Swinging into spring.

Yesterday V. and I had our second dance lesson.  Coach K. had us start out reviewing the DW but soon decided that we needed work on the individual parts.  The first video shows us unpartnered, working on forward swing rolls.  Normally, I (at least I think) can do a decent forward swing roll, but knowing that your coach is skating next to you, filming away with an iPhone tends to make one a bit cautious.  In the video above, my knees need to be softer and edges need to be deeper.  Coach K. keeps reminding me that dance should have a lilting quality and not look so wooden.  In my defense, it is difficult to be "lilting" and "swingy" while keeping in mind that jumpers (off camera) have the right of way during freestyle sessions.

She then had us practice swing rolls while partnered.  I'd been reading one of my skating books earlier this week and the author emphasized that one should make an effort to point the toe of the boot during the swing-through and avoid giving the impression of punting a football.  I think I took that suggestion a little too much to heart.  But that's the power of videos--you get almost immediate feedback and can work on corrections.  Almost as scary as looking in the mirror.  The more times I watch these clips the more I see that wants fixing (yeah, basically everything).  Towards the end of the lesson we put the steps back together and attempted the intact dance.  I'm hoping that when we look at these vids six months from now we'll be able to say "Wow, look at how far we've come."  Making the Dutch Waltz look good isn't easy--especially when you almost steer your dancing partner into the boards (!)  Did I mention that the lady skater needs to be brave?