I had a pretty interesting day at the beginning of July.

I don’t know what came over me (probably some kind of mid-life crisis) but last Christmas I told my dancing teacher that deep down I really wanted to enter a ballroom dance competition. So – little by little – all this year – he slowly but surely started teaching me five dance routines that make up the international latin style.

Now – just to make it clear to you – you don’t have to be very good to enter a competition. They have a category for everyone.  However SOME people are pretty good – and ALL the people take it very seriously. I specifically entered a category for middle-aged ladies dancing with their teacher.

It is a pretty intense experience – the whole thing of getting your shit together to compete. First of all it is really a lot to remember and learn. You have to learn five whole dance routines and try to look as if you know what you are doing.

The other thing is – it really makes you get to grips with how out of shape you are. I thought I was in OK shape for my age – but when I started doing this stuff – it made me sweat like a camel. A life-time of living off a steady diet of chardonnay and bagels with cream cheese has really caught up with me.

I am extremely lucky as I have possibly the best dance teacher in the universe. He himself is the United-States and World Champion of the Rhythm division of Dancesport.. He is a crazy good dancer and pretty patient.  In theory, when you see two paid professionals dancing together it should look very sexy and slick. However, with me – if you were an outside person looking in on the proceedings – you might think of the “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin trying to wrangle an ungainly alligator. Or a farmer trying to get a greased pig into a box.  Poor Jose (who is my teacher) has to try and get me around the dance floor looking like it is fun and easy – but of course it is extremely difficult to to get an un-rhythmic 40-something mother of two to do anything. Sometimes he has to put so much effort dancing everything so enthusiastically himself – in the hope that a little bit might rub off on me – I am quite afraid he might strain an important muscle.

Anyway – last Wednesday I had my very first competition at the Manhattan Dancesport Championships. I have to tell you it was one of the most fun days I have ever had since being a grown up. I got to have my hair and make-up done. The make-up lady was very nice but I think she had seen one too many tributes to Michael Jackson in the past few days because I did look slightly like something from a MJ video. But it was kind of appropriate – I mean no one was really rocking out any kind of look that would be found in nature. I got to wear a great dress filled with pink ruffles – that you would never be able to wear in regular life – like to the supermarket or a PTA meeting.

The most fun part was the actual dancing. Surprisingly I wasn’t that scared. It was much less scary than going on QVC. When I see myself on the video of the event – I do look slightly like an over-sized terrified rabbit (in a pink dress) But seriously – I could have looked quite a lot worse. It was really crazy fun and I can’t wait to do it again.

Perhaps even more fun than doing it myself – on Saturday  my husband and some of our close friends went to see Jose and his drop dead gorgeous partner Joanna dance. It was so exciting and beautiful. I have seen them dance many times – but that night was really special and intense. If you get a chance you should go on Youtube and look up Jose Decamps and Joanna – I promise you – if you are bored in your office or your husband and kids are irritating you – watching Jose and Joanna will totally cheer you up. Of course they won this huge championship…so fabulous. So many things in life are so depressing and stressful – evenings like that can kind of rescue you ….