Five years ago if someone would have said to me "you will be a competitive ballroom dance student traveling around the country and even the world to dance", I would have laughed and never believed it could be possible. I am happy to report that person would have been right! I could never have envisioned learning something brand new in my late forties that would turn into such a life changing passion. Ballroom dancing is a sport like none other, and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication if you want to succeed. I am in awe of professional dancers. They are some of the most incredible athletes I have ever seen, and it has been a true honor to be able to learn from and dance with one of these amazing professionals, my instructor Roberto Guida.
I have written a little about this in other blog posts, but I wanted to take this opportunity to explain a bit more and Motivation Monday is the perfect time. When I first started taking dance lessons about 3 years ago, I had no idea there was such a thing as pro-am competitions. I went to watch one not long after I started and thought it was very cool and something I might like to do at some point. I went to the studio at first just for something fun to do with a guy I was dating at the time. We went very causally once a week and learned some basics for social dancing. Even starting in this way, I knew it was something I wanted to take further. Several months later, I was able to start a program on my own dancing with Roberto. This quickly became very different than the casual lessons I had been taking before, and within 2 1/2 months of starting, I did my first competition. I was then more sure than ever that I wanted to work as hard as I could to improve and continue to compete. I quickly went from taking 2 lessons a week to 4 and ultimately 8, while also practicing on my own in between. I had no idea what a challenge it would be. The professionals make it look so easy. I can tell you firsthand, it's not!!
This sport has shown me how important it is to stay disciplined. I was extremely fortunate to have a teacher who was patient with me but who also had very high expectations and worked hard with me to get results. There were many moments of frustration along the way when I felt like it was taking me too long to do something right. These moments sometimes made it difficult to stay motivated. However, it would be the greatest satisfaction to ultimately feel comfortable with a step I struggled with, and anytime I could achieve a "Brava" from Roberto, it would validate my efforts. It's humbling to struggle, but it can also be a driving force. I think for some it could be easy to give up if something doesn't come easy. However, if it's important to you, giving up is not an option. Instead you need to work hard and make it happen. Roberto would remind me often that it takes years to get to the level of dance I was hoping for. Success is definitely a journey and small steps can add up to big victories over time. I look back on pictures and videos from the first few competitions we did, and I can see how far I've come. That motivated me even more to continue and see just how far I could go. This sport is limitless...you can always improve. Every time I thought I was doing something well, I realized there was another level to get to...and then another and another. It can be a little overwhelming at times, but also so exciting. There is always something to reach for and new goals to set and achieve.
There is also a big component of teamwork. The teacher-student relationship is always present during lessons and competitions, but it also feels like a partnership or a team especially out on the competition floor. It is very motivating to be part of such a special team. It is rare when your teacher or coach is actually your teammate too. After 19 competitions together, we had a system that worked for us, and we enjoyed much success along the way. There were also moments of disappointment, but any time we didn't achieve what we hoped for, it just made me want to work even harder to do better the next time. Our last competition before the pandemic was in March of this year, and we achieved something which had eluded us several times before. We had been in the running for what's called "the best of the best" several times but always came in second. Well, at this competition, we finally won, and it was a wonderful moment for us. I also learned along the way that while it is very nice to win, placement did not always reflect how well I had danced. If Roberto was pleased with how I danced but we placed third it would be a more meaningful and satisfying result than placing first but having not danced as well as I could have. Again this speaks to the discipline and desire to keep working hard no matter what the result but always aiming for the best performance and hoping it would also correlate with a win. Our "best of the best" moment was that very combination!
I am hoping there will be more competitions in my future, but there is a lot of uncertainty right now. I am very fortunate to have had this experience with such an amazing instructor. It taught me a lot about motivation, discipline and how to embrace a challenge. For those of you out there who watch Dancing with the Stars and hear all the stories of how doing the show and learning to dance changed the contestants' lives, I truly believe them. Those stories are just talking about a journey measured in weeks or months and of course there is the TV factor, but I can relate. When you measure the journey in years and it's real life, it means so much more. To say it is special is an understatement. I dedicate this post with so much gratitude and appreciation to Roberto...grazie mille 🇮🇹 for teaching me, motivating me and changing my life...miss you.
My advice...try something new, work hard at it, and never give up! If it's important to you...nothing is impossible!💃🏻
