In Praise of Melissa (Again)

Tonight was yet another Roof dance. It was nice to be back, a lovely caption to a very dance filled weekend.

When we started to dance, I knew Gary and I would love our dance teacher, Melissa. I knew it because my sister Quinn loves her, and hey, that's good enough for me. Melissa has over and over exceed our expectations, and even teaches us in a way that is not the ballroom norm, learning dances and fixing steps we gather in our travels that are not in her traditional dance card..
Yeah, you're thinking, we know all this...you've said it all before. OK, yes I have. But what I have also discovered as we've been dancing out more is that Melissa and her husband Mark are even more fabulous dancers than I realized at first. Of course I knew they were good. But seeing OTHER pros dance makes me realize Mark and Melissa have something most professionals do not.
First and foremost, what I notice most about most pros is that that seem to me to have an affected, "icy" style. Yes, they have smiles pasted on their faces. Yes they execute with precision and flair. But they have no style! Well, perhaps I should say I don't care for their style, all flicky wrists and mincy steps, they kinda look like robots to me. Not Melissa and Mark. They execute as well as the before mentioned couples, but they ALSO have a warmth and sensuality that radiates out across the dance floor.

Also, although they are a joy to watch, they don't make others feel inadequate. I don't know how they do this because they are so good. Maybe because their dancing has a quiet beauty, not a loud shout.

Melissa and Mark are like the gorgeous girl next door, very lovely but also easy to talk to...as opposed to the cold beauty of some of the young starlets nowadays. Mark and Melissa shimmer like fine satin as opposed to sequiny sparkle. And the love they feel for one another glimmers back and forth between them.

Ultimately perhaps that's why they dance the way they do. And while I will probably never reach their lofty heights, Gary and I do share that aspect with Mark and Melissa. And in that way perhaps we can strive to emulate them.