Ballroom milestones

The ultimate milestone would be to dance like these two!

Competitive ballroom dancing, being quite a structured activity, has a natural progression about it. Dancers getting into this hobby experience many of the same breakthroughs or turning points in their careers. I was thinking about some of my own recent milestones and remembered all the steps that came before, and how they each gave me a sense of accomplishment that I was actually progressing and improving. Here are some big ones that most collegiate dancers will have to look forward to, in the rough order that I experienced them:


1. Your first pair of shoes
You most likely don't really know what you're looking for and without some able guidance, you might pick something weird or ill fitting, but yes! It's your first pair of real dance shoes! They're so shiny! (One practice later...) Omg they are all dirty already. =(
*Newcomers, please note: It is a BAD idea to buy 3" Latin sandals as your first pair of shoes, even if you are used to walking in high heels. Trust me, proper Latin technique is not quite the same as walking. Stick to 2-2.5"! 

2. Your first competition
Chances are that you're not 100% sure of what you're doing or what's going on, and you are a bundle of nerves and excitement. Nothing quite like the thrill of competition! You're in awe of all the higher level dancers and motivated to improve.

3. Your first final 
Some lucky people make finals very early on, and for some other dancers it takes a bit longer to get the hang of this whole ballroom dancing thing. Have no fear - in ballroom dancing, discipline and hard work can often trump natural talent. One of my favorite aspects of ballroom is that anyone can learn how to dance, and dance well. Hard work makes that first ribbon all the more glorious.

4. Breaking into silver
When you advance into the silver category, you are officially not a beginner anymore. You have an understanding of basic timing and how figures go together. You begin to focus on improving technique and exploring more complicated figures.

5. Your first private lesson
You're ready to move from figure-based group classes to more personalized and focused training. (Hold onto your hats, people, it only gets more expensive from here.) But with the help of your coach, you'll improve quickly and with a sound structure.

6. Your first costume
Time to kick it up a notch for competition and feel all legit and stuff in those snazzy Latin pants or shiny dress. Gone are the days of trying to find something off the rack that will be appropriate. Once you start competing in a costume, you pretty much don't go back. Feel like a real dancer yet?

7. Breaking up with your first real partner
...and the subsequent partner search. Breaking up is hard to do, but partners who stay together for more than a couple years tend to be the exception, not the rule. Life happens. If you've considered options thoroughly and it's not gonna work, it's better off for both parties to end it and move on. Cherish your first real partnership and the things you achieved together, and make sure to go forward with the lessons you learned from your partner. Coming out of each partnership, you learn a lot about what works for you, what you're willing to put up with, and what you're not willing to compromise on.

8. Breaking into open 
This is the big one. Finishing syllabus and starting to dance in the open categories signifies that you've made it to the major leagues. Now you get to explore your dance 'personality' through unique choreography and styling. The gap between gold and novice/pre-champ is usually pretty big, so you'll need to work that much harder to make those callbacks and wrangle a spot in the final. Getting to open comes along with a whole host of other little milestones too - more about that in a later post.


There are a couple little milestones along the way too, like getting your first tan or maybe getting your hair/makeup professionally for the first time. Or maybe stoning your own dress (and having it come out badly...that might just be me.) Another good one might be feeling comfortable social dancing for the first time. Oh! and starting to follow the professional circuit, i.e. learning all the pros' names. I also just had a dress made for myself for the first time so I'm excited to write about that soon.

What are your favorite ballroom milestones?

Ballroom for Beginners: 10 Things You Need to Know for Your First Comp

Spring semester is under way, and that means some of our NYU ballroom team newcomers are prepping for their first competition! Comps can be a pretty overwhelming experience to the uninitiated: loud music blaring, girls with crazy feathers/sequins/hair/makeup milling around, the MC saying things that don't seem to make sense (it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out what "Judges, recall 24 from two" meant...), and what seems like a million people competing on the floor at the same time. This all takes place in what is most likely a stuffy college gym with less-than-flattering fluorescent lighting. Revel in the experience (and slight kookiness) of it all, but don't forget these key tips to having a successful first comp!

