Why did you start dancing?

Simple Q! And once again apologies if it has been asked before!

What made you decide to get up and go to your first lesson? A friend? Spur of the moment? Lifetime dream?

For me it was 2 things...Firstly the movie (no laughing! ) Dirty Dancing...such a feelgood movie, I just wanted the magic the movie brings!
And secondly...I was out at a work party and we went to a latin cabaret restaurant where they did a floorshow, showcasing Tango, Cha Cha, Rumba and Salsa. The power of the dancers amazed me and I knew I wanted to do that!
I went home an watched DD abot 4 times over trying to learn the steps :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: The following week I spent looking for a school, chose one and havent looked back since.

OK, long story, cut down.

Mum and Dad put me into jazz dancing at the age of 9 to improve my co-ordination. I found I had a natural talent for picking up steps and moving to music, so the studio I was at put me into a jazz troupe where we did exhibition routines at the studio's functions. During the training for these routines I also had exposure to tap, ballet and other forms of dance.

Planning one routine we were going to perform at a ball for the studio where there was going to be social ballroom dancing and the members of the troupe were encouraged to go along to ballroom classes so we could join in on the night. Ballroom took over and the jazz troupe kind of died out, so I concentrated on that. By this stage I was 14.

Life took over and I had to drop dancing due to financial restraints and have only just gone back to it about 7 months ago after 16 years, and loving every minute of it! Even considering making it at least a part time career!

My story in a nutshell.

Although I was a fairly good dancer in my early 20's, I hadn't touched a dance floor since I got married 20 years ago. Not sure why. Then my wife and I watched a ballroom dance special on television. I think Suzanne Somers was narrating it. Those ladies looked so beautiful and sexy and those guys looked so macho and athletic I was captivated. Thought it was one of the coolest forms of dancing I had ever seen. A couple of weeks later I had my wife sign us up for beginner lessons and we've been working our way through the process ever since and now into the competition circuit -- with dancing consuming between 1 and 5 hours per day most of the time.

I started because one of my good friends was a dancer and he told me to come along for a bit. So i did and it was quite enjoyable because everybody there had a good sense of humor and didnt push me too hard.

I also decided to do competitions after i went and watched the australian dancesport championships, they were awesome and i thought i would love to do that so yeah.

Wow, the Aussies are talking over!!! Yay...we will rule the world one day, you know!



Aussie, Aussie, Aussie ...anyone?

Very simple for me, I was trying to impress a lady I was courting who was into Salsa dancing. No romance ever developed, but I fell in love with Salsa so it worked out great for me.

That was about 7 months ago...I think my Salsa fever started about 3 months ago when I started going to clubs...but I have a feeling its going to become a permanent fixture in my life.

SG

Well I'd originally intended to start as a way to meet girls (me, try to meet girls, who would've guessed). Anyways, never got in on time, ended up with a g/f anyway, and she wanted to join, so I figured what the heck, worth a try. Turns out I really like it, we've since broken up, and she quit dancing, but I stuck with it... ah well, her loss

I've forgotten!!!

MadamSamba said:

Wow, the Aussies are talking over!!! Yay...we will rule the world one day, you know!



Aussie, Aussie, Aussie ...anyone?

Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Here you go MadamSamba......... OI! OI!OI!


YAY Lets take over the world :wink:

To shift some of the weight I'd put on over Christmas!

i started dancing as a way to get better parts in the musicals i tack part in. at first that was all it was supposed to be, you know take a jazz class here, a tap class there, but since then its kinda taken over my life.... oh well, loving something usually does that to you.

When my wife met me, she assumed I knew how to dance because she had never met a man who didn't. During the first years of our marriage, the dance thing became an issue because she always wanted me to take her out dancing, at least to the dances her classmates at school put on. Finally, one year for her birthday present, I signed up for some lessons at a ballroom dance studio.

She came with me, but the scene was already set for her to get into ballroom dancing. She had just seen the movie Dirty Dancing and she loved it. Then, after the second or third lesson, PBS aired an episode of Championship Ballroom Dancing with Juliet Prowess and Terry Leone. We loved the dancing in that too. My wife came with me to those classes and these Anglo-American dances became a real passion for her. Anyway, that was the start.

It helped me to build confidence, and now I am the greatest dancer you could ever imagine. :lol: But seriously, I was very shy, and it has been a wonderful blessing.

Oh, I do have a story about this.

I was doing a musical, "1776." (For you Aussies--oy oy oy--that's a show about the signing of the American Declaration of Independence). I was cast as John Adams, and I knew that I had to do a Viennese Waltz at the end of Act 1 ("Violin"). I arrived at rehearsal on the first day and asked the director whether he'd hired a choreographer. He said since it wasn't a dance heavy show, so he hadn't. Well, what about the waltz in "Violin," I asked.

"Oh, Waltz is easy," he replied, "it's just 1-2-3, 1-2-3."

"Um, Leo," I said, "I know how to do a box step. I'm concerned about looking good."

I was told not to worry. I worried. There was a ballroom studio I knew, so I dropped by and begged for someone to give us some choreography for the number. I met my first teacher, and I enjoyed it so much that I stayed on.

Leo cast himself as Rutledge (with the most demanding show-stopping song in the show), even though he couldn't sing worth a lick. I guess he figured singing "Molasses to Rum" was as easy as Viennese Waltz. He was hands-down the worst director I've ever worked for, and I've never worked for him again. On opening night, he gathered the cast and read us the St. Crispin's Day speech from Shakespeare's "Henry V." You know, the one that goes "Who bleeds with me will be my brother"? This was in the shadow of 9/11.

Nevertheless, I shall always be grateful for Leo's crass incompetence, as it introduced me to the ballroom world.

Cheers,

Genesius

What inspired you to start dancing?

Just an off beat question... How long have you been dancing and what was your inspiration to start?

Personally, I grew up watching Gene Kelly, as well as, Fred and Ginger. I was always astounded at their fluidity and how easily they moved across the floor. So four years ago I decided to give it a try.

I have been hooked ever since and wish I started dancing in my youth!