JULY PARTY RECAP - UNWRITTEN

I'm on my way to the party in the intense Georgia summer heat; my throats feel like a desert, and my mind is clouded with the haze from the heat of evaporated rain. I have on my rain boots because the weather is so unpredictable, and there is nothing I hate worse than having my feet soaking wet from a surprise rain shower. I am regretting that choice as the boots seems to be amplifying the heat throughout my body. I stop at a convenience store because I feel as if I will melt if I don’t drink something! As I am picking out a cold Mango drink I hear the song "Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield playing in the background; the song is about writing your own story and choosing your path. These past two years I have picked up the pen literally and figuratively, and have begun to create and give breath too long lost dreams hidden in my heart. By giving full voice to express my talents my dreams have become tangible experiences and tools to begin to live my best possible life. Thinking about these things and my experiences at the studio this past week helps me take my mind off the heat, and I am counting my steps until I arrive at Daza Dance.

I had last week off as all of the instructors were traveling, and I was feeling a bit of withdrawal during my time off. Now that I was with Maxi I was feeling a bit nervous as I had slacked off and wasn’t my usual driven self; I barely practiced any dancing for an entire week which is unusual for me. The nerves faded very quickly as Maxi and I had a lot of fun during the warmups, and I only made a couple of mistakes. I have given up trying to hide anything as at Daza Dance instructors can spot the tiniest stumble or misplaced foot a mile away. Sure enough, I look up at Maxi and he just smiles and gives me a look that says “yes I caught you”. He doesn’t have to say anything, but at least now I know when I make mistakes and can easily correct them.

During the technique portion of class, I learned the Open Fan under Arm turn. The difference between the Open Fan and the Open Fan Under Arm Turn comes when you are spun out, and your partner raises your hand if you are to do the turn. You then finish the step with 4 quarter steps and a side step. We also practice the Tuck In Turn in East Coast Swing and Maxi wants me to work on my momentum in my turn. The momentum has to start from the force of pressing my hand against his hand. In order to get the feeling he has me practicing by turning with the wall. Sometimes I hope I don’t scare the new students as they see me in the different exercises I get from the instructors dancing with napkins under my feet, books on my head, dancing around chairs, and now dancing with a wall. (Ha-ha)

This week we also start my Tango Choreography and the first step of the Tango routine is – you guessed it the Reverse Turn with outside swivel! The choreography is coming to me, with each showcase I am able to remember the choreography easier and easier. We get to a point where Maxi tells me to do the choreography by myself- I scream because I can’t remember how to do it on my own!! Maxi gives me the analogy of driving a car and I able to connect the dots all the way by myself. For the first time, I am doing choreography without counts, the dance is set to the words of the song and emotion. I actually think that helps to make learning it easier because I am developing a connection with the piece.

As I continue to think about this past week I finally get to the studio.  Though I usually take the time before the party to rehearse, today I am so hot and tired just grab some water, relax and wait for things to start. Classes are going on and I am getting to see several of the choreography pieces forming. I am so impressed with everyone’s work, even now I can see the makings of a beautiful showcase filled with life, laughter, and love.

The party begins and the dance is the East Coast Swing and Maxi lets me be the assistant. I always love being picked to be the assistant; I can feel how much I continue to improve each time I am chosen. Today we are focusing shoulder check, and as many time as I have done the shoulder check I can still see ways to improve my form during each rock step. Maxi has picked a variety of songs that get progressively faster; the last song Maxi picks for us to dance to was Wham! “Wake Me Up before you Go-Go!” Which is the fastest song in the Universe to dance the East Coast Swing to! By the end of the song, everyone was worn out Maxi and Mario are both smiling as if they could go another 5 or 10 minutes! In my dances with the instructors, I danced the Tango with Maxi who was checking to make sure I am doing all of my corrections for tango. I am improving in this dance and almost wish I could take the smooth test again because there is so much notable improvement. We later did a vibrant, fun Cha- Cha, together. Further, into the evening I dance the Rumba with Mario, and I am looking in Mario’s eyes and seeing how proud he is of me as I execute each step correctly. He knows how I began with just the basic steps in each dance style, and after dancing with him I feel 10 feet tall!!The evening ends as it does many evenings with the Samba line dance and a deep longing in my heart to dance more.

The next evening the Daza Dance family went to support Gerri’s Wray and Halo Dance in their showcase, A Taste of Hollywood in the Level 5 space off of Bennett Street, an eclectic street near Midtown in Atlanta Georgia. Gerri is an independent instructor that uses our space. We have gotten to know Gerri and her students who have become part of the Daza Dance community as we support and encourage each other during rehearsals for our respective projects. From the first dance of the evening, it was clear that Halo Dance’s mission, much like the name, was to uplift and inspire others. It was an honor to be able to celebrate 20 years of teaching with Gerri and to hear her story of courage to eventually go into business for herself. Her tenacity gave life to several beautiful stories that night, from   the student who overcame a serious back injury through dance to perform a triumphant Rumba with her that evening, to a couple who until a few months ago had had never done ballroom doing a FoxTrot to the theme from Iron Man by themselves, without an instructor! They kept time perfectly, and added emotion and feeling to their piece.  One of her top students Anthony stole the show with several performances and danced the grand Finale with Gerri.  Another student was transitioning from a student to a professional and dance a fusion of several dance styles with her. Part of her dancing family also came from Charlotte, some of whom had received top honors in competition in Smooth and Rumba. Throughout the show, Gerri came out for several dances in beautiful ballroom dresses, each more stunning than the last. The evening ended with a party, celebrating the accomplishments of the students and instructors.

My life lesson this week was to learn how to receive criticism and instruction.  I have reached a point in my dancing where each step is being looked at with a critical eye. I am getting better at not taking things so personally but to see every word of instruction as an opportunity to get better. I am continuing to grow as a dancer and a person, and humility and a teachable spirit are tools that will give me exponential returns.

By: Kamaria George (07/23/2017)