Dance Test a Success @ FADS Chicago Open!

Hi Gang!

The Chicago Open was so much fun! This time around they had a very famous officiant, he kept the competition going at a good clip! By the time the professional heats started we were less than 5 minutes off the posted time in the program! It's always such a treat for me to watch all the professionals compete too. I LOVE to see them all do what they can do... for real... not having to hold back for a student partner that may not be up to their level. Everyone did a great job, I'm so proud of them!

Saturday night was 1950's themed... I (as you'll see in the pic below) tried my best to channel my inner pin-up girl and tried for a kind of fancy 50's hairstyle... it ended up being ok, but not exactly what I had in mind. :-)
<---my inner pin up girl looks something like this. :-)

Dinner was nice, I had some great conversation with Capitan and Jem, as well as the others at our table. But lets be serious people... I was there to DANCE! The Crown Vics went on only about 20 minutes late which was good...I spent the first few songs mentally preparing my ankle for whatever was about to come my way...

Thankfully most of the songs played were a tempo that was suited for Single Time Swing... an easier version of my beloved East Coast. I could absolutely test my healing ankle with Single Time! After a good solid test at a Single Time... my ankle was fine, no problems whatsoever! I got a dance in with TNG (You'll remember him from WAY back, he's still around, just working out of a different studio). RT of course came around for a dance, and MSU (from South Barrington) and I definitely had some laughs!I was elated that my ankle wasn't giving me trouble...and for the swings anyway, my following was pretty strong. I felt a little sketchy on some of the turns... didn't quite make it back to frame on time...but the best part about swing is it's easy to pick up a dropped rhythm. I could have danced to every song, all night I was so happy to be there! Thankfully I didn't because that would have definitely ruined my healing process.

Comical events of the evening were plentiful. Throughout the evening MSU and I danced quite a few times (I seem to recall 4 dances) and at the start he tried to dip me...which doesn't work out at all.. I DON'T dip yet. I've never been walked through exactly how I'm supposed to support my own weight, and I'm not very good at figuring that stuff out on the fly. I'm not about to bring my partner crashing to the floor with me! MSU has tried to dip me on many occasions and sometimes it ends up that I dip him. So it became a pattern... after every time we danced, he'd lay himself out for a dip... then it became random... if he wasn't escorting someone off the floor or was just passing me by he'd run into me, sling one arm over my shoulders and I'd be dipping him! It was too funny! It was more like him hanging off of me than anything else, but hey... funny is funny and I'll take it!

During the breaks in the band the "DJ" would put on a Waltz or some Latin for those of us that are into that. When a Cha Cha came on MSU grabbed me for that... I think Cha Cha is our official dance. True to form, he made stuff up... I followed pretty well, and again we did the reverse dip! At one point during the one and only actual East Coast Swing I did, MSU asked me why I don't smile when I'm dancing (Actually it seems to be during a real ECS that I don't smile at all) I told him there is no smiling! Dancing is a serious business!! Followed by the biggest smile I could muster while trying to make sure I was keeping up and not breathing heavy and keeping a constant radar on my ankle... I can't smile when I'm trying to do all that!

I was also asked to dance by an instructor from the Burr Ridge studio... nice guy, he's also known to be a tad crazy...and somehow his whole demeanor just oozes "smooth dancer". Anyway... I re-introduced myself to him, and we did a single time swing. He said I had great movement... I don't know what that means... but cool!

Towards the very end of the evening the band played the absolutely classic 50's song "Earth Angel." RT grabbed me and I said "Are you sure? This is like a Fox Trot or something."
RT listens for a minute... "No, Rumba."
I always forget that while RT has called Chicago home for a long time, he didn't grow up in the US and doesn't have all the same points of reference that I do for this early Americana stuff. I was totally cracking up that we were attempting a Rumba to "Earth Angel"! It didn't work out all the time... the tempo wasn't quite right... and because I was busy singing along in my head I totally missed all the Quick Quick Slow of it. It made for some interesting dancing. :-)

Then it was about 30 minutes before the end of the night, I decided to be smart about it and ice my ankle to prevent any additional swelling. Well... just as I'm about to get settled in and watch with ice on the ankle... two or three of the guys I love to dance with asked me to dance back to back... Not a chance I was going to say no! I completed a tragic Fox Trot with a fellow student, got whipped around as if the single time swing were a hustle, and then did the oddest West Coast I think I've ever done!

