Dear Poppy,
There is so much to learn about dancing. It just doesn’t seem like there is enough time to go through everything in a lesson or when I practice. I feel like I am wasting my time and not really getting any better. Do you have any suggestions on how I can use my dance lessons and practice time better.
Wasting Time
Dear Wasting Time,
That’s an easy one, Sweetie. Practice one thing at a time. Sit down and write out a practice plan with the dates and times for each week to practice. Then choose the elements in your dancing that you need improvement. Perhaps a technique that you need to better or perfect. It can be as simple as a heel lead or a toe release. At each practice session focus on one thing. Make it simple and commit to that one element the entire session. Try focusing on one element of your dance for two weeks in all your practice sessions. You will be amazed at how much you will improve your dancing skills one at a time.
Ms. Poppy Chiffon — the doyenne of dance, the baroness of ballroom etiquette, the sultana of Southern hospitality — is pleased to answer your dance-related questions. Here are a few queries that Poppy deigned to extract from her mailbag this week. If you have a question that you would like Poppy Chiffon to address, please e-mail her at askpoppy@dancestationusa.com. Ms. Chiffon regrets that she cannot respond individually to questions.
