I want to dance with somebody. (Ballroom Dancing)

Member Name: harlequin1

Product:	Ballroom Dancing
Date:	09/01/02 (683 review reads)
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When I was 5 my mum asked me if I would like to go to dancing lessons. I didn’t really know what I was agreeing to. I said yes anyway, it was an excuse to leave the boredom of the house and the back yard, which had been my boundaries up until then.

She took me to a local dance school in the small town that we lived in. It was above some shops in the town centre. I remember holding my mums hand and walking up stairs that seemed to go on forever. We walked through the door into a room full of chairs with bags and clothes all over the place. Mum sat on a chair and I sat on her knee.

I could here distant sounds of music, which suddenly came to a stop.
“TERRIBLE! Sonya point your toes! …… Julie bottom in when you plié! …. Mary …JÊTÉ…. Do it again, you are going to stay here until you get it right!”

The room smelt funny and all of a sudden I really wanted to go home. That woman in there sounded like a real ogre and I really didn’t want any of that.
“Don’t worry” my mum said, “That’s ballet, you’re not here for that”

All of a sudden about 15 girls came running out of the other room, all of them smiling and all of them wearing beautiful gold shoes. Wow did I want a pair of those shoes.
My mum took me into the room that these girls had emerged from.
It was huge and had a really shiny floor. There was a record player and a pile of records in one corner and the biggest speakers I had ever seen.

Other kids started coming into the room and a lady wearing gold shoes split us into groups. These gold shoes were different to the others I had seen the other girls wearing; these ones had really high heels. Oh yes they were the shoes for me.
Her name was Debbie and I was going to be in her group. She was going to show me how to do a dance called the Cha Cha Cha.

We stood in a line behind her while she showed us the s
teps.
“Forward, back, cha cha cha, back, forward, cha cha cha, 2, 3, cha cha cha”
He hey I can do this cha cha cha, its easy cha cha cha.
“Carry on” she said and walked off up the room.
Hey! What’s going on… whose feet am I supposed to watch… oh no lost it!

She had gone to put some music on for us to try it to. The song was “A Walkin’ Miracle” by Limme and the Family Cookin.
Ready… and … 2, 3, cha cha cha.
After we had done that all the groups joined together and we did the Hokey Cokey and the conga and a couple of other party type dances and then it was time to go home.

As we were leaving the Ballroom the Ballet class were just coming out. There were seven or eight girls with their hair in buns wearing pale blue leotards and headbands. They were wearing pink tights and on their feet they had pink leather slippers that tied around their ankles.
Lucky escape.

Mum said if I went to dancing lessons for a few weeks and I still liked it she would buy me some gold dancing shoes. Then we went to Woolworths and she bought me my first record, “ A Walkin’ miracle”

I went back every Saturday morning until I got my flat gold shoes. I really loved those shoes. Those shoes meant I had learnt the basic steps to the Cha Cha Cha and the Waltz. Those shoes also meant I was ready for my first exam session.

Exam day meant that I had to have a new dress and perfume sprayed in my hair; I had to look the best I possibly could.
At the dance school everything was really quiet. Everybody was really nervous, what if I forget the steps…what if I stand on Debbie’s toes…what if the examiner has a big spot on her nose and I want to laugh.

Debbie called my name and she gave me two pieces of paper. These were my report sheets. I went with her into the Ballroom and handed my papers over to the examiner. <
br>She was a plump lady with a really big smile. The music started and I danced my Cha Cha Cha with Debbie. Head up, cha cha cha, Smile, cha cha cha . The examiner put her head down and started writing on my report. Oops sorry Debbie didn’t mean to stand on your toe…I wonder if she noticed…no I don’t think so.

Next my Waltz that I did without a hitch and that was it, all over. Well that didn’t hurt did it…what was I so worried about?

That was it I could go home now, the whole thing took about 15 minutes. I would get my results at the next class.

I couldn’t wait for Saturday to come. Did I pass? Did she see the mistakes?

At the next class we all sat down while Debbie handed out our report sheets and shouted out our grades. The grades were pass (over 65%), commended (over 75%) and highly commended (over 85%). I got highly commended for both my dances and the comments she had written on my report were very nice about my style and competence.

This meant that I could go to the “Medal Presentation Evening.” This was held at a big hall in the town and meant I would be able to stay up late as it was held in the evening. Some town big wig came to present the medals we had earned at the exam session.

