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MDD123
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02 Mar 2014, 5:05 am

I just triad a wii dancing game. Great cardio, but I didn't keep up with the moves at all. Has anyone here figured out how to dance? I've never heard of a dancing aspie now that I think of it.


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Gizalba
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02 Mar 2014, 9:04 am

I dance :) I am not completely sure I have aspergers yet (still trying to get an assessment). From what I read I gather that things like dance and sports often don't appear to fit aspie traits well, so I too would like to know if there are any dancing aspies ;). I find that I have a tendency to overthink everything, which is largely why I like dance as I have to let go of the overthinking in order to do it well, which I find hard but liberating when I manage it. When I slip back into my natural tendency to overthink I end up completely failing moves I could previously do when I just went with it and didn't think too much. I do contemporary, jazz and pole dance. I find the pole dance the most fun and nicely challenging so most satisfying, but it is the one I get most behind the class in, as I have to learn things slowly, carefully and thoroughly especially when there is risk involved :P I also struggle with people watching me or touching me to try to make sure I don't fall - I think I am actually more likely to fall with people trying to help, as it freaks me out and puts too much pressure on! Lol. I will be much happier when I can do it without supervision (using youtube videos for instructions) and when I can afford to install my own pole at home as I am generally better at teaching myself things as a loner. It also seems to take my brain longer than other people to register what an instructor is asking me to do - like accidentally moving my right hand instead of my left or doing a completely different move to what they asked, or forgetting the instructions easily and having to ask for them to repeat it, which does frustrate and embarrass me. I am trying to stop comparing myself to others and their rate of progress, as that comparison really knocks my confidence.



MDD123
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02 Mar 2014, 1:04 pm

I know what you mean by helping out. Every time I happen to struggle with something, someone usually jumps in and tries to do it for me, as if that'll help me learn something new.

I would love to figure out how to breakdance myself, but I'd be happy to pull of any kind of dancing. Good luck getting a pole; I think if you're enjoying something, you're already on your way to getting good at it. I didn't find any jazz dance games (during the 15 seconds I spent googling it); but I'm pretty sure you'd benefit from a dance video game. You can practice the same song all you want, and it keeps track of how well you keep up. My favorite part is there is no panel of experts to tell you how to do it.


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Spirochete
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06 Mar 2014, 1:26 pm

I started Irish dance about a year ago. I know I don't look great doing it,and my coordination is less than spectacular, but it's fun and a great workout. It seems like I always know what the steps are in my head- I can count them, recite them, know what they should look like- but trying to execute them, well, that's a different matter entirely. P



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06 Mar 2014, 5:30 pm

I'm a dancer. :D

I started doing ballet at 5, and have done just about every type of dance there is.

I really struggle with learning routines. I can copy individual moves easily enough, but trying to put them together has been a constant battle. I take (at least) twice as long as any other dancer I know to memorise a dance, and often get a complete mind fade where I can't remember what comes next. The only way I have found of dealing with it, is just constant repetition until my body remembers what comes next, rather than relying on my brain.

Gizalba, can you mention to your teacher that you find it distracting if they get too close? In the first class I took, they would just watch from a few steps back when you were doing inverts, and only stepped in to help grab you if you literally shrieked and started falling.

I hope you manage to get a pole in at home soon. It's great being able to work on things at your own pace. I just love mine. 8)



Basso53
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07 Mar 2014, 4:57 pm

I can't dance. At all. I can sing. I can play an instrument (trumpet). I can sight read and play highly syncopated passages. I can run. I rarely trip and fall, and ride a bicycle competitively in groups. But I have never been able to get my feet and legs moving to music, ever.


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Gizalba
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11 Mar 2014, 7:54 pm

Moomingirl wrote:

Gizalba, can you mention to your teacher that you find it distracting if they get too close? In the first class I took, they would just watch from a few steps back when you were doing inverts, and only stepped in to help grab you if you literally shrieked and started falling.

I hope you manage to get a pole in at home soon. It's great being able to work on things at your own pace. I just love mine. 8)


Thankyou for that advise! I think I have felt too embarrassed to tell them that getting too close makes me nervous, but that sounds like a good idea - to ask if they could only touch me if absolutely necessary if I look like I'm about to fall. I will see if I can build up the courage to explain that to them. It is great to know there is an aspie avid dancer out there, and inspiring to hear that you don't let your struggles with learning routines stop you :)



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12 Mar 2014, 1:42 am

^ It's nice to know I'm not the only one too. :D

You don't need to mention your Aspergers to your teacher, or say that they make you nervous. Just tell them that you find it distracts you from what you are doing if they are too close (or if they touch you) and ask if they could stand back a bit. No good teacher is going to want you to land on your head!

