It’s been a rough day and a rough week. Immediately after logging off of work at 6, I dragged my feet through a workout on Centr – Da Rulk’s Functional training: Mobility building mayhem. I put it on beginner level so I wouldn’t die and began one modified gorilla step at a time. Took a quick shower and drove over to the dance studio for my lesson.
My dance instructor Masha could tell that I was long dead before showing up, aka “pre-dead”. We warmed up doing a non-syncopated hustle – Masha calls this the Dedushka(grandpa) Hustle, whenever I’m just not moving very fast. Rock, step, step, step. Rock step, step, step.
We reviewed some stuff from last week then added two new patterns, one involving a lot of turns. Well the lady turns a lot. As the gentleman, my job is to make sure I don’t lose the lady!
Then I requested our my first lesson on West Coast Swing. I’ve only done WCS in group classes but I’ve always enjoyed it. The way the dance flows is smooth and very relaxing. We learned a few more new basic steps and I was able to transition from pattern to pattern to the music. We took it slow, focusing on where the feet go, one step at a time.
After the lesson, I felt a sense of accomplishment. The new patterns were a little challenging. I hadn’t learned this many patterns in one lesson before but I’m confident I absorbed them in my brain.
This sense of accomplishment comes when we overcome a challenge. Whether it is a difficult problem like a scheduling issue at work, or something a bit simpler like learning some new basic dance patterns. Take one step at a time.