A competition? Seriously?

I had tweeted this a couple of days ago: "Plans change. Things don't turn out as expected. But it's nice to see that despite the changes, things could turn out just as well."

I remember Ian wanting to train me to compete in an open Latin ballroom competition. I told him I liked Latin ballroom better than standard, probably because that's what was mostly taught to me. But things fell through, so I ended up going to another studio to keep myself from getting rusty.

When I was encouraged to take the standard class while still taking the Latin, I never thought I'd end up enjoying standard ballroom just as much. Probably even more, though I'm not sure yet.

Last Friday evening, we were supposed to have our usual back-to-back Latin and standard class, but because Sir Brando, Mommy Val, Joemari and Kimmy had a show, Teacher Belinda took the vacant hour for Latin to add to her 1-hour standard class.

Having arrived early at the studio from Glorietta with Myrone, we ended up reviewing the waltz before class had started, and got to pick up a few pointers both from him and Teacher B. Thank goodness for being there and dressing up early, as we had to review all the dances that we had taken up.

I have to say, it was a somewhat tiring but pretty fulfilling 2-hour class, as we were taught the Viennese waltz during the first hour, then we got to review the slow waltz and quickstep during the 2nd hour.

I distinctly remember asking Teacher B before the beginning of class about the syllabus competitions. When the next one would be (which would be in less than a month), and all that, and then I even told her that I somewhat wanted to compete, but I don't think I'm ready yet so part of me still doesn't want to do so.

I think she took it seriously. I could feel her watching me all throughout the class as my elbows and my posture kept dropping while my feet kept getting stepped on (due to small steps that couldn't catch up to my partner's big steps).

Teacher B told me after class that I could probably join the standard category of the syllabus competition with Myrone as my partner (who I'm guessing is having difficulty getting a partner due to his height), if I'm willing to attend extra sessions under her. She said she'd waive her professional fee, plus I might have to pay for the fee for the use of the floor if IDance won't shoulder it (because even if Myrone is a scholar, I'm not).

Even with the nerves I suddenly felt all over, I think I had said yes.

I just checked the PDTA Facebook page. The competition is on March 9th. The deadline for submission of entries is on February 22nd.

I don't know yet if Teacher B is dead serious about having me compete. If she asks me to stay after class this Tuesday, that's when I'll actually know.

I know I wanted to do this. But what I was dreaming about a few months ago was to compete in an open competition for Latin (despite my lack of technique). And now I'm being encouraged to join a syllabus competition. And I never expected it to be in the standard category.

It's approximately 3 weeks away. Can I do this?

In the words of Yoda, "Do. Or do not. There is no try."