Something is brewing up inside me, and it ain’t from eating beans.
No, it’s much deeper than that.
I’m feeling moved. Isn’t it funny that when we are affected emotionally it’s called being moved? Like that’s what dance is all about. To move others and yourself through moving. It’s a mindbender like a mirror reflecting another mirror on and on into infinity.
Tango (From Wikipedia Commons – this image was originally posted to Flickr by jennifrog)
So I’m feeling emotional these past few days. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I will be putting myself “out there” again at the Galaxy competition. I feel like I’m coming at it from a good place. Actually, I was a little shocked that it is exactly a week away tomorrow. I’m relaxed, I think, especially since I’m just doing single dances and I’ve released the need to “win.” No anxiety dreams like I had before Desert Classic, and my lessons have been free-spirited and wonderful. I am envisioning the experience to be like this, feeling as if I were just floating around the dance studio, this time around.
But that doesn’t mean this isn’t important. And one thing I failed to do at my last competition was to get clear about the experience I wanted to create. I didn’t write out specific aims that I hoped to accomplish. So I’ve learned from my experience and this proclamation, this dance manifesto for Stefanie, it’s been mulling around in my mind.
The point of the manifesto is to bring out the best of me, as a person and as a dancer. All too often I focus on my shortcomings, my faults, my flaws, my errors. I hone in on all the things I’m doing wrong, all the things that make me feel inadequate. This manifesto is my heart’s reply to the negative voices in my mind. It’s my new creed. It’s my new motto. It’s how I’m now going to show up on lessons, in life, and while performing.
And one other thing – I’m winging it. I haven’t written out a draft or anything. I’m just writing stream-of-consciousness here so we will see what I come up with. All I know is, that I’m feeling a lot of powerful emotions at the moment and I have decided to express them in this way. So here goes nothing…
I, Stefanie, Dancer vow that:
I will finish all my movements. I will follow them through on into infinity beyond the horizon. I will inhabit every moment with my spirit and project my energy in 360 degrees.
I will not be afraid. I will be bold and courageous.
I will love myself through every single moment. I will be my own best friend.
I will let loose. I will lower my guard. I will melt the ice.
I will breathe. Deeply. And often.
I will allow myself to be vulnerable and reveal my inner world.
I will hone my instrument, my body, taking care of it lovingly, compassionately, and with the intent to make it as healthy as possible.
I will allow myself to feel and be sexy.
I will not fear to touch. I will enjoy the touch. I will allow my joy to be seen.
I will accept and appreciate any and all feedback I may receive as a gift. I will remember that no one has the power to make me feel anything except me.
I will give up the white flag and fight to be the best I can be.
I will accept and use my creativity and power.
I will connect.
I will create moments of magic for myself, my partner, and those choosing to share the experience with me.
I will believe in myself.
I will believe in what is possible.
Being a woman, I reserve the right to change my mind and add to or amend this manifesto at any time as I see fit! But I’m curious, what do you think I should add to mine? And, more importantly, what’s in YOUR “dance manifesto?”
In case you didn’t know from all my posts on Facebook, this weekend was Emerald Ball in Los Angeles, California. With over 1100 heats, it was a huge event with thousands of participants. I happened to know a few people who went so I avidly watched for pictures and video posts on SuperShag.com as the results came in for my friends and for professional couples that I admire and follow.
You can see all the congratulations and who won what or placed where if you care to here and while you’re there, make sure to like the page for Dancing With Stefanie. That way, a link to any new posts on the blog will show up in your Facebook News feed. Plus, sometimes I post things on the Facebook page that don’t make it onto the blog. There is also a “like” button on the upper right hand side of the blog page you can easily click.
Alright, enough with the boring housekeeping items….here’s what’s been going on.
Since Ivan and Marietta went to Emerald Ball on Thursday, I haven’t had a lesson since Wednesday and it’s kind of like going through withdrawal. Maybe not that dramatic, but by the end of the weekend I was really missing this major part of my life. But, as they say, nature will always fill a vacuum. Luckily my friend Ivonne had a perfect solution. Why not join her for some Lindy Hop and Tranky Doo (yes, that is actually the name of a dance)? I was especially motivated to go having not danced in days and it turned out to be a lot of fun.
