Riot and Frolic

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

recent posts

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

  • After Competition Rituals

    There's a few good ways to put a competition to bed.  Here are my top 6: 1. Book the next competition.  Both as soon as possible and… as soon as possible.  Can I book my travel plans as I walk to the ladies' dressing room after awards?  YES.  [Smartphones!] Is there a comp tomorrow?  No?…

  • The Myth of Practicing More

    I've run into a fair share of dancers who claim to practice WAY more than I do. Like, three times as many hours as I log when I'm on my A game.  And then I see them "practice".  And then I think maybe they are confused what actually constitutes practice. Here's how to know if you…

  • Dancing “Down” in a Group Class

    You're going to a group class.  It's a beginning group class, way below your level of expertise.  I mean, you've been to at least a dozen beginner classes and you've got the material nailed. Let's, for example, just for kicks, AS A CRAZY METAPHOR, call you an "upperclassman".   And let's, just for funzies, use a…

  • Allergic to Practice

    For the third consecutive time, I have broken out in a rash during practice.  At first, I attributed it to … I don't know… something logical.  The second time I was too stressed out about my Viennese timing to really notice.  But the third time? YOU GUYS. I'm allergic to practice. Okay, let's be realistic.  …

  • The Mistakes Everyone Makes

    Talking to students, teaching a lot, and always taking lessons myself, there's some common problems you shouldn't feel alone in making: Everyone has the wrong foot ready.  "Start with your left foot," we say.  "Yep," you say.  "Your other left foot," we say.  "Oh," you say.   Everyone thinks they are doing that.  You know, that…

  • September Mixed Tape

    The best way to start something is just begin doing it, without making any excuses for why you haven't been doing it or had been wanting to do it but didn't, and acting like it's no big deal that you're doing it.   So here:   This month's playlist starts with the very lovely second…

  • Mirror, Mirror on the EVERYWHERE

    Those mirrors.  They are all over those damn dance studios.   Taunting you.  Telling you you're not the fairest in the land. But that's just your brain talking. Sometimes you need to ignore your brain and use your EYES.  Your eyes will tell you mirrors are helpful.  It's almost like someone put them there for a reason.…

  • Ballroom Dancing is Not for Everyone

    Ballroom dancing is not for everyone.  It is for a select group of people. Is ballroom dancing right for you?  Let's find out… It is for the engineer.  The nerd.  The guys with protractors and possibly a pocket protector.  Ballroom dancing is for you.  There are manuals, WRITTEN MANUALS, for dancing.  These manuals give you angles…

  • How To Be Awesome

    Maybe you're awesome enough as it is.  But maaaayyybe you could use a little pick-me-up in the kicking-ass department.  Maybe especially on the dance floor?  It's surprisingly easy. Here's my little advice: Fake it until you are it.  This amazing TED talk about body language BLEW MY MIND.  If you don't think I stand around like Wonder Woman…

  • Dancing Saved My Life

    I have this story which has the potential to be helpful to some people, or at least cathartic to me (#metime).  The struggle has been trying to make it a linear, witty narrative of a time in my life that seemed pretty non-linear and non-witty. Aaaaand, since it addresses a fairly serious issue, I didn't…