Well, this is it. I've admitted to myself that I never have time to update this blog. Even if I do it's more about the fact I had a good night rather than the night in detail. I'll still post dancing stuff on my other blog from time to time but it probably will be about as frequent as I'm currently posting on this (maybe monthly). I'll tag all my dance related things with Dance but blogger doesn't allow for tag based RSS feeds. Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to do so.
I've become poor at updating this recently. It could be to do with generally being busy or laziness or a bit of both. Anyway the end of year was an interesting one for me. I decided that the music on a Tuesday night just seemed to be getting to me so I gave up Tuesday dancing (though I might still go to the occasional one like tomorrow). That had an interesting effect though. The last weeks of November and early December I found that I had poor Tuesday night dancing and great Thursday night dancing. Strangely when I gave up Tuesday I didn't have as great time on the Thursday. Do I need a poor night of dancing to remind me what a good night of dancing is?
I've finally got rather good at the penguin walk which is a lovely move. Like any kid with a new toy I've been using it in a lot of my dancing recently. Seeing just how fast I can get it or just how many turns we can do. It's great fun and I can't get enough of it.
Enjoyed the last couple of lessons in WCS a great deal. They had a set of really interesting moves and I had a few good freestyle dances which makes it all worth while.
I also went to the Edinburgh Christmas party which turned out to be great fun... I was worried that with Stirling on as well we would have lost a lot of good dancers to that (and we did) but there was still enough dancers I love dancing with there to make it all worth while. I did the cabaret for the last time. It was probably my best go at it with nothing really going wrong for me (like my horns falling off). Anyway it is good to be putting the nuns outfit aside.
They say you should start a year as you mean to go on (I have no idea who "they" are though) so I started it dancing. There was a New Years Ball (I went to one of these last year) which was enjoyable. It was a little busy for me (in terms of space on the dance floor) though when food was made available I suddenly had space to dance again :D. The cabaret there was also really good fun to watch. The guys doing YMCA seemed especially brave. I didn't enjoy wearing a suit to the event it was far too hot and before long I had changed out of it.
I've gone to one freestyle so far this year (I didn't make it for the lesson) which was very busy (I guess people are missing dancing) but also was good fun. I also went to Red Hot and Blue which was fantastic. They've started teaching a short blues lesson there as well which seemed to result in a lot of people turning up early (including us) which was great as it meant the night felt in full swing at nine rather than me turning up at ten or later. Saying that I did briefly pop to Asda half way through the evening to get some stuff; where I discovered that I am getting married, apparently. They might have gotten the wrong Gary though ;). Anyway good stuff, I'm looking forward to the next one though I have to say that the venue that they are moving to (the Route 66 one) is a little remote for my liking but it is a nice venue.
Anyway loving my time dancing and I'm hoping that this year is filled with exciting freestyle, weekenders and learning new things along with meeting some of the lovely and fantastic people that are part of the dance scene.
Well quick post about the last couple of weekends which have been pretty fab.
Fife Party
I went to the Fife party to do a smaller version of the Heaven and Hell routine and get some freestyle in. We started out by going to a nice restaurant and having a lovely meal. Then onwards to do our thang. It's great how relaxed it felt doing the routine now, the competition really took the fear out of this performance even though we made some quite big changes to it.
It's was a quite quiet venue; as Bill has only just recently started there this wasn't a huge surprise. They really did a nice job with food and such and there wasn't a bar but soft drinks and water were laid out. It helped make it a nice atmosphere. Not surprising, given the time it has been running, that there are quite a few beginners there but they seemed good followers, Bill is obviously teaching something on the connection and other principles as they often seem to have grasped that. So it was a really nice night of dancing and I had quite a few complements which was lovely.
I got a dance with Bill a bit later on in the night. I like dancing with really proficient leads occasionally as you can feel what makes them such a good lead, something you can't pick up by just watching. Sure enough he was very smooth and I can see why he is so popular.
Tuesday Night Ceroc
I was looking forward to Tuesday night Ceroc as there was a special guest dancer there who I love dancing with. I had some good freestyle dances that evening in spite of the music which was poor and also, for the first time ever in my MJ history, too loud (I found my ears were slightly ringing at the end of the night). Still it was good fun hamming up Can't Take My Eyes Off You. Also there were new moves in the intermediate class and I mean I haven't done any of them before which was a nice surprise. I've forgotten most of them now but... oh well.