It was a group lesson and social dancing – and the instructors could spot us “ballroomers” a mile away. “Relax! No Frame!” were our constant reminders. It was about getting the rhythm of the dance into our bodies and we were required to actually sing while we moved. Hoooo Wah! Hoooo Wah! Hoooo Wah Ooopty Dah! I’m not even kidding! But I got why they did it. And they said that even they still sing these rhythms (different than the beats or counts in the music) while practicing as pros.
It was a nice sized class and a progressive one. It will continue for the next four weeks, and then if I decide to progress, I’d have to repeat the basic level before they’d allow me in the intermediate class. Kind of an interesting way of doing things. I think it’s cool that they value the fundamentals and want their students to have a firm grasp of them before progressing on to harder steps without a proper foundation. And it creates a strange sort of motivation of like, I want to be a “cool kid” and be in the intermediate class. Plus it probably weeds out less motivated students. But we’ll see. I’m not sure how far I want to jump down this rabbit hole.
After the Lindy Hop class was a class on Tranky Doo. I really enjoyed it. You get to dance solo. It’s from the 30’s. Here’s a video – sorry the sound is bad:
Anyways, that was lots of fun, not too difficult, but I got a little dance fix and I worked up a good sweat.
But there’s nothing that compares to a lesson with Ivan so I was very excited that he agreed to have a lesson with me today, even after competing late last night (making it to the semi-final) in Professional American Rhythm and Emerald Ball with Marietta, and driving home. Probably because of that, I had a lot of extra energy and was thinking about all we had worked on last time we met. I tried my best to project my energy, and after about 3/4ths of the lesson, Ivan finally noticed that I was doing it. I suppose it’d be better if he’d noticed it right away, but hey, progress. He gave me a hug. We had to navigate some issues because the computer through which the stereo runs wasn’t working properly and I ended up using Pandora on my phone for some music. Not ideal – we quickly used up the maximum 6 skips per hour – but better than nothing.
After the lesson we had a little conversation. I’m doing Desert Classic so I have to figure out how much I’m going to do, the cost, all that stuff. I also told Ivan, “Hey! We have like two months. I know cardio is an issue, but what other little things can I be working on and fixing during this time? I want to do the best I can. But we just dance and you have to tell me!”
He basically told me that yes, there are little things to fix, but the cardio is killing me. It’s my biggest weakness. I can’t maintain 100% full energy for long enough. It’s a problem. My feet/legs are good, not perfect, and there are expression things to work on, and he put me through my paces on a cross body lead in Cha Cha and doing the Hockey Stick properly into a Fan in Latin Rumba, but the biggest problem is the cardio, and of course, secondarily, the extra weight. He suggested I work most on those things and lose as much weight as I can before the competition so it will be easier on me.
So I kind of left my lesson feeling a little bummed. Not a news flash, all this information. I already know it. I just wish I could wake up and be the size I was when I was 16 again. Also, I was feeling insecure. I tend to vascilate between feeling secure and good about myself and my dancing and then being dismayed that I will never be as good as I want to be, and that mabye I’m delusional about how good I even am right now! Does anyone else cycle through these as well?
But I digress. I found, that the dismay also kind of motivates me. When I have a definite goal, with a definite deadline, and I know I’m not even close to where I want to be, I personally become more motivated to make changes. So on my way home, I realized that all I would do if I went home was to sit on my fat butt and watch DWTS and maybe write a blog post. Then I remembered that Marietta teaches a woman’s styling class at Dance Starz on Mondays. I made a U-turn and headed over to the studio. No time like the present to take action,right? Plus, it meant that I got a double dose of the Dishilev’s tonight!
Anyways, it was one of the best classes I’ve had with Marietta.
This may seem like a tangent, but follow me here – everyone is a genius at something. From my perspective, Marietta is a genius at sensuality and femininity in ballroom dancing. It is one of her greatest strengths.
Also, it is amazing to me, how the professional ballroom instructors I’ve experienced are so unabashed about their bodies. There is like, no shame whatsoever. I just can’t really relate to that. But a part of me wants to get there and as uncomfortable as it is, especially with how I’m packaged right now, I’m willing to do the best I can in the moment with it. These ballroom mavens like Marietta and Inna are the perfect people to model this for me, being as comfortable with themselves as they are.
