How hard is it to learn swing dancing, and how can instructors best meet the unique needs of beginning dancers? Part 1 of a 2-part series.
Teaching true beginners is different than teaching intermediate and/or advanced dancers As Rebecca Brightly recently wrote, it takes a while for most people to discover where they fit into the larger lindy hop scene. Like many others, I initially daydreamed about becoming a “rockstar” swing dancer/instructor. Through time, it became clear that my unique gift to the lindy hop world lay in the arena of teaching/encouraging beginning swing dancers at the local level. I also enjoy inspiring all sorts of fun shenanigans (and a few videos) in the process. I’ve greatly enjoyed teaching classes at Seattle-based HepCat Productions and Mountain View, California based Wednesday Night Hop. After teaching different levels,…
From decorative tissue boxes to puppies: first lessons from my OT fieldwork internship
It’s an exciting time in my life – in the last 3 months I finished the classroom portion of my Masters in occupational therapy, got married and went on a wonderful honeymoon, and started my first occupational therapy fieldwork internship. After I finish two full time, three-month internships*, I will officially graduate with my Masters and be qualified to sit for the board exam. This is the last step before I can actually be an OT in the real world! My Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) houses mostly geriatric patients who are rehabilitating from a variety of physical ailments, from hip replacements to strokes. The occupational therapist’s role in this setting…
How to Keep Perspective (Even when Planning a Wedding): Converse with Your Past and Future Selves
Have you ever looked at a picture of yourself from the past and thought, “I’d like to actually talk to that person?” Even if you haven’t, I’d like to argue that there are sanity-inducing benefits to conversing with your past (and future) selves. I have found this approach particularly relevant as I simultaneously plan my wedding, finish graduate school, teach/organize swing dance events and attempt to retain a semblance of sanity. When I find myself stressing out about wedding details in particular, I actually imagine that my past and future selves are attending the wedding. I reflect in detail about what specifically they would find important about the event. I have…
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins
So, I’ve been gluten-free for almost 2 years at this point. After reading endless blogs and one very good book, I’ve come to the following simple philosophy: eat foods that naturally taste good without gluten. In other words, rather than trying to recreate your favorite breads or other glutenous foods without their star ingredient, just eat foods that humans already decided were super delicious that happen to not have gluten in them. This includes Thai and Indian dishes, without the naan of course. However. Every once in a while I come across a recipe that not only recreates the taste of a glutenous item (such as a muffin or cupcake), but far supercedes…
My Biggest Wish for New Dancers: A Rational Optimism
After teaching beginning dance lessons for three years, I believe that one’s attitude is the most important factor influencing whether or not one sticks with the dance. Let’s be brutally honest: learning to dance involves lots of mistakes and awkward moments. It’s an athletic and musical skill that is learned in the context of touching people that one might be sexually attracted to, for Pete’s sake! In order to stick with it, you must accept some fundamental truths: You will make (MANY) mistakes. Along the way, your brain will want to attribute those mistakes to some causal factor. You will be the sole common denominator in all the mistakes you…
Why I Dance (with arthritis)
I created this video ostensibly for a Jazz Video Contest in 2010, but in reality the idea had been kicking around my head for a while and I just needed an excuse to get out and actually complete my vision 🙂 It pretty much speaks for itself, but I will add a few notes for context below: Video Objectives To show that everyone can enjoy the swing dancing community, regardless of what challenge they may have in their life. Many people in the Seattle dancing community had no idea I had Rheumatoid Arthritis, so I also wanted to communicate my health situation to them in a way that would make…
A Video is Worth a Thousand Words: Promoting Occupational Therapy
Hello, world! I’m still processing the inspiring, overwhelming and thoroughly enjoyable weekend I had at the American Occupational Therapy Association’s 2011 Conference in Philadelphia, PA. I entered the conference prepared to be overwhelmed and inspired by the esteemed Occupational Therapists (OTs), COTAs, Professors, Advocates, and other students from around the country. I did not anticipate that something I created would become a source of inspiration for many of the 6,000 therapists in attendance. My award-winning video about promoting occupational therapy My experience at my first ever national OT conference At the Opening Ceremony on Thursday, my video was announced as the winner of the AOTA Student Video Contest and was…