Together we win

At UMass, it was the Thursday before MIT Open 2006 comp - the last day of practicing for the last comp of the year. I had spent almost the whole day in Totman, little for my own practices and mostly for working with others. Throughout the day people were walking in and out for practices. We all knew this was the last chance and we wanted to give it our best shot.

Toward the end of the day I was exhausted and so were the remaining dancers there: Paul, Lindsay, Big Jackie, Aliki, Clayton, and Dana. They were working on latin/rhythm dances and I was trying my best to give them some last minute pointers, though I knew that we can't change a lot now so close to the comp. I was out of ideas and wasn't sure what more I could do for them. At that moment something magical happened, or rather, started happening. Paul and Aliki were dancing and others were resting. Suddenly they started cheering for Paul and Aliki, and not just any "normal" cheering, but really pushing them to go full energy (including some explicitness, which I won't describe here!). They encouraged Aliki to look up and realize how hot she was and it worked like a miracle. I had been trying hard to make Aliki do the same, but was never successful and now without any of my "pep talks", she was doing what I would have loved her to do all along!

They got exhausted and as they rested another couple got on the "floor" and the rest of the two couples cheered them the same way. As I also participated in this elevating cheering, the trend continued couple after couple. Suddenly at the end of the day in that foyer, there was a high rise in the energy. Suddenly they all forgot their pains and exhaustion and really danced like they meant it! I watched everyone in awe - in a way they are competing against each other, but here they were - supporting each other, realizing that more than anything, they are fellow dancers and there is no better way of being a better dancer than to help and inspire other dancers. And may be they didn't realize this, but I could see the result of that wonderful practice at MIT comp. They all did awesome dancing.

I had hardly any role to play in this, but as a leader and a teacher, there's nothing better I can expect to do to others than to make them independent, make them aware of their abilities and talents. This incident taught me a lot and I hope others also learn something from this. Ballroom dancing is not just about being individually good; it's about working together with fellow dancers and getting better together. Nobody loses in this, it's a win-win situation.

Now I'm away from this amazing team where such miracles used to happen, but from such an experience (and many other), I feel very confident that my beloved team would keep having such magical moments.