*waves and smiles sheepishly* Hi, I'm new to the forum...

[Sakura]

Hi everybody! My name is Caitlan, aka Cat (though, for reasons of originality, I chose the name Sakura--Japanese for "Cherry Blossom"), and I've just recently joined this forum; though I've read a number of posts and learned some really interesting things! :roll:

A bit of information about myself is in order, I think, so, *bows* here go the introductions:
As I've already said, my name's Caitlan/Cat
I'm 15 years old
I live in Indiana, in the Indianapolis area
I've been dancing for less than a year ( :shock: :oops: I know it's probably nothing compared to how long most of you have been dancing, but I plan to stick with it!)
I dance at the Indianapolis Ballroom Company (IBC)
--I do mostly Latin dances, with some Ballroom (my teacher hasn't been focusing on them recently)
And I excel at being an Otaku (anime geek), a Band Geek, a Monty Python Geek, and a Rocky Horror Picture Show Geek....

*grins sheepishly* I hope I didn't leave anything out; and I'm sure that was kinda boring, but I hope to be getting to know many of you better, and making some new friends who love dance as much as I do!
See you all later!
Sakura/Cat

PS-If anyone here decides to respond to this: would you mind introducing yourself a bit, and maybe giving some of your favorite dances? I'd like to have a bit of a starting point to talk to people about, so, thanks a bunch, and good night!

[NeoDevin]

Yo, good to have you here. You shouldn't have told them you were 15, now they'll (Jon at least) start cracking jokes about me and you...

I'm 19 (barely) and been dancing a little over a year. Favorite dances are Samba and Rumba. I'm a math and physics geek, and a computer geek, among other things.

Welcome to the forums!

[Sagitta]

Why am I not suprised that Neodevin is the first person to respond. At least we are talking of a teenager here!! You got to watch out for that guy! :D :wink:

A warm welcome to df Sakura!! Speaking of names I just learnt that a friend's Turkish name, Figen, means a dozen roses!! Cherry blossoms and roses. Nice to have flowery friends! :)

You are not the only person who has been dancing for less then a year, though some would argue that I cannot say that anymore. I actually took a jump swing class in Spring of last year, and then started dancing late summer, 2002. I had completely forgotten everything, though it started coming back gradually, so I would consider late summer 2002 as my official dancing debut. As I said I started out with swing, learnt a little contra etc, then caught the salsa bug. So, I would say I prefer all latin dancing. I do salsa, rueda (salsa in circle), bachata, merengue...then I know some cha cha. I can do ECS, zydeco..., know a couple steps in waltz, foxtrot, tango, rhumba...Oh and just before I forget...I have started Israeli-Latin folk dancing. It is the best folk dancing that I have experienced and something that I intend to do on a regular basis.

[Sagitta]

Yo, good to have you here. ...
Welcome to the forums!

That's the spirit Neodevin! :)

[dancing_moogle]

Hi Sakura!

I'm fairly new too, but starting to like it here on DF. And good to know that you're an anime freak, because I happen to be one myself. ^_~

My dance story starts back in college when my roommate knocked on my door to invite me out to one of her Ballroom/Swing club meetings. I declined, but then later decided to do something to change myself. So I did, and salsa and swing were my first dances to learn. Then the following year I got into ballroom competitions (I did American style for 2 years). And I've been concentrating on Int'l Standard for the last 8 months.

As for favorites, I like any dance I can do (except Paso Doble and Jive). Jive -- I could relate that to ECS, but it's more energetic and I never danced that before. *shrugs* Maybe one day I'll be a ready 10-dancer.

Hey, it's cool you started this thread, Sakura. This way I'm sure everyone will share their stories on how they got hooked onto dancing. Great meeting you!

[turtle]

hey, sakura!

Glad you have taken the time to tell/ask!!

My name is Drew, I'm 18 and in college. (u of Illinois-- boo indidana! :wink: ) I am totally new to dancing, and I am really enjoying it. I joined the forum first hoping just to get a word or two of advice on how to avoid looking stupid... and I found out that I really like it. Now I'm hoping that people here will guide me through the process of initiating myself to dance.

I chose Turtle, because I was only planning on posting one time and I didn't want the name to be anything personal.. I was reading my biology textbook and it had a giant turtle on the front of it. I can't figure out how to change it, now that I realize I am going to be posting more than I had originally intended...

I am mostly dealing with trying to gain a little confidence, for myself to enjoy dance, and for my ongoing quest to win over a certain girl... who is not interested in the shy/puppy dog type (a category to which I used to belong...)