Dance Fever
I didn't go to all of Dance Fever just the Saturday workshops and party. Started out with a Lindy Hop class taught by Joseph & Trisha. I had previously done a blues class with them and they seemed a good laugh. They didn't disappoint here and had the crowd laughing loads. It was a fun class though I don't expect to take up Lindy any time soon. Next up was a WCS which was good but was aimed at beginners (which I still am but it was nothing new). I then did Bill and Fran's Blues class. I've done quite a bit of blues but only a couple of lessons. I took things away from that lesson and not just a couple of moves but a better understanding of the fundamentals. I'm always happy to practice my blues dancing. I did the Latin MJ class with Steve and Lindsay which was maybe over all to quickly to get everything in about the style. I missed the next class to relax and then finished with the WCS class to try and balance the numbers as there was a men's style class at the same time. I think I probably should have done the latter though. Steve, who was teaching it, had some interesting things lined up.
Anyway after going back to my lovely host's flat and getting some food I headed back out for a quick rehearsal in the evening before the party started. After some nice freestyle there was a brief Lucky Dip competition (which I didn't get anywhere in but that is expected :D). We did the cabaret (for the last time?) which was probably our best performance yet. There was also a couple of other performances which where amazing for two reasons. First they both looked good and second both of them had very little time to pull them together. Keith & Janey were involved in a car crash the day before and Janey didn't make it up (it's good to know that both of them and their child are ok) so Keith did the routine with someone else. James McLauchlan did a line dance performance with Ross and that was really fantastic to watch. Both men have such style and it was a really fab routine.
After getting glittered up for the glitter ball I danced the rest of the night away. Due to some exceptional dances I had a fantastic night rivalling the better nights I've had at Southport (and that's saying something). When I was dancing with someone she mentioned she wanted to applaud a dance I had with another woman earlier. That was lovely to hear and was interesting that the dance looked good from the outside rather than just feel good. Anyway I can only hope for more party nights like that. Afterwards I headed to my host's place. As I was packing the next day I realised that I forgot my dance trainers. Crisis of epic proportions! I went back to the hall and couldn't find them. Thankfully someone else did later and my trainers are in good hands which is great because I love them.
I couldn't end this without thanking the woman who gave me a place to sleep for the night and cooked me nice food and to all the women (and man) who I danced with for making it such a good evening.
Yes, I really am still going to post about Southport. If I can remember anything that happened. Bet you are all sitting at the edge of your seats waiting.
Was at the Edinburgh Saturday Night Ceroc party on Saturday. Got there quite early... by quite early I mean before 10pm which is good in my books. Now maybe I've mentioned this before but I've been having problems with my ankle and knee for a while now and, along with making me feel like an old man, it means I try and be cautious while dancing avoiding any large leans or drops. As I felt my knee get painful on the night I really cut back on the footwork I was doing or any moves that might be bending that knee. I'm going to get to a physiotherapist at some stage in the near future but for now I'm going to take the informal advice I got from another physio.
Anyway that aside the evening was rather good. I'm trying to smooth out my lead more at the moment and quite a few women commented on it as delightful which gave a lovely warm feeling inside. Also there were some women up from that England place (they were there for a workshop that was cancelled which must have annoyed them). They commented that us Scottish boys seems a lot more stylish than those back home. I wonder whether that is true and, if so, it has something to do with the fact that many of the guys up here are very stylish and that raises the bar for the rest of us meaning that we work on style more too.
The music was a little too fast for my liking. I was hoping it would drop into a more bluesy set later on but it never really came. Other people seemed to like the set more than me so perhaps I was missing something or just looking for something else that never came.
Though it wasn't quiet by any means it was quieter than it often is and there was a lack of the people I often look forward to dancing with from the rest of Scotland :'(.
So I did have a good time. That was added to by it being the one year anniversary of my girlfriend and I. She requested a track for the twilight dance which was lovely.
I figured I'd just bundle the two competitions that I recently entered into the same post.
Well the Scottish Competition was my second competition. Due to the fact I injured myself a while before and wasn't able to dance for a while I didn't enter into role reversal or intermediate as I originally planned. I did enter into Lucky Dip though I didn't get anywhere. I found the Friday night party a bit lacking. I don't know why but I did. Saturday daytime was quite good. The pacing was good in the event with plenty of freestyle in between the events and it was enjoyable to watch a lot of the other people compete. I had a great time on the Saturday night and enjoyed the addition of the blues room. I felt a little of a blues room hotshot in regards to the fact I pretty much moved to the blues room when it was open and stayed in there all night (which is more surprising because my favourite DJ was in the main room).
