PretzelsAndBeer
Member
There is a little neighborhood in my home town with a cluster of all my favorite shops - an independent coffee shop, a couple of nice garlic-rich restaurants, Jamba Juice, a bakery, bike shop, etc. So for a long time I've been driving up and down a particular street between my house and my favorite wallet drains.
There is a dance studio on this street with large front windows. I can't really remember when I first became aware of the studio's existence, but at some point I found myself rubber-necking each time I drove by. I would see classes in there twirling and stepping this way and that. I started to think, no matter how those people feel or what they do the rest of the time, for the hour they are in that room I'll bet most of them are pretty happy.
Then one brave day (and this was before I ever heard of "Shall We Dance") I parked the car and went in to see what was going on. A very sweet, chipper young lady greeted me, talked a little bit about the studio. Her: "What kind of dancing are you interested in?" Me: "Duh, I dunno, what kinds are there?" She gave me some info and classes schedules, then I left.
It was a few months later before I had the stones to go back, but eventually I did, this time greeted by a different but equally sweet and chipper young lady, and scheduled a free introductory lesson. (By the way, the two aforementioned sweet young ladies are not teachers, they work the front desk. They were my first two contacts with the studio and they were both, and still are, so sweet, helpful, and welcoming, they'll always have a warm place in my heart. I try to get at least one dance with one or the other of them at each practice party or showcase.)
So I walk into my first lesson, having no idea what to expect. I thought maybe the teacher would demonstrate some steps and I would try to immitate, and so on, until after X lessons I might actually get to dance with a partner. The girl at the desk says "---- will be right down." So I waited in the studio for a minute, then this tall, beautiful woman glides in, all smiles and charm. She introduces herself and tells me to hold my hands out in a swing hold. Suddenly there I am holding hands with this beautiful lady I had never seen before. I actually started to get dizzy. I thought great, I'm going to faint and they'll carry me out in a gurney and that will be the beginning and the end of dancing for me. But she put me to work right away and I forgot all about my plans to lose consciousness.
On that first lesson we worked on swing, waltz, and foxtrot. At one point I managed to glance in the mirror. I was shocked to see myself actually dancing. Of course there was no technique whatsoever at that point but still I was doing a foxtrot basic in time to the music. She was gliding as gracefully as an ice skater and I looked more like Lon Chaney in "The Mummy", but it still counts. (Did I mention she was beautiful?) Towards the end she asked me what brought me to this studio. I talked about driving by looking in the window, and that's when she said "just like in Shall We Dance." After the lesson I had to go home and change into a dry shirt before going back to work.
I spent the next week deciding whether to sign up for a package. In the end I thought there is nothing holding me back but lack of courage. So I went back the next week and I was hooked.
In one of my earliest lesson Teacher brought up the idea of doing competitions. I immediately dismissed the idea. No, I thought, that's just not me. But this woman (it helps that she has about twice my IQ) has an almost magical way of making the improbable seem realistic. She pulls you right out of what you believe are your limitations. Endlessly patient and encouraging, she breaks down the lummox and builds a dancer.
Three competitions later, at which I failed to completely disgrace myself, I'm still more lummox than dancer but the balance shifts a degree each time.
There is a dance studio on this street with large front windows. I can't really remember when I first became aware of the studio's existence, but at some point I found myself rubber-necking each time I drove by. I would see classes in there twirling and stepping this way and that. I started to think, no matter how those people feel or what they do the rest of the time, for the hour they are in that room I'll bet most of them are pretty happy.
Then one brave day (and this was before I ever heard of "Shall We Dance") I parked the car and went in to see what was going on. A very sweet, chipper young lady greeted me, talked a little bit about the studio. Her: "What kind of dancing are you interested in?" Me: "Duh, I dunno, what kinds are there?" She gave me some info and classes schedules, then I left.
It was a few months later before I had the stones to go back, but eventually I did, this time greeted by a different but equally sweet and chipper young lady, and scheduled a free introductory lesson. (By the way, the two aforementioned sweet young ladies are not teachers, they work the front desk. They were my first two contacts with the studio and they were both, and still are, so sweet, helpful, and welcoming, they'll always have a warm place in my heart. I try to get at least one dance with one or the other of them at each practice party or showcase.)
So I walk into my first lesson, having no idea what to expect. I thought maybe the teacher would demonstrate some steps and I would try to immitate, and so on, until after X lessons I might actually get to dance with a partner. The girl at the desk says "---- will be right down." So I waited in the studio for a minute, then this tall, beautiful woman glides in, all smiles and charm. She introduces herself and tells me to hold my hands out in a swing hold. Suddenly there I am holding hands with this beautiful lady I had never seen before. I actually started to get dizzy. I thought great, I'm going to faint and they'll carry me out in a gurney and that will be the beginning and the end of dancing for me. But she put me to work right away and I forgot all about my plans to lose consciousness.
On that first lesson we worked on swing, waltz, and foxtrot. At one point I managed to glance in the mirror. I was shocked to see myself actually dancing. Of course there was no technique whatsoever at that point but still I was doing a foxtrot basic in time to the music. She was gliding as gracefully as an ice skater and I looked more like Lon Chaney in "The Mummy", but it still counts. (Did I mention she was beautiful?) Towards the end she asked me what brought me to this studio. I talked about driving by looking in the window, and that's when she said "just like in Shall We Dance." After the lesson I had to go home and change into a dry shirt before going back to work.
I spent the next week deciding whether to sign up for a package. In the end I thought there is nothing holding me back but lack of courage. So I went back the next week and I was hooked.
In one of my earliest lesson Teacher brought up the idea of doing competitions. I immediately dismissed the idea. No, I thought, that's just not me. But this woman (it helps that she has about twice my IQ) has an almost magical way of making the improbable seem realistic. She pulls you right out of what you believe are your limitations. Endlessly patient and encouraging, she breaks down the lummox and builds a dancer.
Three competitions later, at which I failed to completely disgrace myself, I'm still more lummox than dancer but the balance shifts a degree each time.
