Dancing (teaching) the night away...
Dec. 2nd, 2009 09:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jacquelineb(new icon! :D )
I had realised until yesterday while I was sitting at my desk in the afternoon just how worried I was about the class last night. At about 3.30 a definite sense of dread crept up my back and stayed there for about 45 minutes, which was later replaced by garden variety nervousness. The worries were usual; have I prepared enough, were the exercises for the dance good enough, would I be able to keep control of the class, would I simply fall apart and forget what I was doing, etc.
7.15 and I'm in the car with my mentor (who also teaches the Wednesday night class I go to), and come 8pm the class is coming in and we're ready to dance. And despite the terrifying lead up to it, the class went alright. This is also despite the floor being slippery and having no 'slip stop' (a kind of powder that is put on the floor to give some friction) to counter balance this, and the class being mostly 50+ (which means they can usually get through the movement of the dances but there is only so much one can expect from footwork).
I do need to work on getting through things faster (something my mentor pointed out) and I do need to be a much clearer in my head of the dances actually go (the strathspey proved a bit tricky in terms of the reels) but they responded quite well to me and 'did as they were told' according to my mentor (perhaps they were being extra attentive because they knew I'm still learning?) We got through 3 of the 4 dances I planned for (two of which are ones I'm quite fond of) so I'm quite happy about that.
On another topic completely, I'm becoming increasingly aware of how badly read I actually am. I really don't read novels or even non-fiction nearly as much as I should, which makes me want to put in an action plan for the coming year. Left to my own devices I tend to stray from book to book and not get them finished in a timely fashion, which is becoming rather frustrating. Focusing on one task has never been one of my strong points, but I think it's time to start taking my reading more seriously. There will probably be more rambling on that at a later date.
I had realised until yesterday while I was sitting at my desk in the afternoon just how worried I was about the class last night. At about 3.30 a definite sense of dread crept up my back and stayed there for about 45 minutes, which was later replaced by garden variety nervousness. The worries were usual; have I prepared enough, were the exercises for the dance good enough, would I be able to keep control of the class, would I simply fall apart and forget what I was doing, etc.
7.15 and I'm in the car with my mentor (who also teaches the Wednesday night class I go to), and come 8pm the class is coming in and we're ready to dance. And despite the terrifying lead up to it, the class went alright. This is also despite the floor being slippery and having no 'slip stop' (a kind of powder that is put on the floor to give some friction) to counter balance this, and the class being mostly 50+ (which means they can usually get through the movement of the dances but there is only so much one can expect from footwork).
I do need to work on getting through things faster (something my mentor pointed out) and I do need to be a much clearer in my head of the dances actually go (the strathspey proved a bit tricky in terms of the reels) but they responded quite well to me and 'did as they were told' according to my mentor (perhaps they were being extra attentive because they knew I'm still learning?) We got through 3 of the 4 dances I planned for (two of which are ones I'm quite fond of) so I'm quite happy about that.
On another topic completely, I'm becoming increasingly aware of how badly read I actually am. I really don't read novels or even non-fiction nearly as much as I should, which makes me want to put in an action plan for the coming year. Left to my own devices I tend to stray from book to book and not get them finished in a timely fashion, which is becoming rather frustrating. Focusing on one task has never been one of my strong points, but I think it's time to start taking my reading more seriously. There will probably be more rambling on that at a later date.
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Reading Action Plan
Date: 2009-12-02 11:46 am (UTC)Have a list on your journal of the books you have read, are reading and plan to read. Keep the 'are reading' list short with the aim to keep the 'have read' list long. You can collect book titles that sound interesting in the 'plan to read' section and then you're never left wondering what to read next.
Find time in your day that you can set aside for reading. I think you bike rather than bus, but perhaps lunch-breaks? Tea after dinner? Is there a particular place you read? Leave the book you're aiming to work on there, but no others.
And library books-- they want them back. I find this incentive works really well to finish things, and to finish them in the order the library wants them back.
Re: Reading Action Plan
Date: 2009-12-02 12:40 pm (UTC)I haven't actually managed to get used to the bike, so I've been walking to work, but it does occur to me that getting some 'talking books' might be a way to gain time there, as it is half an hour each way (you might be interested in this: http://librivox.org/. Only caveat is that they are all public domain books.)
Re: Reading Action Plan
Date: 2009-12-02 12:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-12-03 01:08 am (UTC)I know what you mean about reading I am terrible - I hardly read at all - but aplan of action sounds like....well a good plan!
no subject
Date: 2009-12-03 06:37 pm (UTC)I think you have more of an excuse than I do as you read for your PhD - I, on the other hand...but a plan is beginning to form which I'm happy about!
Another suggestion
Date: 2009-12-21 01:02 pm (UTC)-Amanda