DANCE!!!

NO I have not stopped! A major reason I chose Argentina in the first place (there were many reasons though) was because it gave me the most potential to continue dancing. Yes - Argentine

Tango is a must -- I have not taken a class yet, but that is on the schedule for next week. A friend from back home actually connected me with a professional tango dancer who grew up in Buenos Aires, and now she works in New York as a professional dancer. I reached out to her and think I'll do some private lessons when she comes to visit at the end of August. Can't wait!

BALLROOM-wise, I think I got really lucky... In general, trying to find Ballroom/Latin dance in South America is like trying to find a  needle in a haystack.. Latin Dance not in LATIN America -- weird right?? Nevertheless, I did some research before I came down and found one studio that looked pretty legitimate. I planned on visiting once I got down here.. but I just realized what a good location I was in!

I mentioned in the last post that I was about 30min-1hour from most popular locations... but guess where the studio is? IN BELGRANO - where I'm living. It's only about a 10 minute bus ride from my house, and I found out that the current Argentinian amateur Champions train at the same studio... This means the coaches must be good quality too! Moreover, I had just joined a gym a half block from my house that coincidentally had a dance floor on the second floor. They have a lot of classes in it, but I should be able to get some open floor space. I could not be happier with this location!!

MY FIRST LESSONS

My first open practice consisted of doing my own drills for a little bit, then meeting a good number of the other dancers (it was a pretty crowded floor because they have a competition coming up in BA on August 19), and dancing with many of them too. There were many questions exchanged about dance in Argentina, dance in America, what I was doing in Buenos Aires, etc. but overall it was a very welcoming and fun group! Next up was my first group class. 

The levels in Latin America are different than those in the United States (B,S,G, novice, pre-champ, champ, professional) and in Europe/Asia (alphabetical system). Here they have various levels of bronze and then various levels of silver. The highest amateur level (so far) is silver II. However, this level has a wide range of abilities -- in my opinion everywhere between the US gold and Champ divisions. The reason for this is that Ballroom dance is still very young here. There are a few couples who have committed A LOT and could definitely compete against Champ dancers in the US (i.e. the Argentinian Amateur Champs) and others that are still working to get there. Nevertheless, the resources are here to achieve a high level. 

That being said, my first silver group class was with the Amateur champs and about 2 other couples. This time, I switched in dancing with the pro (Yanina) and at the end of the lesson she mentioned she might try and ask/find a girl for next time. This would be extremely convenient as we all know it is much more efficient to advance if you have someone to practice with. 

Everything is in Spanish too. At first I thought it may be hard to learn dance terms (never taught in Spanish class), but we've been able to figure it out!

MY SECOND LESSON(S)

For the second lesson, I went to standard class as well. I was definitely Embarrassed in the beginning because they were practicing quickstep (and all I had been working on so far this summer was foxtrot and walz). It took about 20-25 minutes to get the rust off but eventually it started to feel a little better! Latin and Standard REALLY do help each other/over-lap though. The new concepts I've been implementing in my Latin have already made my standard posture/frame improve a bit (or at least I hope!). 

Oh and there was a girl for me to practice with this time! And she was actually at a pretty advanced level. We started off doing standard.. gosh I am going to be doing so much work on this this semester. I really want to improve! Ha! But as we were talking one thing we had in common was that Latin was our preferred style. During the Latin class we just warmed up and then I taught her one of my old routines just for time's sake. Overall it was really fun!

PASO DOBLE

LOVE AT FIRST STOMP! This was my first private lesson! I have NEVER had an official lesson on Paso Doble... All I have ever done were some fun dances that consisted of marching around, acting aggressive and rolling on the floor. However, unlike in universities, all levels of dancers here dance it. I've always wanted to learn, and now I have to! It'll probably take a while but I'm looking forward to the 5th and final Latin Dance!