![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Dance Class Mostly Better Than Expected
May. 4th, 2007 10:39 pmYesterday I heard there would be someone from TV Land showing up in ballroom dance class today doing some kind of story and interviewing beginners and old-timers about why they're there.
My first thought was, ugh, I don't want to go. But then I remembered that the first class has my friend J coming to it, and he should be encouraged, and the second class is east coast swing, which is fun (and injuries from which I had decided to risk).
My second thought was that I should devise some kind of strategy. Here was my strategy:
1) Try not to wear anything hideous.
2) If any TV guys try to talk to me during the lesson, I will roll my eyes at them and say to hush because there's a lesson.
3) Refrain from using the strategy where I have at least one finger up my nose at all times to make sure I don't get filmed.
4) Otherwise, just don't worry about it.
What actually happened is a guy came with a camera before class and talked to the instructor. Later I saw some officers of the ballroom dance club being interviewed on camera in an adjacent room. Later there was an announcement that someone was filming and that if you don't want to be filmed, you would be safe on the side of the room I was already on. Two people conspicuously moved to my side of the room. No one moved conspicuously to the other side of the room.
Halfway through the class they were gone.
Then I started getting these know-it-all partners. I don't know why, but it seems to happen more often in classes like this: the second meeting of a beginner I class. Certain people with noodly arms, steps all the wrong size, and/or poor rhythm will give me hints on how to improve my dancing. And certain people will try to teach me additional steps. Or teach me all the ways that this dance is similar to their favorite (superior) dance and teach me some of those steps.
I made the right decision to risk injury and stay for the second class because there were at least 1/3 fewer people than last week, and thus much more room. I still got one leg barely brushed against, but that was it.
My first thought was, ugh, I don't want to go. But then I remembered that the first class has my friend J coming to it, and he should be encouraged, and the second class is east coast swing, which is fun (and injuries from which I had decided to risk).
My second thought was that I should devise some kind of strategy. Here was my strategy:
1) Try not to wear anything hideous.
2) If any TV guys try to talk to me during the lesson, I will roll my eyes at them and say to hush because there's a lesson.
3) Refrain from using the strategy where I have at least one finger up my nose at all times to make sure I don't get filmed.
4) Otherwise, just don't worry about it.
What actually happened is a guy came with a camera before class and talked to the instructor. Later I saw some officers of the ballroom dance club being interviewed on camera in an adjacent room. Later there was an announcement that someone was filming and that if you don't want to be filmed, you would be safe on the side of the room I was already on. Two people conspicuously moved to my side of the room. No one moved conspicuously to the other side of the room.
Halfway through the class they were gone.
Then I started getting these know-it-all partners. I don't know why, but it seems to happen more often in classes like this: the second meeting of a beginner I class. Certain people with noodly arms, steps all the wrong size, and/or poor rhythm will give me hints on how to improve my dancing. And certain people will try to teach me additional steps. Or teach me all the ways that this dance is similar to their favorite (superior) dance and teach me some of those steps.
I made the right decision to risk injury and stay for the second class because there were at least 1/3 fewer people than last week, and thus much more room. I still got one leg barely brushed against, but that was it.