GREAT night!
Oh, did I mention? TONY DOVOLANI was there!!! He was judging the comp that weekend with FABIAN SANCHEZ.. both of Dancing With the Stars!! Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to chat with Fabian... I would have loved to! I did however get to chat for a quick second with Tony... my favoritest professional dancer of all time! He remembered me and the photo shoot that happened last time he was in!!! :-) You have no idea how special it makes you feel when one of your favorite famous people remembers who you are!

Oh...and I did get a picture too... :-)
So, I got to dance...my ankle is almost 100% again...and I got to see TONY!!!
It doesn't get much better than that!

Chicago Open Regional Competition THIS WEEKEND!

Hi gang! So I've decided that it's about time I started letting you know what's going on in my ballroom world again. :-)



This weekend...starting at about 2pm CST today actually.... is the summer regional comp for Fred Astaire studio's in the area. It is known as the Chicago Open.


It will be at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare (same venue we gather at for all our regionals)





For all those not competing (like me) we have to show our support! Tonight's evening session begins at 6:30pm CST for Pro/am. The Pro competition will be this evening as well... likely to start at aprox. 8:00 CST. Cost for this evening from 6:30 CST on: aprox $40. I'll be there...probably 7:30 CST or so. If it's possible for me to be available when RT is competing... you better believe I'm going to support him!





Saturday all are welcome to come and watch the competition during the day (9:00am to 5:00pm CST), that too has an admission fee, not sure what it is, I unfortunately won't be able to make the day session... In the evening, for those of us that reserved in advance, there is a lovely dinner. Typically these are formal affairs and followed by a show put on by some professionals the likes of which are seen on Dancing With The Stars. This time however we are being treated to a 1950's themed sock hop! All are still welcome to attend the dance party after dinner, (for a nominal fee) tickets are available at the door and it should open up about 8:00pm CST or so. Entertainment is to be provided by the CROWN VICS a premier 1950's style band from the area. I love this kind of music!



I've been looking forward to this weekend for a while...even more so since I haven't been dancing... tomorrow night is the test to see if I can make it back to the dance floor officially! I hope to see you there!

Trying to Stay Healthy While Healing....

Well, it's been just over two weeks since I've been ordered to rest my ankle and allow it to heal. It has been extremely difficult to follow doctor's orders. In fact I have cheated a bit; I did go out for a bit of dancing this past weekend. I took it easy, went to a trusted place, and brought my ice pack. Before you jump all over me about not taking care of myself please allow me to explain...

I have been on a quest for two years now to obtain and maintain the best lifestyle I can. I've lost well over 100lbs and found confidence I never knew existed. When I received notice from the doctor that my unexplained injury would keep me from doing the ONE thing in life I truly love I tried to accept it and allow myself to heal. I made a plan for eating light and healthy and started doing the few physical things I can to try to not lose all that I've done. This proved to be extraordinarily difficult.

I did go swimming a few times, in typical Miss Kitty style I couldn't just go and swim for 30 minutes and then rest. No, I had to go full out as hard as I could for as long as I could, tread water for a few minutes to rest, but not stop moving, then go back at it for another try. Yes, I am a good swimmer, but due to my lack in confidence in how I look in swimwear it's been a LONG time since I actually jumped in and went for it. Somewhere in the process of swimming back and forth, I hyper-extended my right knee (same leg the injured ankle is attached to). As we discussed before, my threshold for all pains and pangs leg related is a bit unreasonable and I had to force myself to stop going to the pool. Swimming, by the way, in comparison to dancing is BORING! As with other work outs I have done outside dancing I can’t seem to push myself as hard as when I’m on that dance floor. I will be returning to the pool shortly, but I will be taking it easier. What can I say? I'm as stubborn and hard headed as it comes and I only ever really learn by doing, making mistakes, and then trying again.

