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| Matt and I with our first blue ribbon at the MIT Open in 2011. |
People often ask me how I got into
ballroom. The truth is, I can’t pinpoint an exact reason or moment I decided to
take the plunge. I think I had always had it in my head that such a glamorous,
elegant way to move to music would be a fun and different thing to learn. That,
and I did tune into Dancing with the Stars diligently every week. It was all so
exciting and different, and I swear I got butterflies every time Jonathan
Roberts swept his partner into a throwaway oversway.
I signed up for the ballroom team and
club listserves as soon as I got to NYU as a starry-eyed freshman. The thought
of competing intimidated me too much though, so I joined the much more low-key
sounding recreational ballroom club, which met for a couple hours every
Saturday afternoon to learn some basic steps. These lessons quickly became the
highlight of my week, and I went back almost every week for two years.
Eventually, after talking to some other people who were on the team, I realized
that joining a competitively oriented team would help me learn how to do more
material, and better.
When I pictured the people I would
soon meet on the ballroom team, I imagined very serious dancers who had been
dancing all their lives. They probably wore all black, had stern expressions on
their faces all the time, and vaguely resembled the guys from Center Stage. But when I finally got to my first team
lesson, what I found was a group of people just like me, who had heard about
ballroom somewhere along the line and were just interested to learn more. (When
I first started practicing in a real studio, I did find aforementioned intense
dancer people.) The rest of that semester was a blur of dancing and competing
and making amazing friends (and yes, I met my current boyfriend too) and having
the best time of my life.
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| Steve and I at MAC 2014. Photo by Ryan Kenner Photography. |
Thinking back, I can’t believe it took
me that long to realize how much I loved this new hobby. It gave me so much
more than just more dance steps – I gained a lot of confidence, the closest
thing to a “real” college experience I could at NYU, and a hobby I can pursue
for the rest of my life. I love also that the social aspect is built in – it is
a partner dance after all, so meeting new people is kind of a given. Previously
I had mostly kept to myself, so this was the kick I needed to “put myself out
there”.
So if the thought had ever crossed
your mind to learn ballroom, try it out! Get one of those endless Groupon deals
for salsa classes and learn a few steps. It’s a great activity for couples
especially. If nothing else, you’ll have a couple steps to show off at
weddings. But maybe you’ll find new hobby that will enrich your life as much as
it did mine =). If ballroom’s not your thing but you’re kind of feeling in a
life funk, do try something new even if it scares you a little bit. Most things
worth doing are a bit scary at first!
That said, one of the main topics I’ll
be writing about on this little blog is ballroom – specifically geared towards
beginners to the competitive scene. Competitive dancesport is pretty crazy and
very different from anything I had ever done before so when I started I had a
ton of questions. I’ll address things like costuming, hair and makeup,
developing technique, attending a first competition, when to start getting
private lessons, etc. I hope it can be of use to the newbies, and maybe some
more experienced dancers can chip in too. I’m planning on posting at least once
or twice every week.
Check back
soon for updates!
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