I Think I Can Dance Blog

08/07/07

I was asked to be a celebrity contestant in Malashock Dance's fundraising gala called "Malashock Thinks You Can Dance." I get six sessions with a professional dancer/choreographer, who'll be my partner in the Waltz. I thought it'd be a really fun experience, and one worth capturing. So, here goes....

POST #6 The Details

"Show de watch. Serve de food." Those are Daniel's mnemonics for explaining the stylized hand movements for the 'open waltz' (which means we're not in standard dance position most of the time). In the first, it's hand bent at the wrist, with the wrist facing outward,  your arm gliding toward your partner. "Serve the food" refers to the incoming, return movement, palm  up, proceeding from right of your body to your center -- kinda like passing a tray of hors d'oeuvres. Those phrases are constantly in my mind -- along with the names of the steps and moves -- Shadow, New York, Developpé. It's all Greek (in the latter case, make that French) to me. I wish I remembered more of my youngster ballet lessons (way back when all the other little girls wore a tutu, and I wore a four-four -- if you catch my drift). Anyway, I'm finally starting to 'get' the moves, the hands, the sequence -- but not all at the same time! It's all very difficult (and sweaty!), but when it comes together, it'll be very dramatic. I'm beginning to feel like, when it does come together, this performance is really gonna rock! I went to one of Daniel's ballroom classes (the Encinitas studio is a very popular place. Some folks are there every day, and spend hundreds of dollars a week on lessons and competitions. That's dance dedication!). Since there are typically fewer men than women, we change partners all the time and one particular klutz stepped on my foot and scuffed my till-now perfect satin shoes. Can't dance with the peons -- pros only for me! I now have a download of the music (thanks to my husband John and the iPhone i bought him for his Bday).  I've finally written down all the steps and moves (broken down into 20 segments), so I can practice solo or reinforce the learning in other modalities. There's still the issue of muscle memory; no matter how many times you repeat or recite the moves, it's your limbs that have to do 'em... with your hips dipping and your head tilting, all in the right direction. The article came out in the San Diego Jewish Journal... lots of pix of me and Daniel in practice mode. It looks pretty good, I must admit. and Wednesday, 9/5, I'll be on KUSI-TV, on the morning show, "Inside San Diego," talking about the Malashock event, and showing video from our practice session, too. I think it'll be cool.

POST #5 The Dress

Now I know what a $5000 ballroom dance dress looks like... five of 'em, in fact. Amazing as it may seem, given my penchant for purple, one of the dresses was just that very color -- with more glitz than even I  can manage. It fit perfectly (and that's pretty amazing, too... since I'm a shrimp and everything is always too long for me, with gorilla sleeves). This is a match made in heaven -- me and my dress. It has everything, a drapey thingy at one wrist, a glimmering wristband at the other, and a perfectly matched neckpiece (not, of course, a choker. It's that Audrey Hepburn crossed with a Giraffe requirement for the waltz!). But no perfume allowed; the owner of the dresses is highly allergic. I've been wearing the same perfume for about 30 years, and 30 years after my death, I'm sure I'll still  reek of it. There's been no discussion of sweating, though. Or dry cleaning. I shudder to thing what a dress like this, with every little sparkling crystal hand-sewn on, what dry cleaning would cost. Oh, and should I mention that the dress I custom-ordered from Hong Kong didn't even begin to fit? It's geared for someone twice my height (or at least twice the distance from neck to waist). So it's back to the drawing board with that one ($32 just to mail back!). Since they're starting from scratch, and I'm not going to be dancing to "Something in Red," as I'd fantasized, I asked for a purple dress this time (with every conceivable measurements sent along). Maybe I'll dance my way onto the Patté Awards this year! I'm alternating dancing in Encinitas, at Daniel's studio (Dancing With the Pros Ballroom) and at Champion Ballroom in Hillcrest. I've even been going to some of his group classes to pick up pointers. I finally realized that my head position was ridiculous; it's the top of the head that points to 11 o'clock, not the neck-twisting face. And then there's the suggestion that your arms should feel like there are balloons between them and your body (that makes you stand tall, and shift body weight, as well as maintaining dance position). The dips and sways of the hips, to achieve that classic up-and-down motion of the waltz, is tricky. I always seem to have my head facing in the wrong direction. I'm looking East when I should be facing West. Is there a hidden meaning in that somewhere? Like, maybe I should go back to Queens where I came from?

POST #4 The Video

Today was the shoot of the 'in process' video -- just the way they do it on the TV show (which the L.A. Times just called "the best reality competition on TV." We had teaching shots and practice-dance shots and interviews ('Why are you doing this?' I do keep asking myself that question! 'Why did you choose the waltz?, etc.). For the latter question, I talked about how i first danced the waltz standing on my father's feet. He was a great dancer, and I loved to dance with him, and from the time I was very little, I wanted to share in his gliding ease and total enjoyment while dancing. My father died when I was 17, and I think of this waltz as a tribute and fondest memory.

As for the dancing (with lots of observers today, including John Malashock, who was very impressed, and even gave me some head-turn pointers), this was the first time we put the whole sequence together (yikes! in the 4th of six sessions!). We've been doing little segments and snippets but now I can finally see it all as a smooth, seamless whole -- if my seams don't show! and if I keep my feet on the floor -- always; that's one of the keys to the flow of the waltz.

Today, one of the lead women at Champion Ballroom told me that there's a long-time student there who has a closet-full of fabulous dance dresses ($4000-$5000 apiece!), and she'd be willing to rent one to me for the event. I think I'd be nervous sweating into someone else's dress, but i'll give it a try. I just want to see what a $5000 waltz dress looks like!

As we move along in the process, I hope i can rise to Daniel's level of passion and drama in the dance. those are my emotions du jour, but this is a whole different domain. Still, I know I've got it in me. If I can start to link the music to the moves, I'll be a lot better off. Those elaborate stretches and stylized, hyperextended hand positions are so extreme. But once the moves become automatic (soon, I hope!), I'm sure I can, as I suggest to everyone else, 'Put a little drama in my life!'

POST #3/Session #3

Whew! finally, we picked the music and I ordered a dress (online, custom-made in Hong Kong). and I got the correct (and more expensive) shoes Daniel said I needed. (I love those guys at Carmen's Dance Shoes.  And Carmen's pretty cool, too. They really give a lot of time , interest and attention to every customer). If I had stayed with the leather shoes, Daniel told me, and if this had been a real competition, he wouldn't even get on the dance floor with me. Yikes! This is all such serious stuff, and there are so many must-haves and must-dos! But, as Carmen explained, he's a professional and he wants his partner to be/look professional, too. His partner is a reflection on him. So, now i have flesh-toned satin shoes -- with a suede sole. I hpe everyone notices (haha: they're supposed to be elegant but unobtrusive).

Daniel went into full creative mode today, choreographing the number. I was surprised by the music choices he offered (all my selections were too fast -- that Viennese waltz tempo we're all so familiar with). These songs, however, were all so sad and tragic (even the French one focused on tristesse). But Daniel's definitely doing some fun stuff with the dance -- I even get to do a full leg-extension kick. These stylized head and neck positions are definitely a challenge, but they're coming along. And of course, it does help to have a terrific partner/leader. He's from Colombia and he used to be a ballet dancer. His every move is so impassioned, and so beautiful. it's a great inspiration.

Now I can link certain parts of the dance to parts of the song, which will undoubtedly help me remember the moves. maybe now we can really start to have fun. Tomorrow, we get videotaped -- the 'in-process' clips like they play on the TV show. Malashock and Co. are really going all-out for this event. I hope it does really well for them. Anxious to see the new Jacobs/Qualcomm Theatre. Unfortunately, we won't get in there till the afternoon of the performance/event. I was really getting frustrated by all the expenses and delays (not having a dress or a song), but things are definitely looking up now. and tomorrow, I'll finally be wearing the right shoes. it's all in the details.

POST #2/Session #2

Still don't have the right shoes. My partner  informed me that I bought the wrong ones. Not only should they be satin and not leather, but they have to have suede soles so they really slide across the floor. Ay ay ay!

We had a photo shoot of our session, for an article i'm writing about the 'prep process' for this event in the September issue of the San Diego Jewish Journal. Look for it (free) outside places like Elijah's and DZ Akin's restaurants.

The photographer was very impressed with my progress after only 1 1/2 sessions. but I'm feeling kinda klutzy (must be the wrong shoes!) -- and memory-impaired, as the complexity of the steps increases and I seem to recall the sequences less. I think I'd do better if i could peg certain moves to certain moments in the music. We just found out that all 5 couples doing waltz (there are another 5 doing cha cha) are not, as we were first told, dancing at the same time, to the same music. Oh boy. Another stressor.

I brought a Lorrie Morgan CD with me, thinking the song, "Looking for Something in Red" (with me wearing a red dress, natch) would work great. but Daniel said country waltzes are Viennese waltzes, and they're too fast for this competition. Bummer. So, back to the music drawing board again.

I had dinner the other night with one of the other competitors -- and boy, is he competitive. maybe he was just trying to psyche me out, but he confidently proclaimed, "I'm gonna knock you out in the first round." I reminded him that this is supposed to be fun. But he's a fairly regular dance competitor (in waltz, no less!), so to him, this one's as serious as the rest, I guess. I'm just trying to pick up a few dance pointers and have a good time.

I'm getting the chest up/neck extended position better. and i learned that a choker makes your neck look shorter, not longer. something flat on your neck/chest is better. so that's something else i have to buy now. All my dressy neckware is choker-style.

We're into turns now, and triple-step fancy footwork to get there. Patience, patience. A virtue I've never had in abundance.

POST #1 The Start

I was asked to be a celebrity contestant in Malashock Dance's fundraising gala called "Malashock Thinks You Can Dance." I get six sessions with a professional dancer/choreographer, who'll be my partner in the Waltz. I thought it'd be a really fun experience, and one worth capturing. So, here goes....

Session #1: I had no idea what to wear... especially on my feet. My new best bud (i.e., my partner in dance crime) is Daniel Vasco, from Champion Ballroom (the owner of Champion, Mary Murphy, is a judge on the Fox TV show, "So You Think You Can Dance," and she'll be hosting the Malashock event. When i asked about shoes, Daniel left me a lengthy message about "shoes that will bend, and stay on your feet, that'll slide a little, not too high." Hmmmm. He said jazz or ballet shoes would be fine. Don't have those. So I packed a large plastic bag full of an assortment of footwear and went to meet my terpsichorean fate. I've always loved to dance, and my husband John and I have  taken some ballroom dance classes, but that's about it. Some of the competition (attorney Richard Warburg -- my attorney! -- and consultant Yolanda S. Walther-Meade) are professional dancers. No fair! But I'll suck it up and do my best (and try to pack the audience with people who'll vote for me!! Not really. Well, maybe).

I arrive at Champion and meet Daniel, an adorable, well-built Colombian with a pronounced Spanish-flavored accent. He's short and compact, with the chiseled body of a ballet dancer. In fact, he used to be a ballet dancer. Now he's a competitive Latin dancer, but he feels very much at home in the Waltz. Good thing. He puts on some music (sounds like Italian opera; I want something more modern and hip) and starts right in, showing me the basic step and the alternation of toe and heel, the rise and fall that make the dance smooth and flowing. Then he tells me to lift my chest and head, stretch my neck to full extension, and always remember to "show your partner your neck." In the very stylized competition waltz, you never look at your partner Your chest must be raised, your head stretched/elevated to the '11:00 position,' so you feellike the top of your skull is "drawing on the ceiling." Huh?? Oh, and keep close to your partner, but "only below the waist; the chest must always be elevated."

After 45 minutes, my neck is killing me from the hyperextension, and I'm sweating like the proverbial pig. But we're waltzing around the huge ballroom floor. He teaches me a few alternate steps -- the 'Twinkle' is my fave. For the 'Promenade,' I have to snap my neck so that we're both briefly facing in the same direction. I'm sure I won't be able turn my head at all tomorrow -- or maybe even drive home today! But Daniel is very impressed with my learning curve and quips (I think) that I'll be ready for the Showcase they're having in October. Oh, sure. When I think about all the steps and counts he's told me to remember, sometimes I mess up. But toward the end of the session, I found that if I closed my eyes and just followed his wonderfully assure lead, I'd float, and the steps came organically, kinesthetically. Images of Ginger Rogers hover in my head. I think, Maybe I can really do this. Then I goof in some way and think, Maybe not. But Daniel is extremely supportive, and he thinks we've accomplished a lot in 45 minutes. My muscles think so, too. He shows me how to practice that back-breaking, neck-aching position by leaning against a pillar. Now I just have to find a handy pillar.

He tells me I'd be better off with dance shoes, specifically, ballroom dance shoes. Specifically, waltz shoes. Neutral, flesh-tone color (No glitz? No glam? No silver sparkles?). He says you don't want to call attention to your feet. I decide to stop into the dance shop downstairs from the Ballroom. The shoes are $150. I don't love them and they're not comfortable. And i thought I'd be able to buy them online!

There are basically only three places to buy dance shoes in all of San Diego. I head out to La Mesa (in the opposite direction from home) to Carmen's. The guys who work there are fantastic, endlessly patient, filled with anecdotes and tidbits of advice. They've heard about the Malashock event (it's getting a big  radio blitz) and they've excited to help. I actually find a nice, comfortable pair and they're only $58! Bargain! But the size 3 1/2 (European size) is a tad tight and the 4 feels a little big. arrggghhh. Plus, they only have it in black. Ian (who grew up not far from me in New York) keeps bringing out other options. I try one on and he asks how it feels. "Too expensive," I say, because it was. I order the beige closed-toe shoes that I think I'll have a possibility of wearing again. At least these can be worn outside; the ones with the suede bottoms can't. This is a serious business. The store is busy; the hot item of the day (for guys of all ages and shapes) are dance sneakers -- specially soles and flexibility.

So, it looks like I'll have to plan this event from the bottom up. I'm hoping there will be some really cool dresses, with lots of flow, and that goofy attachment from hem to wrist that makes the waltz unique. I made it thru the first session. Now, where's that pillar?