I had a friend from Aberdeen staying on the Saturday night. The car journey home was certainly interesting
Anyway I also recently went to another competition down in Brighton. This time it was mainly to do a team cabaret that I had been rehearsing for. Before I went down I was a little nervous about it. I still feel I didn't quite have it all together and I felt I could have done with more practice time.
We won in the end. It certainly felt close. Amir had another team entry (though he wasn't in it) and they were very technically precise. They didn't do any team formations or such like which we did a lot of. Their approach was very different to ours, I guess, and it really depended on what the judges were looking for. Anyway I thought the other team did very well. It was interesting to see them do the beginning of their routine though as it is what Amir uses to teach one of his musicality classes.
You can, maybe, see the back of us dancing at:
The Friday night started with tracks that constantly ran into each other (like at a night club). This was rubbish as it made my I'll ask that woman to dance on the next track
statement difficult to carry out and meant that when I did finally ask someone we kept dancing until we finally sort of just gave up. Thankfully that ended soon enough to let us get on with enjoying the rest of the night.
There was a fun class with a line dance (which was quite good fun) and a ceilidh (which was amusing given we were in the South). I also got picked on for not keeping the teacher straight when he got it wrong. That might have something to do with the fact that I was wearing a kilt on the Friday.
The freestyle on the Friday got better as the night went on and I was definitely enjoy it by the end. Dancing in a kilt was good fun and kept me cool (except for the ceilidh top which got very warm and later on I changed into a T-shirt). Enjoyed dancing with one new dancer in particular and had the last couple of dances with her.
The competition was quite good fun. Did Dance with a Stranger and Intermediate. We didn't get anywhere in either though that might have something to do with the fact that I always seemed to end up with my butt facing the judges or maybe just the fact that I wasn't dancing very well. There were some really great dancers there though and they were good to watch.
Loved a few of the showcases; in particular Amir's routine which was graceful and amazing. I've seen his performances on the Jango DVD but they weren't as impressive as the one I watched there. He got a standing ovation at the end and it seemed the most popular showcase though didn't win. I found this a little bit of a crazy decision by the judges but maybe I was missing something.
The day came to a bit of a stop for a while when there was a wedding service in one of the other rooms (downstairs) and our organisers felt that we made to much noise and would disturb the vows. As far as I could tell this was the Britrock people rather than the venue pushing for this and that was really considerate of them. The couple came up afterwards and did a dance for us which was lovely and really brave of them to do.
The early evening got of to a really bad start. After a bit I went back to the hotel (where I caught a bit of Strictly Come Dancing where they apparently were doing West Coast Swing though I'm sceptical to say the least). Got back and had a much better evening (including a few dances with another lovely dancer from down South). Was pulled away from the dancing to dress up for the cabaret (in case we won as we had to do it straight after the awards) which resulted in me missing so many great tracks :'(. Thankfully that was over with and other than possibly one of the worse performances of the cabaret I've done it went ok. Had such a lovely time for the rest of the evening with so many lovely dances with lovely dancers. I am glad it finished when it did though since my legs were aching and I had to get up early the next day to get back to Edinburgh.
I've still got the Scottish Competition, Southport and Red Hot and Blue to catch up on for last month and this. I'm sure I shall at some stage but these things take time...
Anyway last night I was the demo at the WCS last night. I've never done any form of demoing (at dancing) before and I always assumed, if I did, it would probably be a modern jive event since I quite good at MJ (I'd say intermediate anyway) whereas I consider myself a beginner at WCS. There are certainly better dancers who attend on a weekly basis and though being a teacher or demo shouldn't be about whether you are a great dancer having a much better understanding of the dance is.
It got worse as someone who doesn't really do classes (he tends to have private tuition instead because he is passed what classes cover) came along. I'm not really sure what information I can give someone like that.
Anyway despite my nervousness I think I did ok. For some reason I also ended up walking through some of the footwork and doing some of the calling out (including counting people in and calling out the moves). I didn't really get to dance with that many people either though the teacher is very good and it was a joy getting to dance with her.
I've still got to write about the Scottish Competition or Southport but I'm sure I'll get around to both. Recently most class nights have seemed pretty average to me. I figured I needed bigger events to get the same enjoyment that I used to get at a class night. I'm pleased to say this week's classes have be really good though.