In any case, Marietta is one of my favorite dancers because she really feels the movement. She has totally permissioned herself to enjoy every sensuous movement, to touch her body, to play. The movement she creates with her arms, for instance, as she explains it, isn’t because someone told her to do them a certain way, it’s because that’s where they want to naturally go, where they naturally extend, in a gorgeous and controlled way, because of the movement generated from her body, from her core, from her heart. She is 100% okay with being sexy, oogled at even. Again, I really can’t relate.
But what I can’t relate to even more, is putting on socks, taking off my shirt, putting on lotion, and looking in the mirror. Yes, I know this makes no sense right now, but here’s what happened on the lesson.
Because the styling and movement of the body and arms comes from a natural, organic place, Marietta suggested we start with an everyday task we girls supposedly do. Marietta suggested we begin with looking in a mirror. Um, yeah, I generally avoid looking in mirrors, and I don’t have any hand mirrors in my possession. She had us pretend we were grabbing a hand mirror, looking into it, and loving what we saw. Uncomfortable.
Then she asked us how we put on socks. I just slap those suckers on. She was like, “Oh no! That won’t do at all! If I were alone and putting on socks, I’d do this.” And she bent over, legs demurely crossed, butt up in the air, and delicately, sensually, rubbed her ankles then allowing her hands to traverse her calves, thighs, and all the way up to above her head. By now, other people in the studio started to watch the class. I admit, it’s difficult to keep your eyes off Marietta. And, about this time, I noticed that my legs are at least twice as wide has hers.
She had us practice this movement a few times and then we were on to taking off our shirt.
“How would you take off your shirt? Please demonstrate for me.”
I shrug my shoulders, cross my arms across my vast belly, and mime pulling upward. Kind of in a manly, unconcerned way.
Again, not even close to how Marietta demonstrates. It’s really difficult to describe this all in words! How to get your mind’s eye to see how it all looked is kind of impossible. But here’s the best I can do. She crossed her arms, grabbing at her tiny waist, and drug her hands and fingers, not missing one inch, even her bosom, upwards, uncrossing them until her arms were above her head and only her wrists were entwined, creating almost like a fan out of her hands. It was gorgeous.
Then she had us put on lotion. I just cursorily slap that stuff on, when I even bother to use it. Quick, functional movement. But Marietta, oh, you’d probably already guess by now, she luxuriates in the movement. How can a person make something that is so mundane look so interesting?
Finally we had to put it all together. A basic Rumba box, two Cucarachas, a step back and them “Bam!” We’re supposed to project that sensual energy, reaching for something we want with all our might toward the mirror, arms reaching outward to grab this thing we want so very much. Then we are to pull it into ourselves, caressing our necks, down through our chests. Finally, put on a sock, rip off our shirts, rub lotion on our arms, and look at ourselves in our hand mirror. It’s embarrassing!
It is easier just to do prescribed movement. Rote movement. Exact placements of arms rather than feeling it from the inside and expressing it nakedly on the outside.
It’s easier to not become the center of attention, and to avoid touching this body of mine.
It is difficult, for me, to allow myself to really enjoy any of this.
Marietta got a bit upset with me at one point because I was feeling self-conscious and shy doing all this and she wanted me to demonstrate reaching forward with all the yearning energy for that thing I want so badly for the other student in the class. By then, I’d noticed other people watching us. That made it even worse for me.
Marietta was like, “Go. Do it. Now! Move! Go! I’m out of words!” And I was like, in my head, waiting for this person to pass behind us, that person to look away, that person to exit. I didn’t want to be seen. Eventually, after a lot of deep breaths and once people had moved far enough away, I did my best – enough to satisfy Marietta, but also just enough for me to think I looked like an idiot.
But I survived. Amazing, isn’t it?
But then Marietta explained something that really stuck with me. She said that she doesn’t really know how things look when they look good – that that is for others to judge – but rather she knows how it feels.