Anyway, you're in good company here at DF, people are great and they love to help out... they post a lot, probably more than is healthy. Welcome to DF!

[Sagitta]

I chose Turtle, because I was only planning on posting one time and I didn't want the name to be anything personal.. I was reading my biology textbook and it had a giant turtle on the front of it. I can't figure out how to change it, now that I realize I am going to be posting more than I had originally intended...

Actually wouldn't turtle describe the old you, and not the person you want to become to attract this girl? (I have seen turtles, when they see something new/ frightening, duck their heads into their shells!!) A reminder of what you don't want to be never hurts!!

Now I'm hoping that people here will guide me through the process of initiating myself to dance. Anytime you have a question feel free to ask. I'm glad to help out with whatever little I know. It can be frightening in a way as real dancing happens when you let go and make yourself vulnerable to the music, your partner, the atmosphere....and I've been a control freak most of my life...but once you get there you just won't want to go back.

As my signature line says...

When you take dancing lessons, you learn steps and you learn steps and you learn steps. It can go on for a long time. And then one day, you just learn to dance, and it is so different. --Bill Austin

I find that for many new dances I do I spend some time with the learn steps routine, and it does get a little frustrating as I know where I want to be. :headwall:

[SDsalsaguy]

...they post a lot, probably more than is healthy!
:shock: :shock: :shock:

*GASP* How could you say such a thing??? :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Sakura]

Wow! I never expected to get so many replies to this! I get to do a whole bunch of replies to everyone when I get back home! (I'm at a swim meet right now; Girls Sectional, at which I'm the resident Athletic Trainer! =^_^= Life can be good, but I'm hungry right now! =ToT=)
I suppose for now, since I asked the question, I'll throw out the dances I've done at my lessons so far: Latin= Rumba, Cha Cha, Samba, beginnings of Tango, and we just started Mambo! Ballroom= Waltz and Foxtrot. I've also done some swing. I'm really proud of myself, because I've learned all of these in *holds up her hands and counts*... five months (not counting this month, 'cause my lesson is on Teusday), with only one or two lessons a month! (I hope that doesn't sound like I'm bragging! :oops: ) We haven't really worked that much on the Ballroom stuff though; my teacher's focus has been Latin.
My favorites out of Latin are Cha Cha, Samba (if I could really get my Voltas down! :cry: ), and Mambo, even though I was struggling with it last time (it was the first time I'd done it), it seems like it'll be a lot of fun. My favorite for Ballroom hasn't really been decided, because we haven't worked on those dances, as I've said, but I do look forward to learning the Viennese (sp?) waltz!
I hope that that wasn't too wordy for you all; I know I can be a bit long winded! *sweatdrops* (Note: For those of you who don't know what "sweatdrops" means -- it's a Japanese Anime term, a comedy action really, and it happens when another character does something stupid, but funny, or when they do something and get embarassed or feel silly. If you can make that any clearer, dancing_moogle-san, please help!)
Catch you all later!
Sakura (Kitty) :kitty:
(PS-I tried to change my name to "Sakura Kitty" but it wouldn't do it, so when I put "Sakura Kitty," it's still me, but I like the ring! And, well, my nickname here is "Cat." I promise I'm not doing it to try to be confusing! *hugs to everyone* Bai bai!)

[pygmalion]

Just for the record, sakura (Cat), Pat Benatar is a diva!

Sounds like you're having a blast with your lessons, which is exactly what you should be doing. Cool.

[turtle]

(^o^); sweat.

Hen Hao! I consider myself azn by association... hehehe... I come from a small all-white town, but on campus i just happened to fall into a group that consists mostly of asians, who met through AAA (the Asian American Association)... well actually i have fallen in with a lot of different groups, but I spend the most time with them.
The asian smilies are so much better than the traditional ones aren't they?

turtle wrote:
...they post a lot, probably more than is healthy!

*GASP* How could you say such a thing???

Don't try to deny it! But it's a good thing!!
And i like the turtle analogy..(^_^) Less turtle, more bold interplanetary explorer extraordinaire.. (spaceman spiff)

ps- yeah i realize "hen hao" is mandarin not japanese.. i don't know any japanese!! konichiwa??

pss- some of my posts are somewhat off topic (^^);; i hope no one minds...

