Embarrassing Moments in Dance

[Paisley]

I fell down while dancing a couple of times when I was a beginner. At least once in front of my teachers.

 

[Paisley]

More painful than embarrassing, but last year I ended up with turf toe while practicing hacksaws. Excruciating.

A few weeks later, I was still in pain but couldn't resist going to a dance. First I turned down a regular partner, then agreed to balboa with another. The first one saw me dancing. I offered to balboa with the first guy and he said, in a slightly amused way, he thought it was the worst possible dance we could do for risk of re-injuring my toe (you dance very close together in balboa). I explained that if he kept his feet very close to the floor, there wouldn't be any chance of his stepping on my toe. It worked out...but it was embarrassing.

 

[Undertow]

Ummm.... yeah. Especially since I tend to have all the "grace"*snort* in movement of a loaded B-52 taxiing out to a runway...lol It'll be "interesting" trying to get around the triple flaw of Hulking Mass plus Zero Maneuverability plus No Brakes, to say the least... lol

lol:eusa_clap

May as well add me to this list!

 

[Paisley]

Ah, c'mon--you guys surely don't go around walking into walls, do you? I had a some great partners over the weekend who had to be well over 200 pounds.

I know I've said it before, but take little steps, keep your feet close to the floor, and handle your partner gently. Do those three things and you'll be hard pressed to be a bull in a china shop.

 

[HepKitty]

It just takes a lot of practice, and some patience with yourself

 

[Diamondback]

Ah, c'mon--you guys surely don't go around walking into walls, do you? I had a some great partners over the weekend who had to be well over 200 pounds.

Actually, I have been known to do that at times--maybe someday via PM or Here2Eternity message I'll tell you the story about a cute little Music prof I knew who thought it was just hilarious that she'd put us on a collision-course with me at flank speed and half my own weight in cargo, and surrounding crowds meant that my only option to not plow into her facefirst was to bounce off a wall, the floor or both... lol

The big problem is that even when I'm trying to be careful, my upper-body and arm movements can be extremely fast for my build, and I tend to build up a lot of inertia very quickly...

As for glasses, I've had mine fly off my face under "normal, everyday" conditions: trying to hack a path through some blackberry bushes for a fence repair, or even just moving my head a little too fast or at the wrong angle.

 

[DesertDan]

I know I've said it before, but take little steps, keep your feet close to the floor, and handle your partner gently. Do those three things and you'll be hard pressed to be a bull in a china shop.

MMmmmooooo!! *snort*snort* MMmmmooooo!!

I'm a bassplayer, I get the heads bobbin' and the bootays shakin' and that's good enough for me. Believe me, everyone is better off if I stay on stage and away from the dance floor!

 

[annet]

i'm a terrible dancer, and not even a musician! it's funny, being an artist my hands work really well, but as soon as my body has to make a movement with something larger than a hand i turn into a clow of some sort. it's kind of pathetic

 

[Paisley]

The big problem is that even when I'm trying to be careful, my upper-body and arm movements can be extremely fast for my build, and I tend to build up a lot of inertia very quickly...

You should be good at blues and balboa spins.

As for glasses, I've had mine fly off my face under "normal, everyday" conditions: trying to hack a path through some blackberry bushes for a fence repair, or even just moving my head a little too fast or at the wrong angle.

I've had some close calls since I posted that my glasses flew off during "Sing, Sing, Sing." Sometimes I just take them off. I can see up close and recognize most of my partners from farther away by how they move.

There was a jack & jill competition where one of the girls, wearing a white dress, jumped into her partner's arms. He said later that all he could see was something white coming at him. He managed to catch her, though.

 

[Diamondback]

Catch is, due to limited fine-motor control, as I gain inertia I also lose dexterity and control--so as much as I'd really like to do very passionate Argentine tango, something more slow, methodical and deliberate would probably be safest for not just me and whatever partner is at "ground zero" with me, but everyone else around as well.

Glasses, I don't have that option: uncorrected, my good eye is around 20/400, and I can't wear contacts--can't physically get them into my eye, and even the little puff of air for glaucoma screening requires me to have my eyes quite literally taped open.

 

[Talbot]

Ah, c'mon--you guys surely don't go around walking into walls, do you? I had a some great partners over the weekend who had to be well over 200 pounds.

