Thursday, September 22, 2011

In Anticipation of the Fall 2011 Semester

Classes are in full swing at NYU. I'm in my final semester of course work (tears), so I only have two classes this semester and my thesis to write next semester and I graduate in May. What's a boy to do with all that extra time?

Yeah, I guess you figured out the answer to that one.

Last year, when I got really serious about this whole dancing thing, I started to notice that my schedule (and my life) started to revolve around competition weekends. Splitting myself amongst four and sometimes five partners amongst four styles at varying levels made me a master at time management. Add in the full-time internship I had at the end of last year, and the flow of my day turned into wake up, eat, work, dance, go to class, sleep, lather, rinse, repeat. Brutal. My poor homework didn't get done to satisfaction for nearly two months.

Thankfully, this semester, I can devote the appropriate amount of time to my practicing AND my homework, and preparing for competitions will be great. I'm competing in all four styles again (with perhaps a few surprises!), and I couldn't be more excited. Also, I now have structure to my semester again with the comps to look forward to! NYU is sponsoring four, and I might make a trip up to spectate or TBA at another one or two. Here's the list thus far:

1. Princeton. The second competition I danced with NYU at and the first that Claire and I competed at. We ended up getting second in Bronze Rhythm Cha, Rumba, and Mambo and first in Swing (our first time out!), so I guess you could say that that's also when we figured out that there may be something to our partnership. Fond memories. I'm so excited to compete there again, especially since some of my friends from the Holy Cross team, where I started dancing, will be competing too! See you guys on the floor! :D

2. UConn. This was SUPPOSED to be an NYU-sponsored one, but due to a snafu on my part where I didn't realize that there would be no mode of public transportation back to the city after the competition, we changed it to Yale (see next). So, I'm coming along with a few members of our team to spectate and cheer them on. I'd possibly TBA, but I think I'll enjoy sitting in the bleachers for once and enjoy just cheering on my friends from NYU and HC for once, without worrying about competing myself.

3. Yale. The second competition I ever competed at waaaaaay back when in 2009 (get it? It's funny because it was only two years ago...), and my first ribbon ever (6th in Newcomer Swing)! I'm unspeakably excited for this one. Great venue, great team, great size -- what more could you ask for?

4. DCDI. I sat this one out last year for reasons I can't remember (homework? family stuff? who knows?), but I do remember sitting at my computer watching the Livestream and kicking myself for not going as I saw my friends having such a great time. Going this year is also super special because my first ballroom partner, Jen, who now studies at CU, is coming to spectate! I can't wait to show her what I've learned since we graduated HC.

5. Columbia. The big one. Possibly the last comp Claire and I compete at before she goes abroad in the spring. Plus, the comp where I placed in only a single event out of the 8 or so that I danced (and didn't even make it out of the first round for a few of them). This is the one where I'm going to gauge how I've done over the past year -- hopefully I'll do better at Columbia this time around!

So excited for the fall. Who will I be seeing out at these competitions? :D

Daniel