One day, I am going to make it to an international West Coast Swing event. Seeing the pros in action even online at the US Open is inspiring enough for me to want to venture out to explore this dance form even further :) Two of the dance that completely blew me away this year were:



Who can forget Benji Schwimmer? That boy is amazing to watch and he brings so much energy to his performances. And his partner Torri Smith? Phenomenal.



And then of course, there is Jordan and Tat, who came to Singapore this year to help us local dancers up our West Coast Swing game. I totally agree with a friend of mine who says that they need better costumes LOL but still. The simplicity of the moves and their musicality is breath-taking.

If you'd like to learn West Coast Swing, check out Mosaic Dance. Annddd, if you've already picked up this dance and want to learn from the pros, Swingvitation 2013 is the event for you. To be held from 25 to 28 April 2013, this is your chance to brush up your WCS skills from FIVE champion dancers :) Check them out today.

Me? I feel that my dancing has improved but there's still some ways to go to. Hopefully, I get to do another Jack & Jill next year too. Those things can be nerve wracking but too fun :)

For some reason, the last half of the year has been like a mad house.

This year, I've just wrapped up an event in Thailand, dealt with a client who wants a miracle to happen, am taking on a six sub-region rollout and will be closing out the work year with a big computer graphics event. All in the span of four months. Yes, life is exciting *rolls eyes*

But on to more exciting things... progress in West Coast Swing (WCS) has been a little slow, but is getting there. The last weekend of August was spent with Melissa Rutz and Chuck Brown, two WCS champion dancers who were in town to whip the WCS community here in to shape.

As long as there's a camera, dancers are hams

I booked my first WCS private class with Melissa. Had to work on my basics just so that I can get it right. With the hectic work schedule, it's tough to get into the swing (no pun intended) of things sometimes because oftimes I'm too tired. Let me just say that if you really want to learn, booking a private class with one of the champion dancers is good way to progress. Why? Because you get one on one time with the instructor and she/he will be able to asses your level and help you work on the areas that you are having difficulty in. That said, taking privates does not instantly qualify you as a champion dancer yourself. You still need regular practice at socials and also in taking classes. 

Melissa Rutz and me...Ms Potato Head LOL

I've always been a chubby kid. Regardless of how much I exercised, starved myself and no matter how much I followed those damned fad diets, I always had curves.

Post Zumba madness

As an adult, the curves still remain. To be honest, I've made peace with them a long time ago. My entire family's been fleshy and there is no point fighting a fruitless battle. Hence my aim is to be healthy, but toned. Slimmer but not ripped. I love my curves...being too skinny is terrifies me and overly defined muscles are frankly, disgusting. Eating right is also part of the regime but I cheat sometimes too LOL, I'm only human!

I hate running but because I am doing Zumba, these are my first trainers in years

Being sidelined by injury recently didn't help. I was unable to do anything for two months...I'd like to dance for a long time and hence, I knew that taking a break was vital. Am finally out of rest period and this time around, I went with a more targeted regime of body conditioning, body movement and something called SMRT-Core, just to retrain my body. For cardio, I stuck to my staples of salsa and West Coast Swing and added Zumba. For someone who has been into latin dancing and also other forms of dance, Zumba is fun. It's nothing to go mad over but it's a nice alternative to aerobics.

For someone who is allergic to the gym, this new routine works me. I do classes either alone or with friends and it doesn't feel like I am torturing myself. Or make me feel like a hamster. Bottom line is, the regime will do three things: help me get into fighting shape, minimize injury and get back into that damned salsa costume.

Three weeks down and it seems that the healing process and the cardio build up is working rather well. The pain from the rib cartiledge injury has diminished to small aches that remind me that I'm no wonder woman. I also have more stamina to dance for longer periods. All is good. SMRT-Core surprised me because it is a combination of physical therapy as well as core building exercises that really works to strengthen my body and eliminate the injury.

Well, I'm going to try to stick to the routine for a while. The results thus far, have been pretty awesome.

April for me was truly the month of dance, which started with the India Fiesta Latina and rounded off with Swingvitation in Singapore.

West Coast Swing is something that I picked up over four months ago and took me quite a while to get used to. But still, never say never, right? Took part in my first Jack & Jill this year, on the heels of my return from a great India session. Never mind I haven't been up to par on West Coast Swing. I was sick for about three weeks prior to India and injured when I returned. The injury is a result of too many body movement classes in India. The good news? It's not a fracture...it's a rib cartilage sprain. The pain was horrendous and I was unable to get a good night's sleep or even flip over. Since my visit to the physio and doctor's, I haven't  been dancing. Sigh. Injuries suck. Kiddies, please don't follow in my footsteps, if you are injured, sit it out.

At Jack & Jill... Next year, I will do better!

Winners of the Jack & Jill. A pair are my cousin.(s)...please don't hurt yourself guessing who. LOL

It was a great weekend filled with workshops, friends as well as West Coast champions, Jordan and Tatiana who were really able to break down the dance and show us a couple of new things. I managed to do one social night but wasn't up to dancing with Jordan. Pride meant that if I wanted to social with an international instructor, I had to be at least decent.

The dance family... literally

Kudos to the folks at  Mosaic Dance and Jitterbugs for introducing West Coast Swing and bringing the dance to so many people. Till the next Swingvitation!

Just when I thought I'd be less injury prone, something will bloody malfunction at the worst time. Fuck. It's just like the freaking Godfather movies.

Somehow, a stupid strain managed to become a bigger problem with one slow-mo fall at practice. Felt like I was in a John Woo movie. And so I thought I wasn't hurt badly, still managed to have post-practice drinks with the mates before heading home.  Did the requisite warm ups and cool downs but despite that, the little niggling ache still managed to wake me in the wee hours of the morning with a dull pain and an inability to turn right. !@#@$%$@%%^%  WTH man. Am going to spend the next two days resting...which means no dancing and recovery stretches. There's a gig this weekend and please, don't get me started on obligations. I'm just bloody frustrated with myself right now.

Anyways, in happier events, I have been looking at something new to try out when I get to San Diego later this month. Nothing better than trying out something new on totally foreign territory, I say! They have classes here in Singapore too but my schedule's too packed to accommodate anything new for now.

But check this out. West Coast Swing (WCS) is not new but boy, does it widen the horizons in terms of social partner dancing! It seems that the Salsa On2 variation of the Lindy Hop to me...but at the same time, a lot smoother and graceful than Lindy.



Looks pretty cool, right? I for one am quite the inspired *wiggles eyebrows* The challenge here is to dance with the knees straight, in contrast to the latin style with the bent knees that gives the hips and body more sway. Would be interesting to see if I can adapt to something more lyrically expressive though. That is, if I still have my knees and back...mwhahahahahah

Music-wise, there is a lot more room in terms of genres that can be tapped. While traditionally, WSC adapts a lot of R&B (think Aretha Franklin and more blusey music), today you can dance to literally anything! Just like these guys below (ok, who doesn't love Benji Schwimmer? Such a ham..):



And for the rebels out there...



Think creatively and let your body and feet do the moving! :o)