So while resting my ENTIRE leg, and trying to get rid of a stress induced neck issue, I was growing depressed, I was putting some un-needed stress on myself with my new job, and I was being completely distracted by the fact that I couldn't dance. Friday rolled around and my ankle and knee were feeling pretty ok. So I headed out to Fred Astaire South Barrington to try and sneak in a little time on the dance floor. I had every intention of getting in a little Fox Trot, maybe a Tango (even though I am terrible at both, they keep my feet pretty level on the ground). I wasn't feeling super social, so I didn't really chat up any of the students, just spent a few minutes catching up with RTS, who reminded me to be careful, and asked me point blank why I wasn't at my home studio for the party there.

I explained that my home studio was doing a BBQ, -I didn't want to be surrounded by food, and they would be reporting on weight loss week, I couldn't participate in that. South Barrington also had a bit of entertainment going on that sounded much more appealing. So there I was. (Not to mention I didn't want to risk the lectures I would receive at my home studio from friends and instructor for risking my ankle so early in the healing process... I just wanted to dance a little!)

Over the course of the evening most of the dancing felt pretty foreign to me. I felt a little ashamed that I couldn’t follow some of the leads and had nearly lost all the finer points completely. It was like I hadn't been on the floor in MONTHS instead of two weeks! Part of it was the lack of practice, part of it was the constant nagging in my head to watch out for my ankle... I tried not to favor it, it wasn't hurting at all, just one muscle twinge because I hadn't used it in so long...but I found myself not fully committing to any step that involved weight on my right foot. Still though the little dancing I did get in was EXACTLY what I needed! As I left FADS SB and headed to meet the girls for our customary after party meet up, I felt tons better about EVERYTHING, work, ankle, health, and not having a dance lesson again for a while.

I waited until the next day before I called my little dancing experiment a success, and it was. My ankle didn’t hurt or feel any different really. I think a lot of what helped was that I did bring an ice pack and iced my ankle for a good 20 minutes during the break at the party. I will continue to do that for any dancing or work out related activities for the next several weeks.

So all in all, the healing is going well, despite my frustrations. My ankle feels ok, but I don’t fully trust it yet, I have received stretching exercises provided by the doctor that I will work on daily. While I can’t say the scale has been moving in a good direction, I can say that with the few things I am allowing myself to do I don’t feel quite as out of shape as I did a week ago.

Injury Forces 6 Week Dance Break

Hi All,
Recent developments, in my physical condition I suppose you could say, has me off the dance floor for the next 5 weeks. This has been a while in coming… Here’s what happened, about a month ago I learned the Jive in one of the group classes, if you’ve done Jive then you know it’s the fastest of all he dances. I was quite proud of myself that I had survived a short Jive with Largo towards the end of class. As I walked to change my shoes I noticed my right ankle was aching. I didn’t really think much of it as I often have little aches and pains in my legs, it wasn’t bothering me to the point of limping or anything like that. I left the studio thinking I’d have to be sure to take some painkillers before class (as I often do for my knees anyway) so I would not distracted by the discomfort. The following day my ankle was still a bit sore, but I made it through the dance party with no problems. Over the next few dance events no matter what the dance my ankle would annoy me…again nothing leading me to think it was an issue. After all I hadn’t fallen or rolled my ankle… I figured it just wasn’t strong enough yet. About two weeks later I decided to cut back on dancing (I was doing my one private lesson with RT an then at least 4 other group classes and a social party) So I cut back to the lesson, plus the group classes that didn’t really have me jumping around… I also started wrapping my ankle just as a kind of reminder for me to take it easy.

