I practiced the two new routines we're learning with my W. My W told me this morning that she doesn't enjoy practicing with me and may consider not signing up for the competition in January or quitting the formation teams. She told me that she wants to practice when she's available.
I do get frustrated when I practice. She only had one Rumba song on her Ipod. She gives feedback during the dance, which adds to stress. She doesn't like it if I stop in the middle of dance to start again. She doesn't like it if I express frustration--she sees it as whining.
I sent her an email this morning, letting her know that I was sorry she didn't enjoy the practice session. I tried to validate her concerns, and let her know what I'm struggling with. I told her that I wold try to leave my doubts at the door, lower my expectations of myself, be more patient with myself. I told her it was important to me to stay the course,because I liked the format of learning separate 50 second routines, that we could transfer to social dancing.
I hope we can work this out. I'll have to be prepared that she may convey her frustration with the teacher, and may tell him tomorrow that she's quitting. My response will continue to be to validate her concerns, and let her know I'll try to lighten up. I'll need to quickly have a back-up plan if she does back-out of some things.
CL
CL 53 W 54 M 20 yrs. 03'-09' Separation + Old Patterns + GAL 10-14' Piecing
"The Master allows things to happen. She shapes events as they come."
