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Different dances, different challenges


Years ago I took my first zydeco lesson at the now defunct Candelight Ballroom. It was a basic, drop in lesson and very easy, so I picked it up pretty much instantly. One of the owners of the ballroom said to me “I can’t believe you just learned that. You look like you’ve been dancing it for years.” “Well it was pretty basic stuff,” I explained. “It was very easy.” She shook her head ruefully and said, “You have no idea. You just have no idea.” I was struck by her comment because she was an award winning competition ballroom dancer. I couldn’t have learned her style of dancing in half an hour, but she was awed by my ability to pick up a simple dance quickly. Why was that? Competition Ballroom dance is judged on styling and alignment. It’s not judged on grace, fluidity, or musicality. It’s athletic, very stiff and formal and disassociated from the music. Street dances like Zydeco are “get down” kinds of dances. They are music driven, relaxed and natural. Feeling the music creates the style. They are so different they barely qualify as the same category of activity. In fact, I consider competitive ballroom dance to be more of a sport than a dance. Extremely challenging to be sure, but to me dance is about the music. It’s about making an instrument of your body and jamming with the band. I have a friend with whom I enjoy dancing who does competitive ballroom. I remember inviting him to an event with the caveat “The music sucks, but the crowd is great.” He looked at me blankly and said, ”Oh, I guess the music is important to some people, but to me dance is it’s own art form that has nothing to do with the music.” That statement in a nutshell defines the difference between my kind of dance, which includes social ballroom, and the world of competitive ballroom.

Dance Friends

Any shared activity is fodder for socializing, but I think the Lindy community is special. A friend's college student son joined us for lunch after lindy in the park a few weeks ago. He's taken up dancing at school and loves it, as does his mother. He observed that there were 3 generations represented in our gathering of after dance munchers. Yet it didn't feel that way. It feels like a group of friends that vary in age, occupation, lifestyle, dance experience, and politics. We all enjoy each others company and the difference in our ages is just another part of our diversity.

Fred and Ginger learn a new trick

As I’ve mentioned before, my dance studio is adorned with a pair of cats who are mostly greatly enjoyed by my students. I saw an ad in Cat Fancy magazine for a cat feeder that requires the cats to pull a lever to release some food, a good idea for indoor cats that need exercise. They hate it so far and refuse to use the lever, but yesterday during a lesson I heard a loud “ca chung!” and the sound of food falling into the dish. A moment later came a repeat. My students, ever vigilant to the dramas of my cats, applauded. I thought the problem was solved until I discovered that Ginger had discovered that if she bumped her head against the part that releases the food, she can get it to release some. Fred has discovered that if she waits until she hears the sound of Ginger beating the system, she can race in and partake of the spoils. They both are still holding out hope that I will tire of this before they have to work too hard and just feed them already. The guy who designed the thing is a real character, a Californian who sounds like the car talk brothers, with a story to tell about his own cats and an interest in everyone else’s. I’ll call him and find out if their progress is normal. I’ll keep you posted….