“Well, as a judge I really like to see clean basics…” I replied. The trope tumbled out of my mouth almost of its own volition. A competitor had just asked me the ever-popular: “What should I do to improve my placements?” Perhaps I answered with “Clean Basics” because I’d received this piece of age-old dance …
Cleaning my closet the other day (what else are you going to do during the quarantine?) I found a trove of my old writings. It was a tiny bit inspiring and mostly mortifying. What follows is a vignette I wrote in 2013. It’s about 90% accurate to what actually happened, with just a hint of …
One interesting effect of the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic has been the sudden switch to online platforms for 90% of dance activities. From intensives to skype lessons, the world has moved digital. That’s pretty cool in a lot of ways. I’m also not a fan of it for myself. I risk sounding like a Debbie-downer here, …
For my next few posts, I’d like to explore some of the mantras (mental models, if you will) that I’ve been using to improve my performance as a Jack and Jill dancer over the past few months. This is not to say that I’m perfect at Jack and Jill’s – far from it! – but …
I often get asked why I started dancing. That question is fairly easy: My good friend Jack dragged me out of my dorm room to an intro event for the University of Minnesota Ballroom Dance Club during freshman year with the promise that “There will be girls there!” How could I say no? The rest …
Let me pose a scenario to you, and you tell me if you’ve ever experienced it before: You’ve contacted one of your favorite pros for a lesson. It’s going to be amazing, and you’ve got a list of questions and concepts that you’d like for them to go over. Your usual teacher is enthused that …
Here’s a slice of truth pie: You’re probably not doing enough drills. To clarify, when I say ‘you,’ I’m talking to both the literal you, my reader, and the figurative you that I use when I’m trying to self-coach. Like, “Joel, get your sh-… stuff together and do what you need to do!” Drills = …
I vividly remember the first time I ever tried to do a body roll: Positioning myself in front of the mirror at a 45 degree angle I put on my best cool face and prepared to unleash a sexy, fluid motion that would blow everyone’s mind. Totally prepared, I executed it perfectly! Except that I …
The Road to Awesome Goes Straight Through Awkward Read More »
“They’re here!” Your pulse quickens and a tingle thrills down your spine as your favorite pro puts their dance bag down and casually gets out their shoes. You’re equal parts starstruck, mortified, and excited. A plan quickly develops: First, you’ll grab a partner so that you can dance in their vicinity. You know, get on …
A screenshot has been making the rounds recently that suggests that the NDCA will soon be changing its rules regarding who can dance the roles of lead and follow. Hint: it’s not particularly progressive. As you can probably imagine, I’ve got a few things to say about that. Some Context Before we get into that …