Well it didn’t improve, so I went to the local drug store and purchased some ankle braces. I was not about to stop dancing! I wore various braces for two weeks, one that allowed for more movement during dancing and one with more structure for the rest of the time. One of my lessons with RT had me limping through the last 10 minutes or so, RT wanted to stop or slow down, I told him absolutely not, I dance until I break and that’s that. Actually I was terrified of not dancing… if I couldn’t dance, then how could I maintain my lifestyle and continue to lose weight? I made it through one more private lesson the next week, and I decided to take a week off and rest my ankle. When I went home that night, my ankle showed signs of swelling. CRAP! So scrambled around and went to the doctor two days after that last lesson. I have a very high tolerance for pain, especially in my legs because they hurt a little at one point or other almost every day. What would be mildly annoying to me, may have someone else running for the emergency room, which is something I always forget about myself… if I’m annoyed by a pain… I should have it checked out.

At the doctor, x-rays were taken and reflex tests were performed, the first revealed no brake in the ankle…which I was kind of disappointed at… I would have been proud of myself for dancing for so long on a broken ankle! I failed 2 or 3 of the reflex tests which told the doctor that the soft tissue in my ankle was severely pulled, damaged, inflamed, or something. So I was given a removable immobilizing brace, and instructions for a strict anti-inflammatory pain medication, as well as demands for me to stay almost COMPLETELY off my ankle for SIX weeks! Anyone that knows me, knows I didn’t take this well, I immediately started negotiating with the doctor asking if I was really good could I come back to the dance floor in 4 weeks. Well, I was categorically denied all negotiations for scheduling lessons sooner than 6 weeks. I was able to bargain for one social dance event on the 26th, I would be allowed to dance, only Fox Trot, Rumba or any other dance that has my feet staying on the floor. Absolutely no swing, jive, or cha cha for the full 6 weeks, and NO LESSONS group or otherwise for the same timeframe.

I WAS DEVISTATED!

I didn’t know if I wanted to cry, be depressed, or simply laugh that I was about to ruin two years of hard work with 6 weeks of couch/bed rest. In two years I had never had to cancel or reschedule more than one lesson in a week due to illness or travel!

I immediately started to think of ways to work out without putting pressure on my ankle, and eat so that I wouldn’t gain weight. Then it dawned on me. SWIMMING! I’m an excellent swimmer! I even have several community pools within a short distance of my home. The only thing to overcome was my body confidence…. I’m not exactly thrilled with the way I appear in a swimsuit. That was quickly overcome by the idea of what would happen to me if I didn’t start some kind of exercise while I’m off the dance floor. I decided that I would give my ankle one week, one full week of staying off of it as much as possible, keeping it elevated, iced and heated as necessary.

Well that week is over, and my ankle feels really good! In fact if I didn’t have strict orders from my doctor I’d be back on the dance floor! While my ankle is feeling great, the rest of me is not doing so well. Can I just tell you how one week of sedentary living, not unlike what I used to be like before dancing, feels like I’ve been set back by at least a month in physical fitness! I MUST start a strict regimine of swimming, stretching, and dietary modifications to get myself at least back on track, and hopefully improve my overall fitness! WISH ME LUCK!

So, What I am going to do is take a break from the blog officially. (I know I haven’t been great about updating anyway as of late…so it’s time I made it official) If anything comes up regarding my path back to dancing I’ll be sure and let you know.

Keep an eye out for me at the Fred Astaire Chicago Open dinner on the 26th! If all is going well you’ll see me, slowly, making it around the floor! (More details available at your local Fred Astaire Studio!)

OH! All you Buffalo Grove Students out there! Don’t forget to check out the Weight Loss week challenge they have going! Trust me, the humor in the fact that of all students, I can’t participate, is not lost on me! If you’re up for the challenge than be sure to let them know! I’ll see you all on the dance floor soon!

Happy Dancing!
Miss Kitty