Wednesday, June 27, 2007

When Is Being Openly Groped a Good Thing?

When the alternative is a concussion and 12 stitches.

In social dancing, it's easy to want to apologize a lot. I'm as guilty of this as anyone - whenever I miss a lead, take a wrong step, fumble through a turn, or skip a break I apologize. "Sorry!" slips out of my mouth easier than "I'll take them all!" at a shoe sale.

But in spite of that, I always try to make my partners feel comfortable, and I try to remind them that the vast majority of the time, there's no reason to apologize. As I told my friend Eric once, "You don't need to apologize unless you cause me physical pain or feel me up."

That, however, was a number of years ago, and since then, I've realized that the feeling up doesn't require an apology either... in some situations. Check this out, for example:


That hand on her ass? That's what's keeping her from falling on her head, so if you ask me, there's no apology required. And that's in an actual performance aerial - so what about during practice?

When you first learn aerials, you practice them with spotters. The purpose of a spotter is to make sure the aerial works and that no one gets hurt. Sometimes a spotter actually helps make the aerial happen - helping with rotation in a flip, for example - and other times the spotter is just there to catch if someone falls. At rehearsal a few days ago, I spotted Kimmie in a flip, and she over-rotated slightly. I managed to safely hold her up, but I did accidentally catch her boob with my open palm at one point. But the fact is that when someone I'm spotting is headed for a fall, I'll catch him/her however I can to prevent an injury.

Similarly, my partner once caught me full on the butt instead of on my lower back to throw me, but I knew he was doing it because our prep was off and it was the best way to ensure my safety. He said sorry, but I said thank you. "Whatever keeps my skull from hitting the floor," I told him, "is just fine by me."

Seriously, folks: If you were doing something like this...


or this...


or this...


... wouldn't you endure a little grope-age to ensure your ongoing health and well-being?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd definitely take the groping. ;)

Anonymous said...

Indeed. Groping = Well-being

Angela said...

Well, when you put it that way, sign me up for some groping!

Aussie Boy said...

Awesome! My new "I grope cause I care" t-shirt is so getting the slot next to my "Bristol Barabarians: Taking the 'the' out of 'psychotherapists'" t-shirt.

Let the good times roll!

Anonymous said...

Hooray for dance-related groping =)

Aimee said...

So signing up for random groping is bad. Dance groping is good.
Sheesh. I've had it backwards all this time.

Anonymous said...

It's a 'grope-a-thon'!! Where do I sign up to become a spotter?

Unknown said...

I would in fact opt for groping!
Good choice...I knew you were logical!

MDC said...

well put Lara!!! Protect those brains!!!

Anonymous said...

It's to endure that kind of situation, than to have an injury. I think everyone is mature enough to understand that.

Lara said...

aly - that should be your new tagline for any and all emails. ;)

seeser - einstein's 18th theory of relativity. excellent.

angela - you're signed up. would you like fries with that?

aussie boy - that's my favorite shirt of yours. the good times? they're rolling.

tali - who said anything about dance-related groping? all groping is good. ;)

aimee - signing up for random groping isn't necessarily bad. sort of depends on how you feel about the groper. :-P

r u serious? - unfortunately, spotting can be a bit dangerous too. jitta broke her nose spotting someone in a backflip once!

tori - or maybe i'm just desperate for a little action...

MDC - and the noses! don't forget the noses!

frank - you'd think we'd all be mature enough to understand that, but surprisingly, there are some people out there who aren't. sheesh!

Anonymous said...

True, safety should be our first priority. I believe it's better to be humiliated, than to have an accident. However, it would be worse if people would laugh at you because you were hurt.

jittacatgirl said...

i would endure grope-age from certain amazing blues dancers who share names with certain cartoon characters who spend a lot of time in their laboratories. lots and lots of groping.

Wolf Lover Girl said...

Those pictures are amazing!

Oh, and I'll take one of those shirts Aussie Boy, I'll give it to my husband... ;-)

~ Wolf Lover Girl