Don't let comparisons with others in the class get you down. I know exactly what you mean by that. I get so frustrated with myself when I forget things, or move the wrong hand the twentieth time I do something even if I had it right the first nineteen times. On the bright side, the fact that I work twice as hard as everyone else has really paid off in my ability, even if my memory still leaves something to be desired.

The important thing to remember if you love dance is to just keep doing it, enjoy it, and don't be so hard on yourself. This girl explains it much better than I do. :
http://aerialamy.com/blog/2011/03/30/status-quo/

You should start saving for a pole, once you have one at home it becomes a real addiction. Let me know how you get on. 8)



aghogday
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12 Mar 2014, 10:24 pm

Well yes..i am a middle age guy at 53 and i dance walk everywhere i go..in a TAI CHI..belly dance..reverse walk free style of dance..

It has incredible health benefits..

I had a hard time with motor coordination even walking in SuperWalmart with my wife..having to copy her to walk in a straight line up to age 47.

Last Summer i started walking in reverse..as my legs were going numb from spinal stenosis and severe arthritis walking forward..

Well it worked..i'm pain free..stronger than ever..and it naturally becomes a free style type of dance..starting with just that one step in reverse..
leading to another and another..and now i do an average of 30 miles a week..in shopping stores..etc..as my wife loves to shop...

This is a funny photo if ya think about a middle guy with an Asperger's flavored form of Autism..but it is real..and i really do not care if folks think it is funny or not..as i am no longer restricted to the sidewalks of life..from culturally imposed quiet hands and feet...

I have happy stimming hands and feet now..and even get applause once in a while in stores..:)

I thought i would never be able to dance..SMOOTHLY..but that IS the problem i thought about it..instead of JUST DOING IT...

:)

AND DOING IT REALLY DOES WORK..IT JUST TAKES TIME AND PRACTICE..STARTING WITH BABY STEPS..and progressing to potential amazing moves..that make folks clap in REAL LIFE..;)

And another thing..since i have been doing this my ability to use my left hand and actually demonstrate non-verbal communication..IS improving to the extreme..where i am now seen and tested in real life..as an extreme extrovert instead of introvert..

The mind and body is connected..'fix' one and the other part improves too..through epigenetic and or neuroplasticity at any age per positive effect and result of mind and or body improvement!

[img][800:606]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OSpnWd4I-sE/Uw0YVsw53cI/AAAAAAAAIqY/RQepBDUH7d4/s1600/IMG_4957-MOTION.gif[/img]


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aghogday
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15 Mar 2014, 11:06 am

Here is a link to an inspirational blog post i created to inspire folks to dance walk.. all around the world..

I am using my out of the box way of autistic thinking to SERIOUSLY CHANGE THE WORLD..in my own little
way..

I have the will to do it..and i am succeeding in my own way..

Different ways of thinking change the world...

Stale ways of thinking keep the world.. basically..
insane... in overall human suffering..

Humans are meant to move..anyone who thinks they can get away WITH sitting in one spot their entire life ..overall..STARING AT A FEW POINTS ON A SCREEN..without incurring human suffering through arthritis..chronic tension..pain..or overall human imbalance in mind and or spirit and body..
is sadly mistaken..we answer to our human nature...whether we like it or not...

IT IS OUR MASTER...

SERIOUSLY..THAT IS NO JOKE..

I HAVE DEGREES IN HEALTH science..anthropology and social sciences interdisciplinary..and have been studying ways
to eliminate human suffering for over 4 decades..now at age 53 closing in on 54...

And yes i find the key!
in simple TAI CHI movement..no lessonS required .. just a balance of human being..working with gravity every second of the day..instead of against it..

Seriously.. for all the folks who think i'm crazy on this site.

i'm a little bit sane..let's just say...;)
a whole lot different..

in this brain washed world..

but one with all that really counts..

the real human nature.. we ARE EVOLVED FOR...

THAT FOLKS..IS COMMON SENSE..

SADLY LACKING ALL OVER THIS WORLD..(the brain washed one.. against human nature)

http://katiemiafrederick.com/2014/03/15 ... suffering/


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MannyBoo
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16 Mar 2014, 12:02 am

I am a dancer for many years.
Some of my favorite dancers are below.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1iSPXU6etY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TM-e5tEuBs[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNCUyTob9W8[/youtube]



Moomingirl
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22 Mar 2014, 2:29 am

Yay, my shoulder was finally stable enough to dance again today. Felt good. 8)