Wishful Thinking
Sep. 13th, 2004 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyspriteI have a love/hate relationship with dance movies. I adore watching them - the plot is almost entirely superfluous, but the costumes and the performers and the music all just fascinate me. Unfortunately, they also leave me in a seething ball of envy wishing I could dance like that. Somehow, in dance movies, all a girl needs to suddenly become a phenomenal dance princess is a pretty dress, a lot of makeup, and a week or two with a spiffy partner.
In real life, apparently it doesn't work that way. The most important thing my six weeks of waltz and swing lessons this summer taught me was that six weeks is nowhere near enough to learn even the basics of waltz and swing. I've reached the point where a patient and talented partner can push me around in something vaguely resembling a stylish manner, but that's not what I want. I want to be aware of what I'm doing, and I want to be an active participant instead of a prop. Admittedly, being a prop is still heaps of fun, but I want more.
Someday, when I'm independently wealthy and can work when I want to instead of when I have to, I'm going to take all the dance lessons I want. I'll start with waltz again, though I think I'll leave swing to be learned on the fly - the little bit of ballroom, dance-lesson swing I've learned just seems too formal and not wild and passionate enough. And then... I don't know what comes next, but I want to learn it all. Regency and contra and tango and rhumba and everything. I suppose I'll eventually get tired, or my feet will fall off, or I'll decide that I've had enough, but right now it's hard to imagine that.
So many things to learn, so little time....
In real life, apparently it doesn't work that way. The most important thing my six weeks of waltz and swing lessons this summer taught me was that six weeks is nowhere near enough to learn even the basics of waltz and swing. I've reached the point where a patient and talented partner can push me around in something vaguely resembling a stylish manner, but that's not what I want. I want to be aware of what I'm doing, and I want to be an active participant instead of a prop. Admittedly, being a prop is still heaps of fun, but I want more.
Someday, when I'm independently wealthy and can work when I want to instead of when I have to, I'm going to take all the dance lessons I want. I'll start with waltz again, though I think I'll leave swing to be learned on the fly - the little bit of ballroom, dance-lesson swing I've learned just seems too formal and not wild and passionate enough. And then... I don't know what comes next, but I want to learn it all. Regency and contra and tango and rhumba and everything. I suppose I'll eventually get tired, or my feet will fall off, or I'll decide that I've had enough, but right now it's hard to imagine that.
So many things to learn, so little time....
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Date: 2004-09-19 08:09 pm (UTC)