1. Everyone else is in the same boat as you.
It would be weird to NOT be nervous, but just remember that the whole experience is new to everyone else you're competing with. And for that matter, every single competitor there has all gone through newcomer too, and made it out just fine.

2. Make sure your appearance is neat.
Judges look at all aspects of your performance on the floor. Present yourself at your best! Make sure your hair is pulled back away from your face, and your clothes are neat and fit well. Guys, baggy shirts DO affect your appearance and especially your frame (I'm talking about those dress shirts with inexplicably wide sleeves) , so if you can help it at all, get a shirt that fits! More on clothing and costuming in a future post.

3. Smile and look calm even if you're not sure what you're doing. 
I'm pretty sure everyone at some point has a) gotten off beat, b) given/followed a lead incorrectly, c) blanked out completely, d) forgot what other steps to do, or e) all of the above. Many times. I once started to do foxtrot steps out of the blue in the middle of a waltz. This was when I was silver. The best thing to do in any of those situations is to smile and fake it 'til you make it. 

4. Watch the upper level dancers.
Even though the silver, gold, and open dancers look impossibly better than you could ever be, again, at some point they danced exactly like you do now (possibly worse). With hard work and practice, you can advance as far as you want. Also, try picking your favorite couple in every round and analyzing what you like about their dancing. After a while you'll pick up on good habits this way. I picked up a lot of styling from watching the higher levels and seeing what I liked.

5. Support your teammates.
It's not only OK, but highly encouraged to loudly cheer on your teammates and fellow dancers by shouting their number out as they're dancing. =)

6. Eat food and stay hydrated.
Comps last all day and can be very draining, so make sure you're keeping up your energy. This is especially important for big comps, when you might be dancing a lot of rounds. Bagels and Gatorade work well for me, and I generally try to stay away from anything too greasy.

7. Don't expect to get much homework done.
Unless you are superhumanly diligent and focused, most likely you will have lugged along your heavy textbooks for no reason. Don't get me wrong, I have witnessed the occasional person studying in a quiet corner, but I personally never managed to get anything done. One time, I brought my clunky laptop to Boston with the hope of writing a paper. I barely got a chance to open it at the comp, then on the bus ride back, as I was starting to settle in to write, I started talking to the lady sitting next to me instead, because she was also a ballroom dancer. Yup. Paper writing did not happen.

8. Set your goals against your own progress, not others. 
It may be discouraging if you see others around you making lots of rounds or winning ribbons right away, while your results aren't as good as you had hoped. I think it's really important to set your own benchmarks according to your own partnership and not anyone else's. You never know if another couple has been dancing longer, or has had a lot of lessons, etc.

9. Look normal.
I'm borrowing this one from the NYU team's own president emeritus, Nicole. While it's important to look happy and somewhat enthusiastic on the competition floor, it's probably best not to experiment with anything TOO wild with styling and such. Keep to the basics: good posture, clean movements, nice smile. Relatedly, if any movement you're doing feels very uncomfortable, it probably looks uncomfortable too. You shouldn't need to be contorting anything too crazily.

10. Have fun! 
What's the point in partaking in this whole circus if you're not going to enjoy yourself? Savor the moment, keep a positive attitude, and you'll find great success in your competitive career!


Good luck competitors and see you on the dance floor! =)

Ballroom for Beginners: So you think you wanna dance...

Matt and I with our first blue ribbon at the MIT Open in 2011.

Maybe you watch Dancing with the Stars, or have seen Richard Gere twirl across the big screen with Jennifer Lopez. Maybe your parents dance a little, or you saw the NYU ballroom team at Club Fest. Somehow or other, you found out about ballroom dancing and thought it would be fun to give it a shot. 

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. 

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!