I had quite a good time at Ceroc on Tuesday, I think a couple of silly dances really made my evening fun. At West Coast Swing on Wednesday, even though there weren't a whole lot of people there just two really good dances were enough for me to think my dancing is coming on and to make my evening.
Finally Thursday night Ceroc seemed to attract a lot of people I don't often see in regular class nights (and one person I haven't seen in ages). I think I had two bad dances in the evening. I felt on form and rushing to try and get dances with all the women I wanted to dance with. The set seems so much better than what I've come to expect of a class night. I don't think that was just because of my dance high, rather the tracks played were just better.
Anyway it's been such a reassuring week for me. Really good to remember how it should be rather than worrying that my class nights just are short term fixes :D.
A friend of mine pointed me (ages back now) to a dancer's site which had a few good (and funny) articles in. I lied his article on asking people to dance. It's interesting because, without realising it, you do asked people based on many of these factors. Ceroc tends to have a lot of women asking men though (in part because it is very open about that and, in part, because there are often a lot more women than men).
While I currently do not seem to be posting about the quite good time I had at the Scottish Competition or the fantastic time I had at Southport I thought I'd mention I've set up a calendar with Modern Jive events in for in and around Edinburgh (though I might expand this to other places or someone else can if they are interested in joining the list. I'll try and keep it up to date and include all the events rather than just ones that I'm going to. I've included a widget on this page to show events and a button to subscribe to the calendar (if you are using Google Calendar that is).
Though I'm adding many of the events anyway and therefore it isn't much work let me know if you find it useful, it might help me remember that it is worth keeping it up to date for others too.
Well August was a fairly quiet month with me taking it easy and making sure I didn't overwork my ankle (which is still not quite right). It was so good to be back and really enjoyed being back dancing, it was like it was the first time all over again. I was following in a few classes to get ready for Role Reversal at the competition (though I never entered into it in the end). I found following in class really interesting and I hope it helped my following.
I also went to the Edinburgh party night which was good mainly as a chance to see all those people from Glasgow and such that I've missed. So August... a bit light on the dancing :(.
Well late last June I went to my first Ceroc class. Nervous and uncertain what to expect. I arrived early (something never really seen since) and was greeted by a lovely Taxi dancer who explained what to expect. At the same time I remember being overwhelmed by a couple of dancers doing a warm up dance and thinking that I was way out of my league being there. Anyway the beginner class was difficult. I think I had trouble getting a Shoulder Drop right and spending ages worrying about it. We moved from class into freestyle while I nervously danced with a few women. Even though I was finding it difficult and I knew four moves I loved every bit of it. A lot of men have said it has taken them weeks to actually get to a stage where they were actually enjoying it but I found I was taken with it from the word go.
It didn't take long before I was back again. Part of that was my desire to learn more and to get the moves right. The other part was to get another fix. Less than three months in I found myself in my first competition and my first weekender. That experience just got me both wanting to learn more and realising how much I enjoyed it. I was more hooked than ever before. I tried some other dance styles as well. Salsa never stuck but WCS did and I'm still hoping to learn others (such as actually doing a reasonable level of Tango).
One thing that has always surprised me in dancing is what a lovely, friendly bunch of people go; and how enjoyable it is dancing with people you've danced with many times before and also dancing with people you've just met that night. I met my lovely girlfriend there and it has been so enjoyable to go dancing with her.
I've traveled more in Scotland and around the UK this last year than I have done in my entire life previous to taking up dancing. It's been a fantastic part of my life and I'm so glad that a friend pointed it out and that I decided to go. So to everyone out there that I've met through it and all the lovely people that I've danced with Thank You it's been a wonderful part of my life.
At the beginning of July I had a small accident at work and managed to damage the tendon in my ankle. That's meant that up until recently I haven't been dancing for the last 5 weeks or so (I'm still taking it slowly now but that's for another post). Not dancing for that period made me realise how much of my social, exercise and entertainment dancing is and how the absence of it drove me a little crazy. I think it took that for me to realise what a big part of my life it really is. Not that I'm happy that the lesson had to be learned in such a way.
So I'm hoping that my second year of dancing doesn't go on the way it started but that I can continue to enjoy it and hopefully improve my dancing in the process.
We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.
