Ballroom Dancing

[Cat]

My husband and I grew up in evangelical and Pentecostal Protestant backgrounds, and dancing was considered a sin.

So we never danced and never learned to dance.

Well, now we’re 51, and started taking some ballroom dancing lessons.

Frankly, I’m very uncomfortable. Not only am I trying to overcome the whole “sin” thing, but I also have such a bad knee that even the simplest steps hurt a lot. And a few years ago, I had surgery that repaired a broken posterior tibialis tendon (the tendon that holds the arch of the foot together), but the whole injury and surgery took away my ability to stand on my toes. So when the instructor says, “You have to step on your toes to do this maneuvers,” well, I can’t do that. And so I do my steps on my entire foot, which makes me look kind of like the old Nestles Quik Bunny with his big floppy feet.

And in the back of my mind, I keep wondering when on earth we wil ever use this?! We don’t go to nightclubs–in fact, we don’t even know where there are any nightclubs in our city! (We don’t drink.)

But we did go to a Taylor Hicks concert last night and actually used our “rumba” during one of his more balladic songs. Woo hoo!

So we are slogging through, trying to make up for 51 years of ignorance.

Anyway, what experiences do the rest of you have with dancing?

And–what’s better at a wedding–(1) clinging to each other during the dance and swaying back and forth in no pretense of a dance step or (2) doing ballroom dance badly like a couple of Quik Bunnies? (Of course, there’s option (3)–sitting at the table and eating many pieces of cake while cursing your Protestant upbringing! This is what we have done up until now.)

 

[Fidelia]

ballroom dancing is a lot of fun. my friend does it competitively. She has a knee issue too. She actually did ballet, until she injured it, then took up ballroom. Maybe a certain type of shoe might make it better for you. you could ask the instructor maybe.

don’t worry about how good you look, or how well you dance. just learn and have fun together. that is what is important.

hope you enjoy it!

 

[purelovemmc]

My husband and I grew up in evangelical and Pentecostal Protestant backgrounds, and dancing was considered a sin.

So we never danced and never learned to dance.

Well, now we’re 51, and started taking some ballroom dancing lessons.

Frankly, I’m very uncomfortable. Not only am I trying to overcome the whole “sin” thing, but I also have such a bad knee that even the simplest steps hurt a lot. And a few years ago, I had surgery that repaired a broken posterior tibialis tendon (the tendon that holds the arch of the foot together), but the whole injury and surgery took away my ability to stand on my toes. So when the instructor says, “You have to step on your toes to do this maneuvers,” well, I can’t do that. And so I do my steps on my entire foot, which makes me look kind of like the old Nestles Quik Bunny with his big floppy feet.

And in the back of my mind, I keep wondering when on earth we wil ever use this?! We don’t go to nightclubs–in fact, we don’t even know where there are any nightclubs in our city! (We don’t drink.)

But we did go to a Taylor Hicks concert last night and actually used our “rumba” during one of his more balladic songs. Woo hoo!

So we are slogging through, trying to make up for 51 years of ignorance.

Anyway, what experiences do the rest of you have with dancing?

And–what’s better at a wedding–(1) clinging to each other during the dance and swaying back and forth in no pretense of a dance step or (2) doing ballroom dance badly like a couple of Quik Bunnies? (Of course, there’s option (3)–sitting at the table and eating many pieces of cake while cursing your Protestant upbringing! This is what we have done up until now.)

Hi,

I’m currently taking some ballroom dancing and I also have a bad knee.
I’ve only experienced dancing Salsa, Waltz and Merengue. All of them has some stress in the knee, but Salsa’s the worst. Stick with Waltz cause it’s less physical stress, esp. in the knee…As for dancing during a wedding reception…I say go dance if you feel like it. No one really cares about at other people. At the end of the night you’re the one who had lots of fun!

 

[ChristinaM]

My parents used to go ballroom dancing when I was a little girl. I still have happy memories of how pretty my mommy looked in her fancy dress and dancing shoes. Ballroom dancing is a reminder of a lost era of social graces. I like the gracious interaction between men and women that is a natural part of ballroom dance.

If you want to be able to practice your dancing, I’d suggest seeking out a ballroom dancing club near you. These clubs often hold events specifically for ballroom dancing - they know you aren’t likely to get a chance to practice at a bar or nightclub! When my DH and I were in college there was a ballroom dance club on campus where we took a few lessons. They had dance parties every semester.

Does your instructor know about your physical limitations? I’d bring it up with him - he may be able to help you modify the steps, and even if he can’t help, he should be aware that you aren’t physically capable of doing all the things you’re being asked to do. It’s part of his job to help you have a good experience with dance!

Personally, at a wedding I would much rather see a couple dance badly than no one dancing at all, or that horrible “booty dancing” that’s all anyone seems to know how to do these days. Use it as an opportunity to bond with your husband and have fun!

 

[gardenswithkids]

My parents used to go ballroom dancing when I was a little girl. I still have happy memories of how pretty my mommy looked in her fancy dress and dancing shoes. Ballroom dancing is a reminder of a lost era of social graces. I like the gracious interaction between men and women that is a natural part of ballroom dance. …

What sweet memories! I agree with what you wrote about ballroom dancing being a gracious interaction with social graces. My parents used to ballroom dance too.

Cat–Good for you and your husband! I’m sorry that you aren’t enjoying the class more. Don’t worry about looking like an energizer bunny. My husband and I took a ballroom dance classes together years ago. We don’t use it much now, but I simply love dancing. When we dated, we went dancing all the time. (Hmm, what happened there?) I have a hard time imagining what it must have been like for you to grow up thinking of dancing as a sin. I took numerous dance lessons when growing up. The first time I learned that some Protestants regarded dancing as a sin was when I saw the movie “Footlloose”.

 

[chevalier]

Cat, I was the worst student in a dancing class. I went to it just to learn dancing and it turned out it was associated with the university and it could have given me diploma credits as a P.E. class if I hadn’t taken doctor’s leave for the latter as the first thing I did at university.

This said, I enjoyed it a lot, although I was completely retarded compared to the rest. I later caught up a little, but still wasn’t great. It turns out I don’t hear the rhythm of the music, which kills my dancing. Plus, I’m nimble when I need to do something concrete (e.g. a fight), but I’m a complete and utter Pinocchio the wooden boy when it comes to actually having some fun.

However, the lessons did sink in, I did eventually learn something, I’m not really that bad. But I had to be the class dunce for it for a couple of months. My coordination still sucks (I have such issues I can barely skate and I never learnt to ride a bike as a kid), I still don’t hear the rhythm the way people do, but I can get away with it and have fun.

And tell the instructor about the bad knee.

As for #1-3, #3 is bad, #2 is what I try to do, but there’s nothing wrong with #1. I generally want freeform because perfectly enacting a fixed set of movements is more like work than like leisure to me.

 

[kage_ar]

Here in our little town one can ballroom dance without going to a nightclub…

The KofC has dances a few times each year.

There is a montly Tea Dance with a “big band” at a downtown hotel… look around, your town just may have things you did not know about.