Riot and Frolic

a mostly ballroom dance, but also a bunch of other stuff, blog

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about

I own and rock people’s faces off teaching ballroom dancing at Dancers Studio in St. Paul, MN. My husband and I compete professionally in American style and wrangle eight children in our spare time. I’ve been teaching and competing in ballroom dancing for over 25 years and have lots of opinions on it. I am an expert by any means, but there are quite a few dancers who are better than me and I have a solid knowledge of basic technique, so suck it.

Category: Dancetastic

  • Dancing Out of Category

    A word from my favorite podcast on dancing the allowable steps for the proficiency level you’ve entered… or not… Insanity Jane [some dancers]: I do know the law states that ignorance of the law means it don’t apply.  Sparks [many officials]: Okay that’s exactly how it does not work.  When you dance out of category (meaning: dancing steps that…

  • So You Want to be a Pro : Expectations

    It's been a minute since I had a take on this, but I've been making this list since being a pretty hard-core amateur, part of a few amateur partnerships, a long-time teacher, and now a studio owner.  That means I have a WHOLE LOT OF OPINIONS on this subject.  Even more than usual.  But don't…

  • Sabotage!

    I am typing in rhythm to this song, obviously: Not progressing as quickly as you'd like?  Seeing other dancers who started when you did zoom into higher levels?  First of all, THAT'S OKAY.  Stop comparing yourself to others.  Dance is a journey, yo.  Second of all, if you're unsettled by your lack of progress or…

  • How to be a Good Dance Partner

    Notice I didn't say "How to be the Best Dance Partner" or even "How to be a Great Dance Partner" because DAMN, SON, there are a lot of ways to screw this up and I will settle for "good" IN JUST THIS ONE AREA of dancing. Don’t date Yes, I'm putting this first. It's easy…

  • Why: Tanning for Ballroom Dance Competitions

    "Do I have to tan?"  Newbies ask this a lot, either before (yay!) or after (unfortunately) their first ballroom dance competition. The short answer is yes.  The long short answer is "because you have to". But the longer answer is pretty long, 767 words to be exact, but there's SCIENCE involved, so the answer'll be…

  • Top 5 Tips For Beginners

    I wrote this with ballroom dancing in mind, but apply it to whatever you want. #1 Start While it might go without saying, to start doing something, you must actually TAKE THE FIRST STEP. HAHAHAHAHA.  #dancejoke Ironically, the first step to dancing is NOT dancing.  So switch apps on your phone and find a nearby…

  • Dancing After Pregnancy

    As far as post-partum dancing goes, I've been around the block a few times.  Well, six times.  I've basically run a marathon of post-partum dancing.  And yet every time I hit the road after getting a new kid, I'm astounded by the facts of dance I'm faced with. Fun Facts About Dancing After Pregnancy A.…

  • Doing Weird Things

    I've been trying new things lately.  They often seem weird and I often feel stupid attempting them.  Most of the time, I don't have anything but my wits and good ol' Google helping me out. I've Instant-Potted four things in one day so I didn't have to turn on the oven or stove. The garden…

  • Between Bronze and Open

    Hey guys. I've been avoiding you.   There's something I've wanted to tell you for awhile, and I'm afraid it'll hurt your feelings, so I just stayed away.   But as much as the truth might hurt, the lies are hurting both of us more.   The fact is… There are two full levels of syllabus moves between…

  • Things You Can Control At A Ballroom Dance Competition

    Things You CANNOT Control at a Ballroom Dance Competition How hot the ballroom is How cold the ballroom is How slick the floor is How sticky the floor is How crowded the floor is How empty the floor is How big the floor is How small the floor is When you dance very early When…