The Big Lewandowski

I've danced more in this past week than...I can't even remember. My feet ache from being a constant three inches taller. My legs are being retrained to rotate more when I stand on them. I'm discovering my core and that it's lower than I think. My center is actually my spine, and it is used as a handy little axis on which I spin. I'm placing my weight better. I'm using my arms more naturally. At the same time, all this body fixing sends me through an awkward dance phase, where my body is challenged to move up in the next level of mature movement.

It's Adult Ballroom Dance Camp, which is where professionals come to BYU, and you just take technique classes all day. They have different levels, and most of us on the team take the most advanced since they don't get too hard. Sometimes I go to a lower level because it has a better teacher or a better dance being taught. There are a lot of social dances that are taught, which aren't my forte or my favorite. Give me technique and structure!

There is this one teacher, Izabela Lewandowski, who is amazing. I love her lines; I love her body; I love her energy; I love her interpretation; I love her technique; I love her artistry; I love her style. She just moves with such ease and speed. Her classes are always really gritty as far as technique goes. We do pretty basic moves even in an advanced class, but we tear each step to shreds in order to define the whole body action of the step. It really just blows my mind.

All this dancing makes me frantic that I only have a year left to get as good as I can possibly be.

And then what?