I must admit, I really admire those big guys lucky enough to be able to move gracefuly. Jackie Gleason comes to mind.

 

[MikeBravo]

Wardrobe malfunctions can cause some embarrassment.
On one occasion I was dancing with a girl, and bang! her pants came undone and fell of half way down her thighs.
Fortunately nobody on the crowded dance floor noticed and she quickly pulled them up while I shielded her from the rest of the room

 

[bunnyb.gal]

I must admit, I really admire those big guys lucky enough to be able to move gracefuly. Jackie Gleason comes to mind.

When it comes to that, who comes to mind is that big bloke in the dance sequence in "Day at the Races". Holey moley! Fats Waller seemed to move with grace and subtlety, but I've never seen him dance.

As to embarrassment on the dance floor, well almost every time in ballroom! I'm not very good at following yet, particularly if I'm in stress mode. I usually breathe a sigh of relief when we switch to Latin...

 

[Undertow]

Ah, c'mon--you guys surely don't go around walking into walls, do you? I had a some great partners over the weekend who had to be well over 200 pounds.

I know I've said it before, but take little steps, keep your feet close to the floor, and handle your partner gently. Do those three things and you'll be hard pressed to be a bull in a china shop.

My problem is just that - I have size 14D gunboats I can't lift off the ground fast enough. I trip over everything, I run into walls (literally - I'm a total doofus) and I'm one of those dopes that doesn't know his own strength.

Worse yet, if I've had even a single drink, you may as well call the police and have me cuffed because I will have been mistakenly charged with assault by the end of the night. I'm just not very graceful!

 

[Gilboa]

I've had some close calls since I posted that my glasses flew off during "Sing, Sing, Sing." Sometimes I just take them off. I can see up close and recognize most of my partners from farther away by how they move.

I can very much relate to this ... and 'sing, sing, sing' can make one very excited

In my teenage years I was part of a Rock'n'Roll group and we achieved a certain acrobatic level. However, as I can be quite passionate, I slightly missjudged my movement in a speedy round of 'quick ball change'.

What makes me chuckle right now is, while looking up the translation for the 'assulting' move (I was in Switzerland back then), I realised just how apt the english translation is ...


My dancepartner was crossing his legs in a rather agonised fashion ... :whistling

I suppose him not catching me in one of the next moves was his revenge

 

[Paisley]

My problem is just that - I have size 14D gunboats I can't lift off the ground fast enough. I trip over everything, I run into walls (literally - I'm a total doofus) and I'm one of those dopes that doesn't know his own strength.

Worse yet, if I've had even a single drink, you may as well call the police and have me cuffed because I will have been mistakenly charged with assault by the end of the night. I'm just not very graceful!

Well, the dance scene needs spectators, too. That was something new at Lindy on the Rocks back in August: a lot of people showed up to the dances just to watch. They really seemed to enjoy it--it was great!

 

[fortworthgal]

Oh good heavens, the stories! I used to teach dance (Irish step) and I've experienced and witnessed what are probably some of the most embarassing dance floor scenarios mankind has ever endured. I've stepped on (stomped on, really) my own foot, kicked myself in the face, and after one particularly grueling class, came home with bruises all over my backside from kicking myself with my own heels. Anyone who has ever worn hardshoes will tell you there are lots of slips and falls involved, especially in the beginning. Irish dancers are terribly under-appreciated. lol Oh, word to the wise - at ceilis, make sure you don't end up near the highland dancers. They tend to kick. Sideways.

Swing dancing - I've only had a couple of embarassing moments there, and I'll just say that they both involved balboa. Just because there aren't enough males in the class does not mean that the busty females should be partnered together. lol

 

[Paisley]

I was doing the foxtrot with one of my favorite partners on an empty floor, feeling like Juliet Prowse. My partner led a free turn, I came back around while traveling, and walked into him. Somebody applauded.

 

[Paisley]

Rather outside of Golden Era influences, but sufficiently embarrassing for the thread.

[video=youtube;_eoTjzLWlcQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eoTjzLWlcQ[/video]

 

[Paisley]

Yesterday I was at a workshop that was short of women. At one point I had to lead, and our teacher looked at me like, "That's really, really, awful." If that's what she was thinking, she was right.