That, right there, is her genius. That is why I love watching her and Ivan dance so much. She is fascinating to watch not only because she is gorgeous and moves fantastically, but because she is actually enjoying the movement. She revels in the sensuality of it all. She is unabashed and confident in herself. Her femininity exudes powerfully and draws me in as a viewer into her story, which seems like it should be a private affair, but there she is, enjoying it and sharing it with the entire crowd.
It’d be awesome to have that kind of power.
It just really affected me – her comment about that she doesn’t know how it looks but rather how it feels. I reflected; maybe I’ve been looking in all the wrong places to find this for myself. I realize that look to others, and compare myself to them. That’s a losing game. I also look to the mirror but it is not something I love or enjoy to see. Indeed, it is an invitation to tailspin quickly.
But instead, what I can do, is put the blinders on to the outside and feel. The Stefanie inside doesn’t feel she is 300 pounds, big, jiggly, and gross when she is in the zone just feeling and being present in the moment. Like when Ivan and I have dance with our eyes closed and I have to really tune into my body and the leads, nothing else exists – there is no space for the insecurities or the fears or even to consider what other people might think of me, how I look, what I’m doing. That is where I need to look to find this movement – that was the epiphany tonight.
Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t to say that feedback from others or the mirror isn’t useful. It’s just that it may not be the best place for me to find the feeling, and from that feeling the movement, that I’m looking for.
Toward the end of the lesson, Marietta asked me what I thought this lesson was about – and that if I couldn’t handle the 5 people in the studio watching me be all sensual and stuff, how would I ever handle an entire ballroom full of people?
I replied, “This lesson is about feeling really uncomfortable and doing it anyway. It is about deciding to not care what other people are thinking of me as I do this, and to just get in my own little bubble and do whatever it is I want to do here completely.” I didn’t say it out loud, but what it was also really about, was claiming and holding my space. Like, really owning my space on the dance floor, as if I’d put up a fence to declare it mine – one that said, this is my area to shine and play and do whatever I want. Don’t come invade it, it’s mine, not yours.
So anyways, it seemed apropos after all these realizations, when I opened my mail tonight and saw a card from my crazy aunt Julie (by marriage – and I mean crazy in the most lovingly way possible – it’s kind of a term of endearment for her). Anyways, it fits perfectly into the theme of my lesson with Marietta, the sensual genius, tonight:
Boy does that cat look stupid in a pink bikini doing a pole dance. But you know what, that kitty is working it! Maybe I should take a cue from this feline. Let it all hang out…after all, I am totally about the Meow! Lol. I’m going to take this opportunity to pledge to myself (and publicly) that I will continue to “work it” as much as I can. That I am willing to go to these uncomfortable places if that’s what it takes to become who I want to become. And finally, to thank Miss Marietta for being my teacher, mentor, and friend, and for pushing me a little further out onto the branch today. Pretty soon, just like Ivan’s new chicks, I’m gonna fly!
Well, it’s been a long day and I am pooped, especially after staying up late to watch the last night of Emerald Ball online and two amazing dance lessons – one that stressed me physically and one that stretched me emotionally and as a woman and performer. It’s time to go collapse in bed…I’m not even going to watch DWTS tonight and that should tell you something!
How are you “working it” in your ballroom journey? What things do you struggle with the most? Can you describe some moments in which you had a breakthrough and let it all “hang out?”
This post is a bit overdue seeing as I went shopping with Katie last Friday. But I still want to share the experience because it is part of my transformation and I wanted to contrast it with a previous experience I had a few years ago.
So, this post isn’t about dancing but it seems like this blog is shaping up to be mostly about dancing but also about my process of changing and sometimes there are peripheral stories that are a part of that.
Katie and I met at Nordstroms at Fashion Square mall. You have to understand that Katie is a professional at this. She had called ahead and made an appointment with Karen in the women’s department to help me find the perfect outfit for Ivan’s Name Day party. Karen was gorgeous and effervescent. I liked her immediately – her lovely cocoa skin, her adorable feminine outfit, her toothpaste-worthy sized smile, and her enthusiasm. We made our introductions and she began pulling clothes for me.
