Wow, I haven't been to this board for months now. Its nice to catch up on some dance talk.
Anyhoo, I started going to a social class in March and loved every bit of it along the way. Though I haven't been going for the past 7 weeks or so.
I'm a little intimidated by the other dancers, its bad enough that I have a bit of cerebral palsy and can't dance as well everyone else but I realise that most of the other girls there seem fitter than I am, who are "relatively slim" compared to me.
Its just the lower half of my body, my thighs are a little chubby and my muscles are tight thats all. I swore that I'd get all toned up and fit before I go back to dancing and I think that'll take a while. I want feel like I'm "floating" rather than "frumping" along.. ;-p
Now should I proceed with my "plan" or stop being paranoid and return to my dance classes?

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I love to sing/I sound like a chicken
I love to dance/I'm a clutz
I'm smart/I'm failing math
I have glasses/ I wear contacts

Dirty Dancing, Center Stage, Save The Last Dance...gotta love those movies!

I love the samba and cha-cha

Kill the waltzing! ;-p

Robyn,

If you love to dance then get out there and forget about the other women and what they look like.
Much like you, I'm not on the slim side and am a complete klutz. But what I've found is that men who can dance, really dance, aren't interested as much in looks, as they are dancing with someone who is fun and loves to dance. It's the men who are only interested in looks that I typically find are the scary ones to dance with, since they try to impress with moves they've seen, but have never taken the time to figure out the mechanics.

As for frump vs floating, that takes two things confidence in your own dancing, and a good lead. There are some gents who can make me feel like I could dance as light as a butterfly, and some that make me feel like a chunk of rock. It's up to you to find the men who make you feel good and ask them to dance. To have regular partners, you need to dance regularly, and let people know you're out there.

As for the weight issue, I've had several dance instructors tell me that the heaviest person they ever danced with was 110lbs, and one of the lightest 250lbs. For a while there I would wear a step counter and typically would find that do a night of ballroom 2-4 hours, would be equivalent to walking 3-5 miles. Talk about toning those legs.

I hope this helps and you don't give up on dancing. I know that dancing can give you self-confidence you want, if you let it. It has for me

Well, as for the part of leaders, I think you're exactly right, TheDitz! I've just been to an audition where complete beginners danced with trained dancers. Of about 200 beginner girls, we had to pick about 30 to get on the team. However, of the 10 or so girls I danced with that night (being one of the trained men), about half got on the team. Chance? Never! I believe in destiny, and being a good leader makes a difference. I loved dancing with these girls, and figuring out how to make each one dance beautifully, for instance, how I had to adapt my rise and fall to theirs to look as one unit, how far to side-step in turns so as to successfully get around the corners while still looking menacingly fast. And then, towards the end of the dance when we were dancing very well together, just do an immaculate turn right in front of the adjudicators' table. Sweet. And that was what made it fun for me. I met the better dancers among these beginners again in a mixed group including more advanced ladies, and ended up dancing with the beginners more than the advanced. And I think I learnt a lot that way.

All the best,

Philipp

Philipp: When you danced with the less advanced girls and had to adapt to make each stand out more on the floor, did it feel as if you were "neglecting" yourself a little? In other words: did it bother you to adjust your own line of dancing to them?

In my own experience, I find it hard to adjust, but once I did I have no regrets. I wonder how it is from the guy's perspective

"Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero." - Horace

Michelle,

I didn't feel like that at all. At least in ballroom dancing, perhaps less so in Latin, it is not possible for one partner to look good while the other doesn't, except in the rare case where the guy is so much taller than the girl that she doesn't get noticed, and he can just drag her around at will without this affecting his posture or flow. I've been to another audition since my previous post, where about half of the ladies had to be selected from a mix of trained dancers and beginners. Of four ladies that I danced several of their trial rounds with, three got picked, one rejected. The good thing was that either the men were being trialled in a round or the ladies, so that one of the two can always be made to dance at their best, and this was true of the Latin as well as the ballroom. I came away feeling once more that I'd learnt a lot, and not let myself down at all.

Best,

Philipp