For my blog post, I want to share my experience with dance and how it has become a part of me.
I began dancing at the age of 3 and haven’t stopped since. My first classes were ballet and tap and I slowly started adding other styles into the mix: jazz, lyrical, hip hop, stage, musical theatre, modern, and contemporary. With learning all these new dance styles I was entered into my first dance competition at 7 and from there on out, I loved the excitement of competitions and being on stage. After 14 years of exploring a variety of styles, some more successful than others, I left my latest dance studio and headed for university where dancing 15 hours/ 5 days a week was no longer the routine. UBC Dance Club was where I decided to expand my passion of dance a little further and plunge into the wonderful world of ballroom.
Dancing with a partner was a fairly new concept for me and not being able to lead was a challenge in itself. During my first year as a newcomer I was able to adapt and thoroughly enjoyed this new dancing endeavour. As term 1 had come to an end and the New Year began, I was extremely excited to learn that UBCDC was hosting a Dancesport competition and to top it all off, it was The 50
th Annual UBC Gala Ball! I couldn’t wait to be competing again and was thrilled that ballroom dancing had provided another opportunity for me to continue this exciting and rewarding part of dancing. However, to my surprise competing in a ballroom competition differed from the dance competitions that I was used to and grew up with. The one major difference that I noticed immediately as I stepped onto the floor with my partner was that I could make out everyone’s faces in the audience. I was used to dancing in a dark theatre on a stage with bright, blinding lights that made it nearly impossible to see who was out in the audience watching you dance. This was a completely different experience dancing for an audience that I could see their eyes watching me as I waltzed past. Once I was over the initial shock and fear of people judging my dancing, I relaxed and enjoyed the feeling of using the audience’s energy to create more of my own. Coincidently, this is now one of my favourite things about competing in ballroom competitions!
Coming up next for me is Seattle Star Ball in August. After four and a half months and missing out on Island Fantasy Ball and Pro-Am Fiesta because of school exams, I’m itching to get back on the competitive floor!
Keep dancing!
Stephanie
– Internal Vice President