Ballroom - better than football
I still remember the first time I met Matthew Ashby. It was the spring of 2004. On a charming early morning of a Saturday, UMass team was looking for the ballroom competition venue on Yale campus. It was my second competition and I had transformed from a casual dancer to a little more serious. While most of us were trying to locate the ballroom, Matthew came out of nowhere.
"Follow me." He knew what we were after. Who else is crazy enough to be wondering around with backpacks and cloth bags on an early Saturday morning on a college campus?! More likely, he could recognize us as he was also carrying the similar stuff and looks; he too was crazy!
Because of his friendly nature, I connected with him pretty soon. The whole day we were not only dancing, but also talking and joking around. As an advance dancer he was very kind to offer some helpful tips to a rookie like myself.
The next I saw him was at the MIT competition, which is usually the biggest competition of the year. While one gets lost in a huge crowd, especially newbies like me, Matthew dug me out from the haystack. Once again, he gave me some useful pointers on my dancing. This slowly became a tradition. Every compeition Matthew and I both would look out for each other. I'd ask him to watch me dancing or he would do it anyway. And then he would give me some feedback on how much I had improved from the last time he saw me and then what I should work on next. He was one of the friends who saw me growing up as a dancer.
And I remember there was one time when out of ordinary, he asked me to watch him at a competition and give feedback on how he was doing! I found it very flattering, but only little later I realized that it's nothing to be bragging about. This is how we do it in ballroom dancing. We help out each other without pride and prejudice - just like Matthew did for me. I also remember the time when I competed against Matthew. I can't remember what exactly he said, but I sure remember that he was proud of me for making it there from the rookie that he saw the first time. I was proud - not so much for making it there, but having an honor of dancing with Matthew.
In this regard, I consider ballroom dancing much better than football. Dancers don't win by bringing somebody down. They help out each other even if they are competitors. As Robert Lipsyte wrote in USA Today article, "Compared with football, a profession that lures many overweight delinquents, ballroom dancers are trim and civilized. The men seem unafraid, unlike football players, of having their manhood challenged, even though the women are capable of doing everything a man can do, and doing it while traveling backwards." He further says, "Dancers are my heroes, and I find sadly comic the bogus macho of those big-bodied boys who dance only after they knock someone down."
"Follow me." He knew what we were after. Who else is crazy enough to be wondering around with backpacks and cloth bags on an early Saturday morning on a college campus?! More likely, he could recognize us as he was also carrying the similar stuff and looks; he too was crazy!
Because of his friendly nature, I connected with him pretty soon. The whole day we were not only dancing, but also talking and joking around. As an advance dancer he was very kind to offer some helpful tips to a rookie like myself.
The next I saw him was at the MIT competition, which is usually the biggest competition of the year. While one gets lost in a huge crowd, especially newbies like me, Matthew dug me out from the haystack. Once again, he gave me some useful pointers on my dancing. This slowly became a tradition. Every compeition Matthew and I both would look out for each other. I'd ask him to watch me dancing or he would do it anyway. And then he would give me some feedback on how much I had improved from the last time he saw me and then what I should work on next. He was one of the friends who saw me growing up as a dancer.
And I remember there was one time when out of ordinary, he asked me to watch him at a competition and give feedback on how he was doing! I found it very flattering, but only little later I realized that it's nothing to be bragging about. This is how we do it in ballroom dancing. We help out each other without pride and prejudice - just like Matthew did for me. I also remember the time when I competed against Matthew. I can't remember what exactly he said, but I sure remember that he was proud of me for making it there from the rookie that he saw the first time. I was proud - not so much for making it there, but having an honor of dancing with Matthew.
In this regard, I consider ballroom dancing much better than football. Dancers don't win by bringing somebody down. They help out each other even if they are competitors. As Robert Lipsyte wrote in USA Today article, "Compared with football, a profession that lures many overweight delinquents, ballroom dancers are trim and civilized. The men seem unafraid, unlike football players, of having their manhood challenged, even though the women are capable of doing everything a man can do, and doing it while traveling backwards." He further says, "Dancers are my heroes, and I find sadly comic the bogus macho of those big-bodied boys who dance only after they knock someone down."
posted by Chirag Shah | 12:19 AM
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