{"id":639,"date":"2012-06-04T09:15:31","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T14:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wholeperson.com\/wordpress\/?p=639"},"modified":"2012-06-04T09:15:31","modified_gmt":"2012-06-04T14:15:31","slug":"just-for-laffs-i-wont-ballroom-dance-dont-ask-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/just-for-laffs-i-wont-ballroom-dance-dont-ask-me","title":{"rendered":"Just for Laffs: I Won\u2019t Ballroom Dance, Don\u2019t Ask Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Leigh<\/a>I love watching ballroom dancing. The graceful movement, the teamwork between partners, the costumes that are so over-the-top they give Lady Gaga ideas for her next red carpet look\u2026 Ballroom dancing is art, really. But just as with art, the world is better off with me as a spectator than a participant.<\/p>\n

Synchronized partner dancing is not my thing and it\u2019s not just because I may be the world\u2019s largest klutz. (I know some of you out there are vying for the title, but until you have accidentally glued your forearms together AND stabbed yourself in the neck with a corncob holder in the same day, don\u2019t even think about challenging me.) My issue with ballroom dancing is more about the fact that when I hear great music, I don\u2019t want to have to think about anything or anyone except expressing myself, wildly and unabashedly. I\u2019m not in the mood to think about whether I\u2019m following or leading \u2013 I\u2019ve been told that I tend to do the latter, no matter what the circumstances. And I don\u2019t want to have to worry about whose foot I will mangle if I don\u2019t get the next turn executed properly or whose sacroiliac is going to be out of joint because I don\u2019t dip well.<\/p>\n

May I digress for a moment? Whose idea was \u201cdipping\u201d anyway? According to my secret sources (Wikipedia and answers.com, the source of all truth in the universe), the waltz was created in Austria in 1776. So while our forefathers were setting out the rights and responsibilities we are still arguing about today, the Austrians were putting on their dancing shoes. Interestingly, back then the shoes of both men and women were heeled. Doesn\u2019t it just make you feel better to know at some point men had to dance in heels too? Although not recorded in the annals of on-line history, I\u2019m fairly certain that after a few years, the men started to get tired of being dragged out by their wives to boogey every Saturday night, not to mention how much their feet hurt. So a few of them got together and decided to prank the ladies by creating \u201cthe dip,\u201d a dangerous back pain-inducing move that was meant to dissuade the gals from dancing, but instead lead an onlooker to invent chiropractic and rake in the big bucks, er Kroner.<\/p>\n

Okay, back to my point, if I can remember what it was\u2026<\/p>\n

Oh, yes. I recently went to hear one of my favorite local bands play at an event promoted for \u201cboomers.\u201d The great thing about dances for boomers is you are almost guaranteed that there will be no hip hop dancing or crunking. Not to mention I knew that I would be among the youngest people there and therefore experience a boost in my self-esteem. I should also probably mention here that the event started at 7 p.m. Bonus!<\/p>\n

I sidled up to the bar and ordered my usual \u2013 a glass of fizzy water. Yes, that\u2019s the kind of party animal I am. Then I took a seat at a table next to the dance floor and watched as a dozen couples whirled and twirled each other around like gray-haired auditioners for So You Think You Can Dance. They were all fantastic and I felt more than a little intimidated and out of my element. Unfortunately, the fizzy water didn\u2019t do anything to ease my nerves. Nor did the woman who politely pointed out to me that my blouse was on inside out.<\/p>\n

When I returned from addressing my wardrobe malfunction in the ladies\u2019 room, I noticed a handful of younger women (defined as \u201cclose to my age\u201d) dancing with each other near the stage. They danced in a circle, not paired up, and their moves were wild and free. As I was about to ask them if I could join their group, a guy tapped me on the shoulder and invited me to dance. My heart pounded. Partly because I was happy to know I\u2019ve still got it (only it\u2019s located slightly further south than it used to be), but mostly because I did not want try to keep up with the professional dancers on the floor. I agreed to dance with him, but pointed to the ballroom dancers and said, \u201cI don\u2019t dance like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you dance?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

I pointed to the wild women near the stage. \u201cLike that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not dancing,\u201d he harrumphed. \u201cThat\u2019s Jazzercise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guess who I danced with? That\u2019s right, the ladies. It was great. And by the end of the evening, there were about thirty women all shaking our booties without having to walk backward and tuck under a gentleman\u2019s arm. Not that there\u2019s anything wrong with that, but sometimes a girl\u2019s gotta do what a girl\u2019s gotta do. And in this case, it didn\u2019t include dipping.<\/p>\n