Everyone was called out individually to receive his or her medal.
They started with the lowest exam rank that was us, the One Dance test. I had done two of these, one Ballroom (Waltz) and one Latin (Cha Cha Cha), so I had to do the long walk across the deserted dance floor with everybody watching me, TWICE!

Then on through Bronze, Silver, Gold, Gold Bar, Gold Star, Presidents Award and International Award until everyone had received their medals and certificates. Then there was a special award for the highest mark in each exam grade. This was a big silver cup that you could keep until the next Medal Presentation. Your name and the year were engraved on a litt
le gold plate on the side along with everyone else’s who had ever won it. I was absolutely gob smacked when I heard my name being called out. I had won the One Dance Cup. I had to do the long walk again to get my trophy and I dropped it on the way back to my Mum.

The photographer was there and he took a picture for the local paper of everyone who had took an exam, all the dance teachers and the dance school mascot that I got to hold (a big yellow teddy bear called Sam who sat in the Ballroom and watched all the lessons and travelled to all the functions and competitions.

Then it was on to the fun. The lights were turned down, the music was turned up and the dancing started. I sat on the edge of the dance floor and watched as the gold and silver high heels danced the night away. They did all the ballroom dances (Waltz, Quickstep, Foxtrot and Tango) the Latin Dances (Cha Cha Cha, Samba, Paso Doble, Rumba and Jive) all of which I had read on the report sheet at the exam session.

They also did some dances that I had never even heard of such as the Square Tango, the Barn Dance and the St Bernard’s Waltz. I thought that these dances were great because everyone doing the same thing at the same time. These are called Sequence dances, they are easy to pick up because you just keep your eye on the couple in front or behind you and hope they know what they are doing.

There was food and drink laid on and we had a fantastic time.

I carried on with the Ballroom dancing for many years. As I got older one thing led to another and before I knew what was happening I was doing Ballroom, Latin, Sequence, Rock’n’Roll, Freestyle Disco, Ballet, Tap, Modern Stage and Gymnastic Dance. I had a dance lesson every night of the week and all morning on a Saturday.

On Sundays we used to attend competitions all over the country.

This is where the hobby starts to get really expensive. On top of the travelling ex
penses there was also the cost of outfits and shoes. Luckily my mum was pretty nifty with a needle and she spent hours making Ballroom gowns with layers and layers of netting and hundreds of sequins, Latin dresses and Disco costumes with sequins, beads and feathers. At least I got my gold shoes with heels.
Image is very important in the competition world and the right outfit can make all the difference.

Competitions are very different to exams. Instead of one examiner you have three of five adjudicators watching your every move. Competitions can be very loud as you have the support of your whole school behind you with everyone cheering you on and screaming your number.

Performing in front of an audience is an amazing experience. The nerves are jumping, the adrenalin is pumping and you get a better natural high than you could get from any legal (or illegal) drug. This buzz makes you want to do it again and again.
When you hear people cheering you on and shouting your name it makes you realise that all the pain, hard work and effort are worthwhile.

At the age of thirteen I decided that I was going to make dance my career. The hard part was deciding whether I wanted to perform or teach.

Performing is where the money is but teaching is more fulfilling. I decided I was going to do both.

My partner and I got a job at a local nightspot doing cabaret. We were paid £50 for the night, which usually meant two five-minute performances. Not bad money for the early eighties. The money I made from performing went to pay for my professional training to become a teacher.

All the hard work paid off as there can be nothing more enjoyable than showing the skills that you have learned to others so that they may enjoy the sport too.

I was very proud of the kids I taught to dance, especially when they started doing well in exams and competitions. We taught them how to be part of a team and to take pride in their appe
arance and behaviour. We taught them how to accept defeat gracefully and how to enjoy success.

Eventually I got married and had kids of my own. I gave up the dancing to concentrate on being a full time housewife and mother. My partner does not dance, so although I spent all those years learning the art, if we go out anywhere I rarely dance because I don’t have anyone to dance with. This is such a shame and I am trying to persuade him to learn.

Very few people my age can Waltz or Quickstep and Jiving is something that your Mum and Dad do at Christmas parties.

As soon as my daughter was old enough I took her to our local dance school and now the cycle has started again.

She absolutely loves the competition scene, not only the competing but also meeting people from different parts of the country.

I now sit at night sewing sequins on to costumes and helping her practice her routines.

At the age of ten she now has fourteen lovely trophies on our windowsill and dances three times a week.

Some of the rules of competition have changed slightly from my day but the buzz and the excitement are still the same.

I hope she carries on for many years and gets as much enjoyment from the dance world as I have had.

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