Caught in Contemplation

Nationals was the weekend before last. Steve and I danced well, I think... overall the dancing is getting better -- ours and, sadly, everyone else's.

We got cut at the quarterfinal in prechamp, frustrating after placing seventh last year. We could have danced better, I think, but we also had the misfortune of having our heat stacked against us. The first group to dance the quarterfinal (ours) was much, much stronger than the second group. And as professional as judges can be, ballroom dancing is always an exercise in subjective comparison judging. So, amidst a week heat, we look pretty good. Amidst a strong heat, we look much weaker than we actually are.

Pity, that.

At least we left with dancing that we felt good about, with moments we really really loved, and with a clear sense of our goals (even if they mean we have a lot to work on).

I'm also proud of us for making the time to practice amid very busy lives and complicated schedules. We don't practice as much as I'd like, in a perfect world, and we certainly don't practice rounds as much as I'd like, but it's always good to have something to shoot for. Hopefully we'll be able to start Thursday rounds again once or twice a month now that tax season is coming to a close.

In other news, I put down a deposit for a wedding gown, and I'm thinking about invitations and finalizing a guest list and starting to gear up for full force wedding planning. (Things are happening in fits and starts, but I'm easily distracted by more pressing deadlines). Though that really should wait for another month or so until the present insanity has passed.

To Do lists are becoming very good friends.

I performed with Can Can at the SF Edwardian (Gorey) Ball on Friday and Sunday. Saw many a beautiful costume, lots of wonderful creations and performances from many many artists. My first attendance at the event, and really cool to be there as a performer, especially in a community where everyone has their own unique set of skills. Much mutual admiration society backstage and appreciation for fabulous costumes and talent and individuality.

The on stage acts were amazing, too. The Vau de Vire Society VooDoo Dolls were one of the most creative and interesting contortion acts I've seen -- central "witch" with two voodoo dolls, who bent and twisted the dolls to cause the two contortionists to contort. The aerialists were beautiful and made me want to go to circus school... I'm sure it would involve a lot of bruising and sore upper body muscles, but oh, to fly... how wonderful that would be! (Reminds me of the time I wanted to learn theatre arts -- ballroom with all sorts of neat lifts and things. Someday, someday).

Unrelatedly, next year, I'm going all-out, costume-wise. And hopefully going in full costume on a night when I'm not performing. Because that would be awesome.

Also, discussions with threadwalker at an impromptu lunch/erranding (which was super handy as I manage to actually accomplish a couple of things that I'd been meaning to do for a while and just sort of neglected)/wanderings yesterday made me realize that I really, really miss teaching. Must remember to start looking for summer teaching jobs at community and state colleges. After all, I spent a good deal of energy earning my Master's. Time to start putting it to good use, I think.

Rethinking life dreams some as I'm becoming a bit disenchanted with the reality of being a research scientist and beginning to feel that research science isn't necessarily the way to make the difference to the world that I really hope to make. Some of it is "grass is greener," but other is realizing that while I love science and all that is to be learned and understood about us and the world, I'm not sure I can really live doing only that (plus hobbies) for the rest of my adult life. I have too many interests, too many loves and too many things I want to pursue and enjoy and share.

The older I get, the more like my mother I realize I am. Which, given that my mother was awesome and a master of many trades, is not such a bad thing to be.

x-posted to spinningsteps

The "digital revolution" as it's called started in the office and has worked its way into every aspect of life, including, apparently, ballroom competitions. It began its entry with scrutineering software; Software that eliminated the need for hand scrutineering resulted in much faster turnaround of recalls and awards. It also made publishing marks easier. Then came the incorporation of the PDA to competition judging. Judges have a list of numbers for the event being danced before them and simply check off the numbers they wish to recall (or write in the placement value in the case of the final). Instantaneous scoring. This is convenient for competitors who are then able to know right away if they are to dance the next round, and speeds up the efficiency of awards presentation as awards can be given immediately after a final is danced.

