I Know I Can - During the Commercials

My guilty pleasure is Dancing With the Stars ... there is an addictive quality to it. Like a cheap street drug it sucks you into its "I  think I can dance too" vortex leaving you with a false sense of flexibility and grace. And it holds you in its gnarly grip so that by the second show you graduate from the admiration and spectator stage to the invincible "how hard can it be?".

Kidlet and I watch it together most times and we laughed when we caught ourselves critiquing the performances -- "the lines were off; the footwork was a mess; the choreography didn't showcase the star enough; her head should be tilted more to the right". Incredible how the mere act of watching can instill such confidence and expertise in one who lacks even the most basic sense of rhythm. I confess to trying some of those latin moves in the privacy of my own family room, but the dog and Kidlet protesteth too much!

But all is not lost. I have a new strategy to minimize the couch time that I log when I am watching the tube .... I pulled out my stretch bands and resistance bar and during the commercials I logged some resistance training. If the sight of those half naked dancers doesn't inspire, I'm not sure what can.

Oh to Dance!

I'm addicted. I promised myself that I wouldn't get sucked in this season, but I did. I am out, openly admitting that I am a fan of Dancing With the Stars. Maybe it's because it gives a glimpse of dance not of our era; I don't know many men - or women - my age who know the fine art of waltzing, jiving or the polka.

We sit on the sidelines at weddings watching the other generation  twirl, swirl and glide smoothly as they cover the floor. Either that or we attempt to dance a slow song by gripping our partner and alternating between swaying and stepping in unison or bouncing up and down to the rhythm. What's a few bruised toes?

I can remember learning basic ballroom steps in gym class. Not sure the boys had dance in their cirriculum. My best friend Jill was the boy and I was the girl as we learned how to square dance, waltz, cha cha and foxtrot - all in sweatpants and sneakers. I think we even learned to "hustle". Poor Jill had trouble years later - she had learned everything backwards and how to lead - not follow. Maybe when I get the urge to dance, I should call her up ...

Kidlet and I are getting good at critiquing the dancers -- their form, energy and commitment. Maybe the biggest reason I like watching Dancing With the Stars - is that I watch it with Kidlet. It is one of the rare shows we both love and can share.

Tonight is the results show so I will close now and indulge my guilty pleasure.

Care to Dance?

My secret obsession -- ballroom dancing. Watching it of course - from the couch. Kidlet and I sit watching the cast of characters from Dancing With the Stars foxtrot, samba and salsa around the ballroom floor, critiquing each slip, lift, and twirl as if we know what we are talking about. For me it's not about the stars ... I am mesmerized watching the beauty of two moving as one, gracefully and elegantly .. spoke too soon --Steve Wozniak just did the worm.

That aside, it makes me long for a return to a time when people knew how to dance together. My parents love to dance and seem to know one another's moves before they make them. I remember my father trying to teach us as teenagers ... don't look down; head up; smooth - no bouncing up and down; don't lead; cover the floor ...

There's a special kind of joy in creating a moment together and feeling and moving with the music as one. Maybe I'll get off the couch and hunt hubby down. Care to dance?