Freestyle Showcase 5/17/09

I've been looking forward to this event for awhile now. It was a long fun day. Started at 7:30 with breakfast and dancing starting around 8:00 and we ended a little late around 6:30pm. I've got 4 videos of my dancing the smooth and rhythm 2-dance section and then 4 videos of the professional show that I'll be uploading later.
A 'heat' is where you are on the floor with several other couples dancing to a song for about 2 min. There were 220 heats for the day before the various 2-dance portion and the professional section. I did 8 heats. But I know some students who did 100 or more and some the instructors were dancing all day for maybe 200 or more of the heats.
I had an anxious energy but wasn't overly nervous. The best way I can describe being out on the dance floor was it was energizing. I danced 3 smooth dances with Adriann, 3 rhythm dances with Melanie, a Foxtrot with Gilda and a swing with Amy. And all thou I didn't do very many dances it was fun watching everyone else. I also got lots of great photos. They did smooth dances then a break for out fit changes going to country western dances and then to the latin/rythm.
Then the 2-dance portion of the event came up. I entered both the ryhthm and smooth associate bronze level 2-dances. first it was the rhythm which was a Rhumba and Merengue that I danced with Adriann. I didn't expect a lot out of the rhythm side but I wanted to experience the competioion side of things. Adriann created a routine for our Rumba that we could do then repeat for as long as the music went. I got throu it once then totally blanked and just started trying to remember moves to do and get throu the rest of the dance. Adriann gave me a huge compliment in my eyes, she knew I had lost it and that I was nervous but she said I didn't project it in my movements or my face so that only she and I knew we weren't on track. I didn't place when they announced the top 6 out of 10 couples, but I wasn't expecting to.
They had the other leveles of rhythm 2-dance then I did the smooth dances Waltz and Foxtrot with Melanie. It went very well I thought. I was very confident and Melaniei said she could feel my lead the whole time. They ranked the top 6 out of 9 for this one. I was actually a little disapointed I didn't get acknowledged in smooth and I was in the bottom 3. But this was my first event and it doesn't mean I was bad just that everyone else was above my skill level. Like I said I had someone take a video and looking at it from an outside view I'm very satisified with how I did for the dances.
As you you will be able to see the professional shows were amazing. So fun to watch them go all outwith routines they designed. The whole day was amazing. I'm goint to have to start saving up for the next major even so I can dance more heats in the event and get more experience. I'll be adding more soon when I can.