shall i dance?

i've written about how i'm not really afraid of the gym any more. just yesterday i spent some time with the rec center's punching bag and didn't feel the least bit self-conscious about it. i took my first weight training class sometime during the middle of my undergrad career, so after ten years and three more classes, i got where i want to be, to where i can go into the weight room and know my way around.

now i'm working on my next awkward arena: the dance floor.
not the byu stake dance kind of stuff, but the real thing. i took "social dance" at byu in the fall of 2001 and was nervous and uncoordinated but did my best. i took tap during my senior year and got a C. i'd occasionally go to the swing dancing nights at the armory on 500 S. and would do alright for the evening, even if i did, um, make a mistake now and then.... and last fall i took country western on the suggestion of my sister: "if you're in texas, you may as well learn to country dance," which sounded reasonable, despite my aversion to all things "western."
and, excepting the few missteps here and there, i did pretty well in it.

my problem is the same thing that i'd have with weight lifting: i'd forget everything the moment the class ends. i learned some really cool jitterbug moves last fall and could hardly recall them just a few weeks ago. and, in my experience, that's not a very effective way to be on the dance floor. the moves need to come naturally. but, i've learned to snowboard and i can calculate the effects of focal lengths, f-stops, and shutter speeds on my camera as second nature now, so i see no reason why i can't conquer this, too.

it took me four weight training classes, and i'm signed up for social dance this fall, which will be my fourth dance class over a similar ten-year span. and i'm trying to start going to the dance nights around town (free lessons from 8-9:30) and hopefully that wall will finally crack, too. i don't want to win any contests, but to simply know enough that i'm comfortable out there.

mostly, it just looks like fun and i want in on that.