My dear readers, Unfortunately, this does not signal my return to blogging.  However, I would encourage you to check this out whenever time permits.  I am grateful for a spot in this list because it was an unexpected blessing.   God Bless, Alaina ..read more

photo by snowpea&bokchoi (flickr)   It’s been over six months since my last post and more than a year since I’ve stepped into the ballroom.  Now, I’m preoccupied with getting a full-time job and moving out.  It’s probably going to be a while until I make enough to take ballroom regularly again.  Such is life. I’ll be frank: I think it’s time to shut the blog down.  I have been dancing during my absence, mostly social Latin, and I’ll be embarking on regular Argentine Tango classes beginning this August.  I could blog about this a ..read more

Dancing is the poetry of the foot.  ~John Dryden Hello, friends.  This isn’t about dance.  It’s about poetry, but I do believe the two are related.  What is poetry, if not a dance with words?  I composed this yesterday to honor today: the 15th anniversary of September 11, 2001. ~  Whose souls are these that fill this holy place? Specters we still see, fam’ly we once knew. What was spilled, which once upheld enlivened face? ___ Against our countrymen did we once rue. Oh, anger!  Could we kill our fellow man? Recall when crimson ran with gray and blue. _ ..read more

This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest teams in the world. Photo by Georgia National Guard (flickr) I admit that being a team player is a weakness of mine.  I’m a very independent person that’s always preferred working alone.  My reasoning is selfish: If I screw up, I can only blame myself.  There’s also the mantra “If you want to get something done, you have to do it yourself.”  Unsurprisingly, being a part of Kañanazo has been challenging.  My desire to be a leader in the dance-o-sphere compounds it.  Yet, practicing this routine given to us b ..read more

*Sigh* It’s been over five months, and I’m writing today because I sure as heck don’t want to make it six.  Truth be told, I’ve been lacking the motivation to write because I have a lot going on in my life right now.  I’m still wrestling with all of it. This will be a short update.  Please forgive me. Okay, here’s the scoop in a sentence: An entry-level worker doing 32-hours a week with her first job mitigates strain on mental and emotional state by continuing her tenure with Kañanazo, the independent company with a bachata team, while desperately hoping ..read more

photo by longislandwins (flickr) Disclaimer: This is more a written therapy session than anything else. I don’t mind talking about my psyche, but it can be exhausting for readers.  Please bear this in mind if you want to keep reading. To finish my sentence, “Who knew looking sexy could be this hard?”  Dancing Rumba and Bolero gave me an impression, but it really hit me yesterday.  For those that may not know, I’ve joined a bachata team belonging to an independent company called Kañonazo.  My chapter at Arthur Murray is ending after over five years, so I decided ..read more

I feel like they haven’t started properly yet, but life is no novel.  These changes are a drizzle of rain, obscuring the vision of what I hoped to see.  Before I know it, they become a torrent.  Thunder pounds the ears as lightning illuminates the murky sky.  “Why do I want to leave the studio?  This has been the only dance-home I’ve known.  (That rhyme was unintentional.)  I can tough it out until it gets better, right?”  My doubts have their say, but my more logical half interjects. We’ve been over the reasons already.  Though the t ..read more

photo from Wikimedia Commons   One of the few certainties I had during my college search was the resolution to not attend a big university.  I didn’t—and still don’t like— crowds.  I already knew about dreaded auditorium classes.  Those prerequisite classes that would make me one of hundreds of students.  I’d disappear into the sea of people, and the chances that my professor would know me was would disappear, too. I needed direct and accessible communication to my professors.  My learning style thrives on feedback and constructive criticism.  ..read more

It’s hard to believe this blog is four years old.  Happy Leap Day, everyone!  So much has changed, and I hope to get everyone back in the loop.  If you want to read my last Leap Day post, click here. 2012 seems like a long time ago.  Four years ago, I was here: Bronze II Still a college student Unemployed Did not have my splits Now, I’m here: Full Bronze College graduate as of May 2015 Have a part-time job Have my left splits, but have sadly lost my right due to lack of stretching I no longer have the desire to participate in ballet.  It vanished.  Sadly, in ..read more

  photo by Jannes Pockele (Flickr) I hope everyone had a splendid holiday and New Year.  As for me and my family, we just chilled, played games, and watched movies.  It was an ideal way to spend my time off.  Unfortunately, the good news ends there. My teacher is gone.  Yep, the one I barely even knew, gone.  I’ve come to understand after years of dancing that as far as transient jobs go, franchise instructor probably tops them all.  Most dancers see it as a stepping stone for a better job.  How odd that I see it as my dream job, not a&n ..read more