By Leigh Anne Jasheway<\/a>, author of Don’t Get Mad, Get Funny!<\/em><\/a> and Are You Playing With Me?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Just for Laffs: \u00a0I Won\u2019t Ballroom Dance, Don\u2019t Ask Me<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I love watching ballroom dancing. The graceful movement, the teamwork between partners, the costumes that are so over-the-top they give Lady Gaga ideas for her next red carpet look\u2026\u00a0 Ballroom dancing is art, really. But just as with art, the world is better off with me as a spectator than a participant.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Synchronized partner dancing is not my thing and it\u2019s not just because I may be the world\u2019s largest klutz. (I know some of you out there are vying for the title, but until you have accidentally glued your forearms together AND stabbed yourself in the neck with a corncob holder in the same day, don\u2019t even think about challenging me.) My issue with ballroom dancing is more about the fact that when I hear great music, I don\u2019t want to have to think about anything or anyone except expressing myself, wildly and unabashedly. I\u2019m not in the mood to think about whether I\u2019m following or leading \u2013 I\u2019ve been told that I tend to do the latter, no matter what the circumstances. And I don\u2019t want to have to worry about whose foot I will mangle if I don\u2019t get the next turn executed properly or whose sacroiliac is going to be out of joint because I don\u2019t dip well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

May I digress for a moment? Whose idea was \u201cdipping\u201d anyway? According to my secret sources (Wikipedia and answers.com, the source of all truth in the universe), the waltz was created in Austria in 1776. So while our forefathers were setting out the rights and responsibilities we are still arguing about today, the Austrians were putting on their dancing shoes. Interestingly, back then the shoes of both men and women were heeled. Doesn\u2019t it just make you feel better to know at some point men had to dance in heels too? Although not recorded in the annals of on-line history, I\u2019m fairly certain that after a few years, the men started to get tired of being dragged out by their wives to boogey every Saturday night, not to mention how much their feet hurt. So a few of them got together and decided to prank the ladies by creating \u201cthe dip,\u201d a dangerous back pain-inducing move that was meant to dissuade the gals from dancing, but instead lead an onlooker to invent chiropractic and rake in the big bucks, er Kroner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, back to my point, if I can remember what it was\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, yes. I recently went to hear one of my favorite local bands play at an event promoted for \u201cboomers.\u201d The great thing about dances for boomers is you are almost guaranteed that there will be no hip hop dancing or crunking. Not to mention I knew that I would be among the youngest people there and therefore experience a boost in my self-esteem. I should also probably mention here that the event started at 7 p.m. Bonus!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I sidled up to the bar and ordered my usual \u2013 a glass of fizzy water. Yes, that\u2019s the kind of party animal I am. Then I took a seat at a table next to the dance floor and watched as a dozen couples whirled and twirled each other around like gray-haired auditioners for So You Think You Can Dance. They were all fantastic and I felt more than a little intimidated and out of my element. Unfortunately, the fizzy water didn\u2019t do anything to ease my nerves. Nor did the woman who politely pointed out to me that my blouse was on inside out.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I returned from addressing my wardrobe malfunction in the ladies\u2019 room, I noticed a handful of younger women (defined as \u201cclose to my age\u201d) dancing with each other near the stage. They danced in a circle, not paired up, and their moves were wild and free. As I was about to ask them if I could join their group, a guy tapped me on the shoulder and invited me to dance. My heart pounded. Partly because I was happy to know I\u2019ve still got it (only it\u2019s located slightly further south than it used to be), but mostly because I did not want try to keep up with the professional dancers on the floor. I agreed to dance with him, but pointed to the ballroom dancers and said, \u201cI don\u2019t dance like that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you dance?\u201d he asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I pointed to the wild women near the stage. \u201cLike that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s not dancing,\u201d he harrumphed. \u201cThat\u2019s Jazzercise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Guess who I danced with? That\u2019s right, the ladies. It was great. And by the end of the evening, there were about thirty women all shaking our booties without having to walk backward and tuck under a gentleman\u2019s arm. Not that there\u2019s anything wrong with that, but sometimes a girl\u2019s gotta do what a girl\u2019s gotta do. And in this case, it didn\u2019t include dipping<\/span>.<\/p>\n


\n\u00a9 2011 Leigh Anne Jasheway<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love watching ballroom dancing. The graceful movement, the teamwork between partners, the costumes that are so over-the-top they give Lady Gaga ideas for her next red carpet look\u2026 Ballroom dancing is art, really. But just as with art, the world is better off with me as a spectator than a participant. Synchronized partner dancing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[296,27,215,10,8,11],"class_list":["post-639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-ballroom-dancing","tag-humor","tag-leigh-anne-jasheway","tag-stress","tag-wellness","tag-whole-person"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nJust for Laffs: I Won\u2019t Ballroom Dance, Don\u2019t Ask Me - The Wellness Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/just-for-laffs-i-wont-ballroom-dance-dont-ask-me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Just for Laffs: I Won\u2019t Ballroom Dance, Don\u2019t Ask Me - The Wellness Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I love watching ballroom dancing. The graceful movement, the teamwork between partners, the costumes that are so over-the-top they give Lady Gaga ideas for her next red carpet look\u2026 Ballroom dancing is art, really. But just as with art, the world is better off with me as a spectator than a participant. 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