The revolution has now spread to trophies. The "trophies" for SF Open this year were silver-coloured plaques containing the equivalent of a travel alarm clock with a window that had the event name, location and place printed on an inserted piece of paper. I suppose this is to provide competitors with something they can use... for something other than donating to USA Dancesport for reuse in a competition or taking up all that extra space in their closets.

Organizer 1 (looking through trophy catalogue): So, should we just go with the standard marble base and couple in a contra check topper like last year?
Organizer 2: Sounds good. Last year's trophies were very elegant.
Organizer 1: Oh, wait! They have alarm clock photo frames! Let's use those!
Organizer 2: Yes! Our competitors will have something different; they can display them on their desks at the office or their mantles.

Competitor 1 (on seeing "trophy"): Hmmm. I wonder if I can replace the event logo with a photograph...
Competitor 2: Even better. I can sell it on Ebay!


Pardon me, I'm feeling cynical today.

( About our placement, dancing, etc... )

Masha ripped apart our samba and recreated it in her own image today. The result being we have an almost entirely new routine... which is actually good since it's a vast improvement over the old routine. It's hard, it plays with rhythm and it moves. A lot. But it feels much more comfortable for both Steve and me (if only we could dance it to music to speed...)

But, it fits with our visions of what Latin choreography is supposed to be like and suits our dancing and movement, and we like the choregraphy and thus feel much more motivated to work on it.

I am now in pain. But, I'm often in pain after a good practice; it means I've worked hard and am improving, thus I tend to view it as a positive. I swear that dancers are innately masochists, at least to some degree.

Also. Schubert's Bakery on Clement Street in SF = Heaven. And the cheap(ish) sushi at Fune-ya (roughly accross the street from Genesis) is pretty good too.

Wanting more and more to live in SF. But moving is not practical for me right now, and apartment hunting sucks.

I love the experience of meeting other dancers. And of social dancing in general.

I met Claudio at "Club Vision," a dance hosted on the last night of VSS during "Billie Jean" when I was dancing by myself, and he by himself. There was a moment where our eyes met and suddenly we were connected, and while we never touched, we danced the rest of the song with each other, separate but coordinated movements. It's a neat feeling, the feeling of connectedness with someone that only happens between dancers on a dance floor, the unspoken conversation that happens in relation to a song.

He asked, after the song if I was a dancer and I said 'yes, ballroom and latin, mostly, was he?' He does West Coast Swing and some hustle. Which was quite lovely, really, as WCS is among my favorite social dances and I hardly ever get to dance it because my ballroom friends being mostly competitive dancers and not social dancers don't know it. So we danced, and danced and danced... and he is a good lead and I a good follow, which meant we just had fun with the dancing. The beauty of WCS is that as much as it is lead and follow, of any dances, the girl gets the most freedom to hijack the dance and put her own moments and breaks and feelings of the music in it.

My colleagues looked on and pronounced it amazing how smooth and connected we looked, and I suppose it is pretty amazing. It seems so simple, in thought, just another illustration of Newton's Third Law of Motion. From the inside, all I have to do is find my partner's center of mass and pay attention to where that mass is going and counteract it with my own. And from there, the rest falls into place and other movements are embellishments. But with him a good lead and me a good follow, there was give and take, and playfulness and a a special sort of trust that I only have with certain kinds of dancers and leaders.

We garnered an audience for a particular hustle ("I like to Move it Move it"), which included cheers to the dips and spins he led me through and a round of applause at the end. While I suppose they were somewhat impressive, they feel so like a natural part of dancing to me at this point. Dips and turns have become reflexive... give me the suggestion to go and I will throw all of my weight into a dip or a line or a spin, which makes me, counterintuitively, a lighter follow. But I like how things (my following ability) are developing. The more I dance, the faster the neural pathways become and the less I think about following at all. I just react.