"I'll fall down!"
Dancers: we are dancing. On the floor. With two feet, generally, on the ground. Why is there fear about falling less than three feet from our feet to our rears?
I will accept severe osteoporosis or other choice maladies as valid answers.
Otherwise, SHUT UP.
I figure it's mostly out of embarrassment potential and not from pain potential, so let me tell you some stories to make you feel better...
Back when I was a student, I had gotten some choreography for a showcase number. It involved a rondé while my instructor and I held dance frame. We had a lesson in a pretty small studio that was packed with people in the hour before the weekly social dance. Everything was going swimmingly. We were hitting the music and we got to the rondé and I start to swing my leg around and then suddenly I'm on my butt 10 feet away from my instructor and all the other lessons stop in shock and my instructor turns and looks at me and says, "What'd you do?!" Then he helped me up like a total gentleman and life went on. Did it seem like I was on the floor for an hour before I was helped up? YES, due to time dilation, an interesting and slightly diabolical effect of fear. I tell that story every once in awhile, but does anyone else who was in that studio even remember it? NO, due to the fact that it wasn't them and therefore wasn't that interesting to remember. And yet here I go remembering all of my falling-while-dancing events!
More recently, I was dancing my fifth pro round of the evening (three of Smooth and the second of Rhythm back in our 9-dance days). We had a couple measures of side-by-side work in Mambo and I slipped, right in front of a handsome judge, and landed on my arse. I vaguely remember The G looking at me in horror while continuing his moves, because what's he going to do from a couple feet away? I stand back up, catch up with whatever he was doing, and we end up getting second place.
I told our coach (who was judging) that I fell down, and he said, "Didn't see it."
One of my friends was in an opposite flight from me and was doing Mambo right in front of the on-deck area. She is so fun to watch (she also teaches Zumba, if that gives you a better picture of her energy level) and was killing it and all of our flight was cheering for her and her partner. Somehow, she ended up sitting on the floor, shimmied, and jumped up. We all went wild.
As we walk on for our flight and she walks off, she hisses, "I FELL DOWN!" and we were all dying.
I watch The G's students dance at competitions and on SIX DIFFERENT OCCASIONS, they have come off the floor, horrified, and said, "OH MY GOD. I FELL" and I swear to God, I never saw one of them do it. And I tell them that and no one believes me.
There's a lot of visual noise on the dance floor and a little change in altitude doesn't read like anything drastic to most people. There's also a fun psychological phenomenon called "the spotlight effect" where everyone thinks they are noticed more than they are. And remember that time dilation bit from before? That, combined with the spotlight effect, makes it seem like the climax of a horror movie, but I swear no one thinks it's awful (unless you get hurt) and it never affects your score.
In practice most recently, I feel like it's almost a goal to fall down. How else are you going to find out how far "too far" is? Granted, this might not be a great tactic when you're doing the beginning syllabus levels, but moving on up to open material gives you more fun tricks and skills to fall down with. Not that anyone should think twice about falling over on a 360º spin... or a walk-around turn... or a Rumba walk.
Way back when I was doing Theatre Arts, my partner and I were practicing the bicycle lift:I was the QUEEN OF THE DAMN WORLD and then I fell out of it backwards flat on my back. Like 7 feet! Flat on my back! I remember looking up and seeing the looks on my partner's and coach's face that clearly said "we killed her". I tested my limbs, called myself lucky, and kept on practicing.
Was I sore a couple hours later? Yep. But if I can get back on that bicycle, you all can try a dip or new turn every once in awhile.
Go forth and fall down!
