Dance! - The Road to Heavies: lesson 44, November 7, 2014. That's better...

I didn't practice at all last week. Besides that, I find it difficult to practice on my soft shoes, because standing on the heel is pretty dangerous on the extremely slippery laminate floor. If I was a more advanced dancer I would probably be allright, but with the competition near, I'm a little more carefull with what I try.

Having my soft shoes on at home

I just put my soft shoes on my feet at home for an hour. To avoid a lot of noise, I tried to keep my heel off the floor as much as possible.
It was fun when walking into the kitchen and got a distinct feeling how tall I was when I bent over to get some plates from a cabinet. There is not half as much pain as before, but you still won't hear me say these shoes are comfortable.

Another class in uniform

Because of the Feis, I also dance in 'uniform' once again. I just feel so weird in such a fancy outfit as I'm not used to it. At least I still have time to start feel a little more comfortable and to see if there is any move where I feel restricted in movements. Besides, I also noticed a problem with a build-up of sweat under my armpits, where the shirt I was wearing turned noticeably darker. For some odd reason I don't experience that same problem this time.

My first competition-leaflet?

I am also handed my first ever competition-registration ever. I do a quick check of my data and immediately stop when I see the age-category I'm in. I don't know much about competitions, but enough to know that 'Over 30', as stated on my registration, is not correct.

I notify my teacher, who gives me a surprised look. It is than that I see that I'm also filed as being a 33-year old. How flattering, that's a rare change from always being estimated 8 to 10 years younger.

She will correct the mistake and I will receive a new registration later.
Because we will be practicing for the dances we will be doing at the Feis, I won't be dancing on heavy shoes this week.
With breaks in between I only dance the Beginners Reel and Single Jig for an hour straight.

32 bars. Right?

I mess up the Reel twice, although I don't know why. I did the full 32 bars now did I? No, I did not. When I go over the steps in the hall, I find the moment where I go wrong. I like the Single Jig just a but more over the Reel, but the lead-around of the first one only counts 8 bars, where the Single Jig's lead-around is twice as long. As the sidestep of that same dance straight after takes 8 bars to the left and 8 bars to the right, you have spent the full 32 bars already and you're done, while the Beginners Reel is to be danced fully.

And that's where I go wrong. After my sidestep I stop into 5th position and my teacher is looking at me if I know what I'm doing wrong. When I find out after 2 attempts, I over-correct myself in the Single Jig. Not because I stop dancing too early, but because 'completely' as the teacher just mentioned, means dancing the complete Single Jig for me. And that's not supposed to happen.

My first blister?

Halfway through, I feel that the shoes are not as comfortable as normal. Especially my right foot hurts and is given some relief by taking the shoe off to find out if there's something in there that's not supposed to be there. When I press my big toe, I notice a strange burning sensation. I suspect it's my first blister.

When dancing, one of my classmates, on about the highest level possible, notices that I'm dancing a different Reel, if only after my 4th attempt. My teacher explains she didn't dare to change the Reel as I knew my version for so long already. As I didn't dance for so long it's not a problem. In other cases a 'transfer' would have been neccesary. I don't know what that means, but deep inside I would like to know all about it.

At the end of the evening one of the dancemoms (she and her daughter dance) ask if I feel confident for the coming Feis. My most honest answer, that I don't, has two sides to it. I explain that I did not even think about competitions when I started. I had to find out how far I could take things, competitions were a thing for later.
I'm just glad I at least visited a few beforehand. I get some surprised comments, but I'm honest when I say that I have such a different view of things as a male and the craziness certainly is hard to explain to an average person.

That's a nice reminder for the mom in question, as she still has to get the fake-tan out to get her daughter's legs 'Feis-ready'...