Next to my passion for geeking is my passion for dancing. I love any sort of couples dancing (i.e. ballroom style). Currently, my favorite dance styles are Waltz, Country Two-Step, and east coast swing (also known as Jitterbug, six-count swing, etc.) as well as a dance call Cowboy Cha-Cha. I’ve been known to freestyle (also sometimes called fast dance or simply shake your thang) but I usually don’t enjoy it as much. I have to be in the right mood to freestyle and the song has to move me.
I first got into dancing while attending Pacific Lutheran University (PLU). A female friend from school wanted to take dance lessons and wanted someone to go with her as her dance partner I guess I let her talk me into it. We signed up for two back to back classes, Country Two-Step and Country Ten Step, at Green River Community College, School of Continuing Education. While ten-step might sound like it is five times more complex than two-step I was able to learn ten-step much much faster than two-step. I believe the reason for that is that ten-step is very programmatic. It has a very definitive pattern to it whereas two-step is all about leading various moves and dancing to the beat of the music.
I was never exposed to musical education in any real sense so detecting the beat of the music is something that doesn’t come natural to me. I feel I am also hampered by lack of coordination (aka two left feet, good thing leads start with their left foot) which I think has improved greatly over the years. I believe I was pretty bad at the whole two-stepping after my first few classes but I totally fell in love with dancing.
My dancing repertoire is still lacking but I continue to work on improving it. The list of dance I still want to learn is long, but the point I’m having fun with it.
I’ve taken classes through various venues and from various instructors over the years, mostly either through various Cities’ Park and Recreation department or through a Collage or University of some sort. I’ve enjoyed them all until I signed up for classes through the City of Kirkland taught by a certified instructor by the name of Lynn Gross. I did not enjoy her teaching style and ended up dropping out after the second class. I believe that is the only time I haven’t completed a class series I signed up for. Naturally I don’t think I’ll ever take another class from her.
Several years ago I started taking dance classes at a private studio in Renton WA. One of their instructors is one of the best dance instructors I’ve had. That instructor left to start up their own studio, called Studio B Dance. This is where exclusively took classes for years. Right now that studio is not active, I’m hoping they come back once they feel it is safe to do so.
Now that I’ve moved back to Iceland I’m exploring the dance scene in Reykjavik. I’ll report back once I’ve gotten to know it better.