[LindyQuest]

Welcome, Sakura! I'm new here too... I've been dancing sporatically for the last year or so, and have just started semi-regular lessons this month. Right now I'm learning Lindy and East Coast Swing, but I know a bit of salsa, West Coast, fox trot, shag, balboa, and a little bit of some other dances as well.
Glad to have you here! :D

[Sakura]

Konon-on-chi-wa!!!!!!!!! (I believe that's how it's spelled, and it means, "Hey-hey-hoo!" If anyone's ever heard of Cardcaptor Sakura, maybe you, dancing_moogle-san?, that's where it's from... Just a fun way to say hi, really! :lol: ) It's reply time, to all of the nice people who decided to talk to geeky, lil' ol' me! :wink:

To Neodevin:
*laughs* I think that fifteen is as good a place to start as any, and it's better than fourteen! Heh, bring on the jokes; but it's better to word cleverly than to have clever words. :P :wink: Good on the Rumba bit -- it was the first dance I did! :wink: You can keep your math, I'll be taking Physics next year, and I wish I knew enough about my beloved computers to call myself a Geek on their level. Alas, I don't, so, *bows* I hope to always be able to call on you most honorable ones for help! :D :wink: .....I'm so corny.... =-_-=;; Btw, love your signatures and thanks for the warm welcome! I'm toasty now! =^__^= *purrs*

To Sagitta:
My eyes are wiiide open, see? :shock: :shock: :wink: Wow, that's a pretty name! =~_^= It is good to have flowery friends, isn't it? ...So long as no one's allergic to us, that is... 8) :D If you don't mind my asking: what's the difference between swing and jump swing, and what are ECS and zydeco? *blinks* I've never heard of either of them... :? The folk dancing sounds awesome, so I hope that you really have fun with it, and your signature's great too! :)

To dancing_moogle-san:
*glomps your avatar* (Note: "glomp" = really strong hug) It's so CUTE! =^___^=;; :roll: You know, I think we've got the best of both worlds: I mean, what could be better than anime and dancing?! (I was thinking about that this evening, and I was thinking it would be really cool if we had a dancing anime! I mean, there's an anime for just about everything else, isn't there? A bit off topic, I know, but I had to share! :shock: ) I wish I could be competing, but mum says that it'd be too expensive... She thinks that my lessons are bad enough, and she only pays for one a month.... (They're $40 for a 50 minute lesson because I'm under 18.) Oh, and what's a "ready 10-dancer?" *sighs* I've never heard that term either... I have so much to learn! :D That was a fun story too, so I'll give you mine later!

To Turtle:
Sometimes it seems as if I have all the time in the world and others none at all..... =>_<= It's a hard life, being in high school...... 8) It's very nice to meet you Drew, and I promise, I don't follow sports so, *waves little flags Monty Python style* go UI. Yaaay.... =^_~= I've gotta disagree with Sagitta on the "Turtle" thing though; did you see "Finding Nemo?" I don't know about you, but those turtles were pretty cool.....! Well, good luck in your quest, good sir knight, and maybe we'll meet up in Camelot someday! (Or not... 'Tis a silly place.....) And if you really dislike the name, just sign your posts with a different one! Before we know it, we'll both be on our way to posting at less (not!) than healthy rates! *hugs*

To pygmalion:
Pat-sama just rules! =^_^= She is so cool! But, I'm having more fun with my lessons than anything I ever have before! To tell the shocking truth, I think I'm starting to enjoy my dance lessons more than reading a new manga book for the first time. (*hopes dancing_moogle-san won't hit her with a paper fan for that blasphemy*) :D :D I hope you're enjoying your dancing as much as I am mine!

To Turtle (again!):
Interplanetary explorer extraordinaire it is then! :wink: For now, "konnichiwa" ("good afternoon") would work, yes, but to be technical, when you posted, it was evening already, so you would have said, "konbon wa." ("good evening") And I would reply to you with something along the lines of, "Konbon wa, Drew-san! Daijoubu desu ka?" (Good evening, Mr. Drew {I could have used -kun, which would have been more familiar}! How are you doing?) *sweatdrops* But that's a little much for now, so, :hugs: good job!

As for how I got started in dance, that would be thanks to my Nana and Grranddady, who are my dad's parents. They used to tell me all of these stories about when they were younger and how much they danced, and what dances they did, and all of the famous people who would come to their town so their high school would stage elaborate dances. Come to think of it, *laughs* they still do tell me those stories, and I still love hearing them! Now, we exchange stories about dance, and I know that they're happy hearing how happy I am about dancing. :D Yay, happy stories! *waves more little flags Python style* ...And there was much rejoicing. *grins and waves to everyone* Night!
Sakura Kitty :kitty: