I did a full week of training at Latin Street and took a workshop with Sar aka Sar.Chata and a workshop with Sensual Movement Chicago. I went out social dancing a bunch... it was busy and a little exhausting on the dancing front.
I also performed at two jnjs last week, one was a bachata one, one a salsa one. To me, jnjs in the format that I did them (Latin Street organized them) are a lot like comedy open mics, in which anything can happen really. In fact they are more like an improvised stand up comedy battle or roast battle. They can be nerve wrecking. I am proud of the fact that I performed and got in there and mixed it up even though I didn't really know how it would go and even though I didn't win the whole thing in either, it was a good warm up for my plan to compete at the bnc coming up in October. The goal here is not necessarily results driven (to win), my goal is to do things I can control like compete and to be better than I was before. The only thing I am seeking is to be a better dancer. Just gradual incremental progress is all I am seeking and I am only competing with myself and noone else. Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say. I believe it is possible to compete and still just focus on what I can control and that is my own growth and my one practice. Which reminds me that there is a good podcast called The Fearless Warrior Podcast in which female softball athletes are interviewed and it has a lot of pearls of wisdom in regards to how they approach training, game day performance and all that is around being a competitive athlete. Highly recommend that podcast for anyone interested in high performance in any sport, including dancing or really any activity that requires training and performance.
A future post that I just thought about that I want to touch on is managing relationships in this world of dancing, from friends, dance partners, organizers and others. Stay tuned!
Ramiro