janestarz | Dancing - staccato and technique

Last night I had another lesson with Bernie. He told me had had just slept for 20 hours straight, and looked surprisingly awake.
Usually we warm up on the main floor with the beginner's club, before we switch to the small floor for our own lesson. Tonight, the beginner's club was only half as big so we could really take strides on the floor, despite added obstacles like a christmas tree in front of the mirror and 'snow' suspended from the ceiling.

Instead of just dancing the Quickstep with the beginners, we did a Quickstep, Slow Waltz (Engelse wals) and a Tango on the big floor. A huge improvement from having to do these on the small floor in the back with two other couples. We also managed to dance a Quickstep without having a discussion about the steps. For the first time, I had the feeling we were finally adjusted to one another. The Slow Waltz is always a challenge, but we're getting better.
People can balk all they want about how the woman should conform to the man in dancing, but I say the man has to lead well, or else I don't know what to do. Either Bernie was better at telling me in the Quickstep than other times, or I've gotten used to it. (Come to think of it, his way of telling me we're doing a chassé-lockstep towards the center of the floor is rather crude, but at least he's telling me...)

After the three ballroom dances we moved to the small floor with the other two 'experienced' couples and left the beginners to do their thing. The lesson focused on technique, like Wim's been doing for the past few lessons. Recently I learned how to take a smaller step when I'm on the inside of a curve in the Slow Waltz, which makes it a lot easier for the man to finish their outside curve.
The first thing Wim did last night was press my pelvis into Bernie's leg. I musn't bend backwards with my top to achieve a snug fit! Staying close is important.
We also worked on the staccato of the Tango. Dancing more to the feel of the music, than to the rythm.

It's very satisfying to see such progress, and for the first time I'm a little more confident. Our first contest is January 5th, in Venray.