Certified to Rumba in the State of New Mexico

Actually, more than that.  I recently passed a checkout (like a belt test in karate) for Rumba, Waltz, Salsa, and Tango.

Now this was the first checkout, so it's just basic basics - basic footwork patterns and a couple of figures for each dance.  Plus basics like rhythm/beat keeping, etc.  There was no traffic so floorcraft wasn't an issue (whew!)

I did well (thanks Teach, and Mini-Teach!), and got some comments on my body position and line (mostly positive), my rhythm and timekeeping (not a problem for me...) and details on footwork like which dances I should be stepping with my heels, midfoot, or toes (or any of the many subtle variations in between).  I'd forgotten all those details within 15 minutes of finishing the lesson, except I remember that Foxtrot was given as a contrary example, as all my dances above don't use "hard heels", while Foxtrot does.  Of course, that's the one I'd remember.  Not only is Foxtrot not on the list of dances above, it's not even a dance I'm studying currently in private lessons (hey - I had to draw a line somewhere - I didn't figure I could learn all dances simultaneously.  Kind of a shame, as I love Sinatra and all that Swingin' Foxtrot music...)  Later, Noob, you'll get to it...

I had done some drilling to prepare, mostly alone, on two or three occasions based on notes I'd taken when Mini-Teach and I prepped for the checkout.  It turns out my notes were incomplete - I missed making notes on a crossover figure in salsa completely (so completely that I don't even remember the name of the figure now, and I'm not totally sure it was in Salsa...)  When the examiner asked to see it, I had nothin'.  I spent a couple of measures rooting through my memory for something, anything, but to no avail.  It didn't keep me from passing, and in fact didn't even drag down my score much, as the examiner explained that it wasn't used much, it was in the syllabus for a future reference in another figure.  Still, I kind of think I should have been marked down more for the mess up, but I suppose I *AM* a paying customer.

Anyway, yay!