I have to say, it was the most painless shopping trip I have ever had. I did little more than try clothes on in the dressing room and then show Katie if I thought they were a possibility. Far from being overwhelming, it felt effortless. And I’ll never forget the moment that I found the right outfit. I stepped out of the dressing room and both Karen and Katie, open-mouthed like groupers, exclaimed, “Oh my God!” Their reaction was priceless.
So, although some outfits didn’t work, I didn’t get discouraged nor go into my usual pattern of self-loathing. I didn’t feel overwhelmed searching the racks of clothing for something that might look good on me. This contrasts greatly with previous shopping trips I’ve made. They have generally been so painful for me that I avoid shopping for clothes as much as possible, wearing items over and over even to the point of disintegration.
Here’s what it used to be like for me:
There’s nothing like a trip to the clothing store to knock a girl right out of her confidence.
I wake up this morning, and, unexpectedly, I am happy for no reason. I head straight to my trainer at the gym and bang out thirty minutes of strength training. I don’t have time to do cardio before I meet my mother-in-law for lunch, so I promise myself to return to the gym later and complete forty-five minutes. I go have a lovely lunch, a delicious Cobb salad with dressing on the side, and keep my word to myself and make it back to the gym. The endorphins are flowing, and I am feeling confident and pretty after a shower and applying some mascara. So, I decide, in my infinite wisdom, to knock myself right out of this happy place.
How, you ask? Well, I decide to go get something cute to wear out to dinner on a date with my husband tonight. I have it all planned out: I’ll do my hair, apply thick black eye makeup, and gloss my lips the perfect shade. I’ll look great. I might even wear high heels. The sparkly ones I got at Nordstrom’s pop into my head.
The sick part is that I’m going to the store to find something cute. I think I’m going to enhance my already high self-esteem today. I’m going to find the cutest little top to accentuate my eyes, and step out on the town boldly, radiating confidence in my beauty.
The only trouble is I’m fat. I know what you’re thinking…some twiggy chick complaining about two pounds of water weight during her cycle. Well, think again. I’m one-hundred pounds over a healthy weight, so it is a realistic issue. I know, however, that I am not my weight. I know that I am not even my body. I know that I am a spiritual being having a human experience. And that doesn’t stop me from identifying with my body, nor does it prevent the pain of feeling inadequate solely based on my body image.
The interesting thing is that I have had the same experience with shopping all my life. Even when I was more than one-hundred pounds lighter, I found all the parts of me to despise: my too thick thighs, the cellulite, the wings under my arms, the double chin, the belly pooch. I realize that I have always experienced shopping for clothes as a reinforcement of how truly ugly, unappealing, and unworthy I am. It is a prime opportunity for self-loathing. And even when I had a body I would kill for now, I had the same thought processes about it all. I see all that is wrong, all that needs to be “fixed.” I do not see me in the mirror. I see the projection of all the love I withhold from myself simply because of my body size and shape, as if by somehow withholding that love and acceptance will motivate me to become acceptable or loveable by having a “better” body. It is truly agonizing.
This time, I cried in the dressing room. With each shirt, that was supposed to accentuate the positives and help me feel and look my best in this current state, I felt instead like a walrus. I see a huge black mass with a pretty face staring back at me in the mirror. It is too painful to see. It is why I usually avoid shopping. There is this bright shining face, with vibrant, beautiful eyes staring back at me from the mirror. They are so expressive and yet they are shadowed by the meaty black bulk trailing behind them. The large whale-like mass is distracting from the being inside who wants to be seen.
I remember that even as a child on the playground I would daydream about going to a body part store where I could exchange out my belly or my arm for a perfectly toned one. It is a deep-seated weed that has roots entrenched inside my heart and one that continues to grow back even after I remove it’s leaves. I don’t know how to finally expel it from my psyche.
One thing is sure, I am not happy with how I am now. I am not happy with how I am choosing to present myself to the world. It is a struggle to continue to be engaged in life and risk when I feel this way. I want to hide in my shame and embarrassment. I want to disappear until I have transformed in my bat cave so that I can reappear to the world as a perfectly toned goddess. It is tricky not to be knocked sideways out of the flow of life in this vehement torrent of self-pity.
So, the choice before me is to choose something different. If I want to change, then take action to change. It is all up to me.
And.
And.
