Do any of these sound familiar to you? "I can't believe _______ made it into finals before me! I know I'm a better dancer than them!" "I completely embarrassed myself in the competition today" "My partners in the jack and jill are why I didn't make finals." I've heard them all, even said one or two of them after various competitions. This post is the first in a three part series on how to work on those competition feels. I want to tackle the feelings that underpin those state

In two months, 50Fifty, the Chicago swing and blues dance that started out CodeBLUE: Blues and Lindy Urban Encounter, will turn six. 72 dances, 4 workshops, 4 band nights. Three different venues. 6 different combinations of organizers. Countless hours of labor, by organizers and volunteers. After it turns six, there will be no further specifically designated mixed tempo/genre nights in Chicago. CodeBLUE was thought up in a hot kitchen, while Anna Washenko, Heather Merrell and

I recently learned that someone who is now a friend's first impression of me was one that is not great. Some five years ago, I traveled to an event, got placed in a lower level than my romantic partner, and essentially had a fit. It wasn't my finest moment. At the time, there was a lot of ego and a lot of emotion all wrapped up in the implications of level placement, and a whole lot of distress. Soon, I'll be writing a post that gets into some of the organizer-perspective que

The following blog post is Choose the answer that fits you best: You've been traveling for dance for a while now. You come back to your town's scene, and go out to the weekly dance. What do you see? A. Newer dancers using rudimentary moves B. The same old, same old, nothing new to be had C. A waste of time and energy D. A bunch of familiar faces having fun A. Newer dancers using rudimentary moves Oh man! There's so many new folks here! New dancers mean your scene is growing,