-Japanese Proverb
I really enjoyed my trip to Aberdeen, the workshops and the parties. Amir has such a good teaching style and I've taken away a lot from the workshops (though still need to practice all of it).
The Saturday party was good, though very busy, and the chocolate and ice cream were wonderful touches. Dance Demon's later, bluesy set, was fab and I had a lot of good dances mostly with people I don't know.
However I preferred Sunday for the wonderful atmosphere and I had my best dances there. At the end of the night I took some advice and closed my eyes while dancing with my partner and it felt wonderful. It made me much more aware of the position of her body and our weight shifting. Another obvious result of this is it required a constant connection. Sending her out into a spin meant that I couldn't be certain of her position or anything. I definitely need to experiment more.
I had lots of lovely dances at this tea dance; some very memorable ones from a lovely lady from Aberdeen. I'm hooked on Tea Dances. They seem the best atmosphere for me. I had a really fun four person dance where we constantly gave or stole the lead from the other couple. It was really interesting because it was a challenge invading another couple's space and attempting to disrupt them without actually crashing into them. I shall definitely find some people I can do that with again.
It was a good set at the Edinburgh party and I had a good time. I seem to have a lot of two dances with people from Edinburgh and Glasgow. It worries me that this means that I don't get around to dancing with anywhere near as many people but then I very much enjoyed the dances with the people I had dances with.
Unfortunately the end of term arrived at West Coast Swing. Which is more of a shame because I finally felt I was really getting the hang of it. I'll see what the next term brings.
A friend I haven't seen for a while came back to the Edinburgh venue and it was amazing seeing how much she had improved. It was really wonderful dancing with her and I think there is a really lovely surprise in seeing people after a few months and see how much they have come on (she is a better dancer than I am, but her style and such were notably more her).
Well that's it for now. I've got a sort of end of June to talk about and the poor months that represent July and the beginning of August. But in time...
Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, and she did it backwards and in high heels."
- Faith Whittlesey
Again I've left this much to late to actually remember much about the classes. I did have some wonderful dances during them though.
My second BFG. This time I was staying a wee bit away from the site making it slightly difficult to get to and from however that didn't seem to stop me attending a big bunch of workshops.
I started with Footwork and Body Movement which was basically a solo fixed routine. It was really interesting though as I don't really see myself as a solo dancer but I could see how to integrate some of the into partner dancing. Then I did one of the highlight classes for me Hi-Jack in Style. This had the woman hi-jacking part of the lead and doing her thing. When a follow hi-jacks it adds an unexpected change for the lead and I really enjoy it. Of course what was taught in the class really can only be done by followers (though I have tried a few of them, successfully, as a follower since). There is one that is initiated by the lead. I did a hi-jack class down at Storm but I hated that. I was a joy to do this class though. I also did the Musicality in Practice class though I thought it was alright I probably should have stayed for more of the tea dance (I'll get to that in a bit though).
On Sunday I did the Double Trouble workshop which was mostly the same as last time but I picked up a couple of new moves, it was good to revisit some of the stuff I had already been taught and Bill is always a fantastic teacher. I also attended Playing with the Connection which was interesting though not something you can put into practice with just one workshop. I didn't do any classes in the afternoon as I spent it at the tea dance.
This BFG really hooked me on tea dances. They have an afternoon relaxed feel about them which is hard to explain. Both tea dances were great to be at with a big bunch of my favourite dancers there. Tiggerbabe really did a wonderful job with the playlist on the Sunday and I had so many wonderful dances I was in heaven.
The Friday party might well have been good but I can't actually remember much about it. Oops.
The Saturday party was busy but enjoyable. I got there in time for the end of the class and to watch the Feeling Good routine. Afterwards freestyle got into full swing but a lack of energy kept me from dancing the whole night away.
There's no write-up for Sunday night's party because I hadn't drank enough water or gotten enough sleep so, by the end of the tea dance, I was feeling pretty bad so I decided to retreat back to Edinburgh.
I had a really great time there and meet some new favorite dancers along with having wonderful dances from existing favorites. The tea dances really had me hooked and I think that shows from my more recent tea dance attendance.
This was a really interesting Edinburgh party for me. I finally managed to get a dance in with a teacher from Aberdeen and she was a truly wonderful dancer. It was a good night otherwise as well with lots of good dances from lots of lovely ladies. I also had a dance with The Tramp. He's an international Ceroc champion so I was interested in having a go dancing with such a proficient lead. It was really interesting following. Unlike most people I follow he was quite capable in leading me into ballroom drops and a somersault move (ok the exit on that didn't go great) and I spent most of the dance in a utter state of confusion. It was good fun though (even if we did have a semi circle of people watching which is a little more attention than I like).
