take ballroom lessons

On Saturday, I took Kathy over to the dance studio for her first ballroom lesson while I had my third. I got a little taste of the Tango this time, and we reviewed the basic steps for rumba, hustle, foxtrot, and waltz. Kathy did really well in her first lesson and was even doing some turns. We both decided to go ahead and sign up for series of lessons, even though we each have some free lessons remaining. This task looks like it is leading to several months of learning and about $1,000 in fees, but what the hey? By learning ballroom dancing now, we should be able to enjoy it for years to come.

Today I was a bit late getting to my lesson, but in the half hour we had together, my instructor got me started on the Rhumba and the Waltz. She explained that in the first three private lessons, she wants to expose me to a kind of sampler of various steps/styles of dance so that I can choose what to concentrate on as I move forward. Obviously, it’s all very elementary at this stage, but I can see where it might lead if I get into it. I’m going to take a third lesson on Saturday and this time Kathy will come along as my guest and have a first private lesson of her own with one of the male instructors. We’ll see what she thinks of it. If we can learn a few steps to do together in the next couple of weeks, there’s a gala Chinese New Year event coming up on 2/23 that we might actually be able to dance at.

My instructor, Brittany, was delightful—full of energy, patient, very clear in her instructions/explanations, and supportive. We worked on basic steps and my frame. After 40 minutes, I’d learned a bit of foxtrot and a 4-beat swing step. I was impressed by how much we were able to cover in just one lesson, and although it was rudimentary, we actually danced a little. Next lesson on Thursday. Shall we dance?

I’m set up for my first lesson on Tuesday afternoon, 2/06. This could be fun if it doesn’t turn out to be embarrassing.

One of my clients owns a Fred Astaire ballroom dancing studio and has offered me some free lessons. I’d like to take him up on it early next year.