Ice Dance Psychology

 Lesson this morning and we had to do a 6:15am session at the Promenade to make up for my usual Monday afternoon slot. I had an all day staff training event at work and couldn't do Monday. Alas. So, here I am on a Wednesday morning instead. I had an "oops" moment when I was taking my skates off at the end of my session. The morning sessions here are 45 minutes instead of an hour. My brain knew this but my body skated the whole hour. I feel like I stole those extra 15 minutes. Normally, I would call and pay the extra $2.50 or whatever but I remember a few weeks ago when I accidentally left 15 minutes early because I was too tired to read a clock properly. So, I figure it all balanced out. Right? 

Moves - We only had a 20 minute lesson today since his schedule was pretty booked but we got a lot done during such a short amount of time. We started by looking at the forward double 3s. I'm getting it done but the turns aren't placed exactly where they need to be and I'm doing some weird stuff with my arms. After the first turn, I should reset for the second turn and pass my arms through and then turn. So much control needed for this!

Dances - We moved on to dances, starting with the Fiesta Tango. My change of hold on that mohawk is much better (yay! I've been working on it) but the second change of hold on that last step is still wonky. I keep bending at the waist and I'm kinda shoving Christopher away. I'll spend some extra time on the end pattern leading up to test day next month. Next up was the Cha Cha. This is fine. He just wants me to polish some things - more chasse here, less chasse there. Finally, we worked on the Swing. This is getting better too and I think it might be okay for next month. I'm doing better at the first end pattern where I go towards him to get back into waltz hold but when it's his turn to come back to me, I tend to block him. I lock my arms and don't let him get close. This is an unconscious behavior. I have anxiety about people getting too close and it makes sense that it's easier for me to come to him. It's on my terms, sorta. But when he needs to come back in close to me, I react as I would with anyone trying to get too close - I push them away/don't let them in at all. So, basically this means I just need to make a conscious effort to let him in. Ah, the psychology of Ice Dance, lol.