n00bdancer
Changui
I went to a social this weekend and I did really well. This was also a fairly high-level social in terms of dancing ability. I started doing salsa dancing 3 months ago. I'm a male lead. Every sense after the first couple of weeks, I had been doing 15-20 classes a week at my studio and also went to socials pretty early.
I guess, now since I have gotten fairly comfortable social dancing, and I can actually lead a dance, I kind of feel a little mixed emotions, but not in a bad way. One one hand, it's great to see that the many hours of classes and dedication that I have put into salsa is paying off, and I feel like I have a strong foundation. And in only three months, I feel that I can give good dances to many, if not most followers actually.
However, I look back to when I started and maybe cringe a little at how I was in the beginning. Especially when I was going to social dancing early on, I made a lot of embarrassing mistakes, not only in etiquette but also in technique. I went to my first very social one day after I took 2 salsa classes just because I was bored. Also had a moment where I walked into a class way too advanced first week of classes, as a lead, and I was lost (which I find embarrassing because I wasted followers' time). Obviously, looking back, it feel premature, but the dichotomy is that I probably wouldn't have gotten as hooked into salsa and as committed to taking classes if I had not gone. In terms of technique, I look back, and I realize even more how bad I was starting out. Like turning the wrong way as a leader or doing moves that weren't bio-mechanically possible.
I guess a lot of people "wait more until they're ready" before going to socials, and in hindsight, it might seem that I would have wanted to feel more ready before social dancing. But, I definitely wouldn't have improved as much if I hadn't gone to socials early on and I guess now it's an after thought. I guess the way I will live with it is just understand that I adapted quickly once I learned norms. For example, after realizing that salsa is highly technical, I still went to socials, but targeted more beginner-friendly appearing socials that have a class before hand.
Honestly, in some way, I look back and in some way, I feel that it was a good thing how oblivious I was. When I was starting out, I didn't really care that I was bad, even though I knew that I wasn't good. It was more so I just went to socials, had a lot of objectively bad dances, and didn't really think that much about it. Like if the follower was bored, I just didn't think too much about it and moved on. I never really thought about "being ready for socials". It was more so I just went with the flow - take classes, go to social, get some practice in, and repeat.
Like, looking back, would I have waited more before going to socials? No.
If I hadn't gone early, I might have better knowledge about technique from classes, but probably wouldn't have been able to apply it effectively in social dance. In addition, I wouldn't have learned norms around leading safe dances, spatial awareness, boundaries, adapting to follower, etc.
Does anyone else kind of feel the same way? I cringe back at my embarrassing beginner moments and mistakes, but pragmatically, I understand that I needed to have those kind of experiences to improve.
I guess, now since I have gotten fairly comfortable social dancing, and I can actually lead a dance, I kind of feel a little mixed emotions, but not in a bad way. One one hand, it's great to see that the many hours of classes and dedication that I have put into salsa is paying off, and I feel like I have a strong foundation. And in only three months, I feel that I can give good dances to many, if not most followers actually.
However, I look back to when I started and maybe cringe a little at how I was in the beginning. Especially when I was going to social dancing early on, I made a lot of embarrassing mistakes, not only in etiquette but also in technique. I went to my first very social one day after I took 2 salsa classes just because I was bored. Also had a moment where I walked into a class way too advanced first week of classes, as a lead, and I was lost (which I find embarrassing because I wasted followers' time). Obviously, looking back, it feel premature, but the dichotomy is that I probably wouldn't have gotten as hooked into salsa and as committed to taking classes if I had not gone. In terms of technique, I look back, and I realize even more how bad I was starting out. Like turning the wrong way as a leader or doing moves that weren't bio-mechanically possible.
I guess a lot of people "wait more until they're ready" before going to socials, and in hindsight, it might seem that I would have wanted to feel more ready before social dancing. But, I definitely wouldn't have improved as much if I hadn't gone to socials early on and I guess now it's an after thought. I guess the way I will live with it is just understand that I adapted quickly once I learned norms. For example, after realizing that salsa is highly technical, I still went to socials, but targeted more beginner-friendly appearing socials that have a class before hand.
Honestly, in some way, I look back and in some way, I feel that it was a good thing how oblivious I was. When I was starting out, I didn't really care that I was bad, even though I knew that I wasn't good. It was more so I just went to socials, had a lot of objectively bad dances, and didn't really think that much about it. Like if the follower was bored, I just didn't think too much about it and moved on. I never really thought about "being ready for socials". It was more so I just went with the flow - take classes, go to social, get some practice in, and repeat.
Like, looking back, would I have waited more before going to socials? No.
If I hadn't gone early, I might have better knowledge about technique from classes, but probably wouldn't have been able to apply it effectively in social dance. In addition, I wouldn't have learned norms around leading safe dances, spatial awareness, boundaries, adapting to follower, etc.
Does anyone else kind of feel the same way? I cringe back at my embarrassing beginner moments and mistakes, but pragmatically, I understand that I needed to have those kind of experiences to improve.
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