And, I find it very difficult to sustain the changed choices over a long period of time. I find it difficult to based on my past experiences to maintain the program of exercise, eating on a strict diet, when my body changes at a barely perceptible rate. I want instant gratification, damn it! I want to see the results of working out today, today! And every time I don’t see the results, I label it a failure. Of course I can’t be skinny. I can’t have that lean healthy body. It just isn’t in my genetic makeup, or some other such excuse. The hardest part is that I know I’m full of shit. I know that saying “can’t” really means “won’t.” I know that I’m making up excuses to stay stuck where I am at. I know that I do have the power to change this, if I really want to.
And I don’t change it.
Or if I do change, it is half-hearted. Really, how can someone work out with a trainer and ballroom dance for over three years and still be obese? I don’t know exactly how, but I’m managing to do it! So if I’m already doing all that, then I shouldn’t have to do more, right? I just don’t have a body that responds to exercise like other bodies. Plus, there are so many other more “important” things that must take precedence over my health like marriage, career, school, friends, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I know that if I want to make time for activities that move me in the direction toward a healthy weight, then I could make that time.
There must be some inner conflict, some benefit that I am enjoying with being so big and fat that it is painful to go shopping. Something that really is tied into my emotional survival instincts. They say that being fat is simply an external, physical form of armor or protection of self. What, oh what, dear God, am I protecting myself from? What, oh what, God, is the benefit I am getting from being so big? If I could answer these questions then I could address the underlying hurt behind them. So far, I am just hurting.
So now I have a choice. I’m sitting here crying in my office, writing this out in the hopes that it will be of some benefit to someone someday. And, I have a date planned with my husband. I want to honor myself and fully acknowledge my pain. And, after doing so, after sitting in this really uncomfortable place, I am going to put on the shiny heels and black eye make up. I am going to be the confident, sexy, beautiful girl that I am. I am going to brave the world and continue living despite my huge frame. I am going to find some love and compassion for this person who is hurting so deeply. I am going to find the love for me.
I don’t know how just yet, but I will.
It is hard to read this, even today. But the good news is that little by little I am finding some love and compassion for myself. I was able to have a different shopping experience this time because of the support of a friend. I don’t think I’ll ever tackle this task alone again – it is just too easy to get caught up in all the negative self-talk. But with the help of a friend, who loves me for me and wants me to feel good about myself as I am in this moment, I am able to stay more positive and even feel good about myself.
I’m not where I want to be, but at least I’m moving in the right direction. And with the support and friendship of people like Katie, I just might get there.
Woman’s styling class with Marieta and power shopping with Katie
I have this plan, see. I’m going to be this amazing, feminine, yet sexy, and strong, and powerful, graceful, and technically excellent ballroom dancer. That’s how I show up in my head, in any case. But the picture in my brain differs considerably from what I see in the mirror every day.
Even though this gap between reality and the vision I have for myself is as wide as the Grand Canyon, the only way to bridge the chasm is to begin to take steps in real life to bring this vision into becoming a reality.
The Stefanie in my mind’s eye is sassy, and confident. She wears cute outfits on her fit body and looks “put together.” She wears make up and takes the time to style her hair. If she feels like it, she thinks nothing of wearing leopard skin prints unabashedly, paired with fuchsia high heels, that scream, “Look at me!”
The Stefanie in the mirror wears black (it’s slimming, right?). She rarely wears make up. He hair is frequently found pulled back in a ponytail. She’s pudgy and shy. She can’t look into her own eyes in the mirror, much less those of any audience member. She wears flat shoes, also black, because they are easy and comfortable, and don’t draw much attention.
But luckily for me, I have friends who support me in my vision. My friend Katie, I’ve mentioned her before in previous posts, is a fashionista! She saw my sad black shoes and knew that something needed to be done.
“We’re going shopping,” she tells me, “you need some SOS pumps.”
To me SOS means help, and for certain I need an assist in this arena. However, according to Katie, SOS really means, “Sex on a stick.” ( Can I even write about this in a blog…I’m blushing as I write this!)
Um, yeah. SO OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE!
But that vision in my head of what I could be won’t shut up. I take a deep breath and think, yes, I’m going to do this. I don’t know when, but we will.
