Re: Swing dance class - good idea

Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 12:41:41 -0400
Newsgroups: alt.support.shyness
Size: 1,497 bytes

In article <email-address-deleted>, Vshah101
wrote:
> I did discover one good event I can go to. I recently went to swing dance class
> lessons. They are inexpensive at certain places.
Great idea! I started taking dance lessons last year after reading so
much here and elsewhere about how good they can be for shy people. I
started out taking ballroom lessons, then latin, and then swing
(Lindy Hop). I've been doing swing for nearly nine months now.
For a shy person, it can be difficult at times. Obviously you'll
have people *watching* you and I was never comfortable being the
center of attention. And, when you're learning it is easy to
mess-up and then you feel bad about that. Eventually, neither of
these things become a big deal and you get used to it. The shyness
isn't really there anymore.
> And there is some physical contact- you hold hands with your
> left hand and your right hand is on her back.
At first this was a *big* deal even for me. It just felt so
weird to be so close to other people. But this too isn't a big
deal anymore.
Classes are an easy way to start because noone really expects
anything from you; everyone is a beginner. You can become pretty
decent at a dance after a few weeks.
I made friends with other people in my classes and we go out to
dances as a group.
When I started, I didn't really even *like* to dance and I had
never had a desire to learn. I took the classes as a way to
confront my shyness and it helped with that.