The workshop was really interesting. Since I've been doing a bit of WCS then it was interesting to see how I could apply that slot technique to Ceroc. I try and practice slot techniques in the beginner classes (when I make it) and generally like the style.
Had a really good time at the Stirling Tea Dance. Lots of lovely dancers (many of which were at the party the night before) were there and Tiggerbabe's sets are always spot on. I also took advantage of the cake :D. To say something against it, the sunlight coming in through the large windows made the place even hotter. That mixed with me foolishly drinking coffee and not enough water made me feel faint at one stage. Sensibly I took a break though. Despite there being very few people there I still didn't get around to dancing with all the women :(.
Cutting a track short is like stealing a special moment of my life.
-Ducasi
I started off dancing in April early with the April Fools Party. There was some dress code about dressing up foolishly. Since I felt I didn't need much work to get to that state I just went in what I'd normally wear. The party was very quiet since there was another party going on in Glasgow at the same time. This meant:
This wasn't bad though it did mean that I felt I wasn't really experiencing a Glasgow party. I had a reasonable night though I had a slightly sore knee so I was careful with the moves I did. Not having dips and drops isn't a huge thing but being careful means you have to add another layer on to leading to make sure you automatically don't just lead a move. They supplied Cream Eggs as well which I ate a lot of... and then felt ill :p.
I didn't really attend that many other parties in April. Red Hot and Blue was good from what I recall. I've totally forgotten about classes. This is what you get for writing things up so late. I didn't do to much West Coast Swing this month as most weeks it wasn't running.
My big weekender for the month was Perth ran by Boogie Nights. It's not a Modern Jive event though there was a lot of Modern Jivers there. It made it interesting as you couldn't guarantee that the person who was following had a clue about even the most basic of move. It also means the weekend wasn't necessarily tailored to MJ music though it did end up taking that focus.
The workshops were a bit mixed. I enjoyed the Line Dancing workshop; it was a silly and a fun way to get into the mood for dancing. I enjoyed the WCS workshops though the mix of ability meant that they kept it a little simpler than I was expecting. However it was Keith and Janey's classes that were really the highlights workshop wise. They focused on some really interesting moves and frame theory which was all really interesting stuff. One issue with these classes is the lack of a definitive level of the classes and the fact that there were only two workshops on at the same time meant that people who really weren't ready for those classes attended them.
Friday night party was good and I certainly had a few really enjoyable dances. It was quite warm (indeed this apparently affected the DJ's equipment) but, as it turns out, cool compared to Saturday night. Saturday night was a much shorter evening for me as I didn't get to the party until late and then went up to the hotel room to get a change and fell asleep! So I got about 2 hours of freestyle in (maybe a little less). The atmosphere did seem good but it was very warm and humid making it difficult to have a dance without feeling like you were melting.
However beyond the workshops and the freestyle the hotel, meals and the really pretty city that is Perth made it a really enjoyable weekend for me to spend with my girlfriend. I had a really good and relaxing time.
Ah well that's April's summary done. May and June should hopefully be soon and then I'll try and stay up to date on posting a summary at least at the end of the month if not at the end of a week.
Well since I've failed to keep up with my blogging I thought I'd do a few months in review to cover what I've been up to. March was so long ago that I've almost forgotten what happened during it. As I recall there wasn't much in the way of parties in March. There was Red Hot and Blue and the Edinburgh party but beyond that there was the big event: Storm.
After getting up very early on Friday for the flight and a lift down there I thought I'd call it a short night on Friday night. I did the Funky Jive class; which was a fixed routine to Do Your Thing by Basment Jaxx. It was good fun and was a good way to remove a lot of self conscious feeling you have when in a new dance environment. A few of the things taught, like body rolls, certainly could be used later. I danced 'til 2ish before getting a (relatively) early night. It was good dancing with some people I've met before again and also getting a chance to dance with new people.
