandparent, changing careers, retirement, etc. The sky is the limit in what you can do and
how successful you are in carving out a new chapter of your life to insure your
happiness and well being.
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