Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I love to dance – always have.

I took ballet as a kid, performed in a very embarrassing liturgical dance troupe at my church as a teenager, and hit the dance floor at nightclubs every chance I got in my 20s and 30s.

But aside from a couple of group lessons 15 years ago, I’m a newcomer to ballroom dancing.

So competing in Dancing with the Forsyth County Stars, a fundraiser for Communities in Schools, is going to be a challenge.

But it’s one that I’m eager for. I’ve always wanted to learn ballroom dancing, and have spent more than a little time fantasizing that I was Jennifer Grey vying for the mirror-ball trophy on TV’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

The training that the celebrities on the TV show go through is far more intense than what we’ll be doing locally. Instead of practicing for hours each day, we’re allotted 40 minutes a week with our instructors, who are graciously donating their time. (We can pay for extra lessons if we need to … and I think I’m going to need to.)

With the competition coming up on March 26, I don’t have much time to learn how to dance well enough to perform in public.

I’ve been training with my partner, Ranko Bogosavac, since Feb. 3. So far, I’ve had three lessons with him.

Ranko has been sizing up my skills (such as they are) and deciding how to choreograph our routine so that I look reasonably good and don’t fall on my face.

We’ve settled on a dance (the mambo) and a song (“Los Campeones de la Salsa” by Willy Chirino).

Now I just have to learn the footwork and master the techniques.

Ranko is a great teacher – very kind and patient – and he’s an amazing dancer. But he’s got his work cut out for him.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be writing about my lessons, my partner and my thoughts about this whole experience.

I hope you’ll follow me (get it?) through this dance.