Yesterday was the day. I got an email forwarded from Katie about a shoe sale at a local store. I look at the pictures of exotic pumps and text her back, “Holy Hell.”
We made an appointment for the very same evening.
But first its a group Latin styling class aimed at women taught by Marieta. I swear, I get an education just by watching this woman move. She is gorgeous.
First she warms us up, feet, ankles, legs, hips, rib cage, arms. We are ready to go. She teaches a little Latin Rumba combination, explaining we are to be feminine and move as though we were swimming under water, fluidly, like seaweed waving under the sea.
Next it is Cha Cha. She explains that each dance has a different dynamic and characteristic. We need to move in a way that will create a distinction in our movements, avoiding a monochromatic performance. Cha Cha has pop, pizzaz, drama, and sharpness. We do a similar combination as the one for Rumba, and surprisingly, dancing beside this beautiful dancer, I’m creating similar pictures with my body. I pat myself on the back. Forget the fact that prior to coming to the lesson I was having a “skinny day.” There’s nothing like standing next to a professional ballroom dancer to shatter a “skinny day,” but hey, I’m moving, and with each shake and shimmy, I’m one calorie closer to being in shape.
Class ends and Katie is there ready to go. We speed off toward the mall. It is 8:05 and the mall closes at 9pm. But we are on a mission and I intend on accomplishing it. We park and walk across the mall to the shoe store Katie has in mind.
Remember that scene from “Pretty Woman,” where Julia Roberts in full-on hooker garb walks into the ritzy upscale boutique and the saleswomen won’t give her the time of day. Well, it was kind of like that. The sales girls eye me sceptically. First off, I’m in my black dance pants and black sweater top and those sad black flat shoes. I wear none of the make up that adorns their pretty faces. I’m twice the size of their normal customer. My hair is pulled back in the famous pony tail.
Katie, however, wastes no time. She asks for Lisa, whom she spoke with earlier today requesting her to set aside a few shoe models. Lisa hasn’t complied, but oh well. Katie begins grabbing pumps from here and there and I begin trying them on.
I have to admit, I am so glad I had back up. If I had attempted to go into this store by myself, I would have chickened out. I don’t have any confidence in this arena and especially with the way the sales women were interacting with me I would have felt very out of place, very uncomfortable. Why do I give my power away like that? I’m not entirely sure. But with a true friend at my side, we created our own “bubble” of fun and exploration. We had a blast. I’m so proud of us – we got some SOS pumps in 23 minutes flat! Talk about the power of intention and committment.
As I was trying on one pair, walking, just walking in them mind you, I wobbled. Katie bust out laughing.
“You can do the Cha-Cha in 2.5 inch heels but you can’t walk! You showed me the Rumba walks, now let me show you how to do the runway walk.”
She demonstrates how to walk on the tippy toes.
The sceptical sales girl suggests that perhaps I should try a lower heel first. Clearly she doesn’t approve of my choice of SOS heels. But you know what? Screw that. This isn’t about her and what she might be thinking. It is about me. And I’m not going to settle for less than what we came here for. I’m committed.
I decide on the pair I want and tell the sales girl to ring me up. In a flash, I am almost overcome with emotion. For one split-second, I see the vision of Stefanie completely unfolded, the Stefanie who wears shoes like this. I see that really, I am this girl, who fears not to wear bright fire-engine-red too-high-to-be-practical heels.
Yes, I really, really am.
It may be starting with my feet, but the feet have stepped through the partition from my inner mind’s eye to real life.
One foot represents me now, the other represents what I am stepping into becoming
Who knew that buying a pair of shoes could be so healing? I certainly didn’t!
These are the ones I finally decided upon.
Now, what the heck am I going to wear with these!?
Again, Katie to the rescue. We are set to find an outfit on Thursday. I think I’ve been possessed by a “body snatches pod person.” Then again, maybe not. Maybe the real Stefanie, the one who’s been hiding all her life, finally feels like it is safe to come out. She needs the support of her friends and a lot of love and compassion, but little by little, I detect her flower blossoming. And all because of the support of a friend who helped me find the courage to go and buy some silly, red shoes. (I mean, awesome, sexy shoes).
Beautiful Girl In The Ballroom 