Saturday I started of going for pancakes at the chalet of the person who gave me a lift from London. They were lovely :). That gave me the energy to get to a Jango class. This was my first introduction to Jango and Amir as a teacher. People have said a lot of good things about his teaching style and for good reason; he's a fab teacher with good advice and a pleasant and amusing teaching style. Loved the concepts of Jango and the smooth feel of the moves to the degree that I was sold on the DVD. I also did the WCS class which was all stuff I had done before; however it was good to get a different perspective on it. I also did a Dance Psychology class which was like being on the forum except trapped in a room instead. Amir's musicality class was also very good. I'd really glad I fixed partner with Dizzy as my concentration was beginning to wane and I made a lot of stupid mistakes... plus she was a great laugh. I didn't stick with the Waltz, Men Style or Sabotage class possibly because I was too tired and they weren't really gripping me.
Saturday evening didn't start out great for me. I certainly had a few enjoyable dances but nothing wonderful. I thought maybe I had burnt myself out during the day. Anyway I went back to the room to go get changed and back to the dancing but then I fell asleep! It all could have gone horribly wrong if it hadn't been for someone woke me up with a text about how Blackpool was. I promptly left my room to go dancing again and had a really wonderful night including a bit of following, some double trouble with the "D" sisters and some simply divine dances with some of the best dancers from around the UK. I pretty much spent the whole night in the blues room but didn't regret that for a minute.
Did some good classes on Sunday including West Coast Swing 2 and Up Close And Personal along with Cuban Blues which, given the teachers were at the post-party party that I was at was surprised how well we all did.
Sunday evening was just as good, if not better, than Saturday night. There was a woman, who I was introduced to (called Lucy), who I had some really lovely dances with and another woman who I had no idea who she was that I had a couple of fantastic dances with (that I still remember two months down the line). I'm not sure if it was the atmosphere or my mood but so many dances just seemed to work and I had a really, really, really, good time.
Since I was in London on Monday the person I was staying with kindly took me to Jango. I heard a lot about it before I'd been and I really enjoyed the class at Storm. The Jive/Tango blend appeals to me as I really enjoy Tango and the fusion of the styles sounded yummy. I did have a wonderful time. It was very quiet but there were a lot of fantastic dancers there and after Lily B complimented me on my footwork I was over-joyed.
I've gotten very lazy at writing up posts. If my voice was a lot more exciting I might have just uploaded the discussions I've had on the dancing I've done. It's not though.
I've been recording my moves as audio which allows me to replay them on my iPod before going to a dance. This has benefits from having them written down (in the fact that I can listen to them while walking) but there is something about writing a move down that makes it easier to understand. I suppose video would be the best media; though saying that I've never really watched the BFG routines I have.
Who said I don't just write any thought that comes into my head down?
As with the previous few I'm not writing the moves I did down. If someone was actually interested in them let me know.
I had some utterly wonderful dances tonight. I felt I might have been a little selfish, as I had multiple dances with a few of the women I was really enjoying dancing with, but it was working so well that I didn't want to leave. I had a bit of practice on a few moves that I enjoy doing. Most of the time they worked; which was just fab. The intermediate routine was good as well; it had a lot of moves flowing from another which I think is good practice for freestyle showing how you can break down a move and chain one move straight on from another. I haven't written the moves (I did voice record them; but I'm not taking up Podcasting :p). If you are interested in the moves we did (or at least my scribble about them) let me know. I figure most people skip that stuff anyway.
Another night at West Coast Swing and though I'm still frequently getting things wrong and finding it difficult to make the moves flow I'm still enjoying myself. Most of my brain is still focusing on making my footwork match the timing of the song and I found out a bit more about the lead/follow connection techniques along with the fact that it's more a slinky dance and therefore there is a lot less hip movement :(.
We did a lot of moves tonight though I'm still sticking with a lot of sugar pushes before doing anything and my "other moves" are quite far between. When I tried linking moves without sugar pushes they generally went wrong. I'd write up the moves but there was quite a lot and I just voice recorded it. If you are really interested I'd be happy to give a go at writing them up.
The DJ started by impressing me with his set between the beginners and intermediate class by playing a set consisting mostly of blues. His set didn't quite maintain that for the rest of the evening but was really good never-the-less. Anyway the music and my partners so picked up the night to be a wonderful evening. I had a lot of enjoyable dances where we played with the music a lot. Did a spot of double trouble and swapped leads with a lovely partner which was great fun.
I've got a good hold of double spins now and can generally do them every time I feel inclined (and sometimes when I'm not really initially wanting to). However I am beginning to worry that I'm often not there to take my partner's hand when she comes around and I think that might be effecting the quality of our dance.
Moves:
