Baby & Johnny, Fred & Ginger… The Premiere

So today marked Day 1 in my Favorite Foursome’s quest to become the Baby Houseman & Johnny Castle, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers of our day… that’s right, folks, it was Ballroom Dancing, Lesson 1, for Marissa (playing the role of Baby), N8 (Johnny Castle), Katie (the lovely Ginger Rogers) and Mike (Fred Astaire).

Mike said it was a lot of fun and seemed to really get into it. He was the strongest lead of all the guys, which made dancing with him very easy. N8 wasn’t too thrilled by it… mostly, I think, because he’s just so afraid that he’ll do something wrong and someone will think he looked foolish. But the irony about that? Is that N8 was doing absolutely fine. He was a good lead as well, and I felt so comfortable dancing with him. His dance frame was supportive without feeling “commanding” and he didn’t try to take those huuuuuge steps like he was trying to propel his partner across the floor at high speed.

There were a few guys who probably should have been more concerned about getting it right, but N8 wasn’t one of them. When we got back to my apartment, N8 and I–er, I mean, Johnny and Baby–went over the three dances we’d learned today (Foxtrot, Rumba, and Merengue) and he did perfectly. So, I think N8′s biggest challenge lies not with whether or not he can dance, because though he swears he cannot I have seen otherwise, but with gaining enough confidence to feel comfortable dancing.

All in all, it was a good time. Our dance instructor is a petite blonde with a big, Julia Roberts smile, and enough energy for about five people her size. She’s awesome. She’s very animated and perky, and she has one of those bodies that makes you think, “Gee, is ballroom dancing the next tae bo?” There was no male dance instructor. She taught both the men and women’s parts.

I love dancing. Love it. I hope we get to learn the polka… Maybe John, Monty, N8 and I can put on an exhibition dance next time we’re in town!