| If you have never danced with a partner before, be | | | | be is: "Am I doing this better this week, than I was |
| kind and patient with yourself. Dancing with another | | | | last week?", NOT am I doing this better than "Miss |
| person can be a difficult activity to master, but is | | | | Ballerina" at the end of the row. Ask yourself: "Am I |
| well worth the awkward and often frustrating | | | | personally improving?", "Am I able to consistently |
| beginnings. Do not compare yourself to other | | | | achieve the result that I am striving for?" Do not ask |
| dancers. Some adults were little ballerina's or tap | | | | yourself if you are "As good As" any one else. |
| dancers. Others grew up spinning on their heads! | | | | When you feel as though you have reached your |
| Some of us have perfect balance, while others are | | | | goal, it is time to move on to another portion of the |
| naturally more clumsy. Accept who and where you | | | | same step. Suppose you have the "size" of your |
| are on your own personal dancing journey. | | | | step just perfect, but you notice that you just clomp |
| The most important thing that you can do to | | | | it down onto the floor. Spend the next week |
| improve your own dancing is to practice. Start with | | | | "placing" your foot onto the floor. Now you are |
| your most basic step. Do it over and over and over, | | | | working on two aspects, not just one. |
| until you can repeat it without having to think about | | | | 1. The size of your step |
| it. Repetition is key and make certain that you are | | | | 2. The way your foot lands on the floor. |
| practicing the steps correctly because you are | | | | If you continue on your journey in this manner, |
| creating muscle memory. It is much easier to learn to | | | | slowly building and adding skills, and only comparing |
| dance correctly right from the beginning, than it is to | | | | what you are doing now vs what you were doing |
| go back and retrain yourself to do something | | | | when you began, you are sure to develop into a |
| differently than you first learned it. You create either | | | | competent dancer. Enjoy the journey and allow |
| correct or incorrect muscle memory and, in my | | | | yourself to make mistakes and laugh about them. Do |
| opinion, it is easier to just learn it correctly right from | | | | not become discouraged, dancing is a great social |
| the start. | | | | activity with the added benefit of exercise! Hang in |
| Do not compare yourself with any other dancer. Pick | | | | there and it won't be long before you will be Dancing |
| one aspect, say the size of your dance steps, and | | | | Like a Star! |
| work diligently on that. What your comparison should | | | | |