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Spotlight Dance Celebration

Ringing In a New Year of Dance

By Maria Russett

dancers
Having only been to one other West Coast Swing competition and a handful of Ballroom competitions, I had only a vague idea of what to expect when my car finally pulled into the lot of the hotel. I could expect a lot of dancing, a couple of competitions, new friends, old friends, and food. I was prepared to not sleep much as I "go hard or go home" when it comes to unlimited social dancing. That's my favorite part about being a Westie, that connection formed through dance is what keeps me coming back for more. I live for those three minutes where you focus on no one else but the man or woman in front of you, and try to create something fun between you. But it's not just the dance itself that helps me experience this connection; it's in the people you meet.

To me, connection is being in a car for five hours with Joel, a sunrise, and talking about everything that makes us who we are. This is what happens when you put two reasonably extroverted people with fun stories they want to tell, in a car together. I don't think we stopped talking for more than ten or twenty minutes in that chunk of time between Cedar Falls and Milwaukee. That's the great part about connection—its realizing that the people you know as enjoyable, and slightly intimidating dancers, are also goofy people who enjoy similar music, and make funny faces as they dance. This is why talking to people as you sit around is a valuable connection builder. Where else do you get to say you met someone from Canada at 3 a.m. in Michigan?

To me, connection is dancing with everyone in the ballroom, provided they say yes. It's dancing with my friends from Iowa, Minnesota, and any other place in the world. I find pleasure in leading, in following, and in switching roles throughout the dance. The connection between you and a new partner, no matter their skill, is always different than you and a partner you've danced with a million times. For example, dancing with someone like Kyle, whom I met at my last competition, was entirely different than dancing with Todd, whom I met at midnight on Friday, and both were different than dancing with Ashley, who is from my Cedar Falls family. The great thing about dancing with everyone from the first day beginner, to the twenty year professional, is that it sets you up well to make strides in your technique. This connection between experience and inexperience makes for such variety in dance, that you just have to keep dancing with people to see how your style fits into the grand scheme of the community.

To me, connection is those little stories you can tell about dances, and the little golden things I always remember. It's big things, such as professionals like Annmarie who have asked you to lead them in a dance later on that night (cue fangirling). It's being dipped so low by Matt that I could almost feel the floor. It's the blues dance with Corey that I wasn't expecting but completely enjoyed. It's little things like dancing with Celina at 7 a.m. on Sunday and fighting for the lead while singing "Stressed Out" at the top of our lungs, and being so in sync that you do the exact same thing without planning. It's dancing with Maddy when her shoulder is acting up and trying a different style of leading that ends up working out in the end. It's having Chris make a crazy comment about a minute into the dance that makes you laugh so hard you can't breathe, let alone dance. These little golden moments make my weekends memorable in a way that a single partner just can't, and connect my story to others' through heaping amounts of shenanigans.

To me, connection is the thing that makes partner dance such an important part of my life. Only with this connection can you share so much of yourself with so many different people and not have to worry about someone breaking your heart. Only with this connection can you experiment with who you are as a dancer, and a person with such support. This connection between people, and this community, is what makes West Coast Swing such an important part of my life.

Imagine where you could be if you allow the spotlight shine on connection? I hope you let it move you, too.

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