Learning to dance

Well, you guys are gonna get a good laugh out of this one. I know I still do.

Yep. I started taking swing dance lessons. Jitterbug, to be exact. The most shocking aspect of all is that I really enjoyed it. I had a blast!

Well, not the first time. The first time sucked. I went to an actual dance, which begins with a lesson an hour early. I thought there would be 10, maybe 20 people there, and there were hundreds. My friends and family know I don't do well with crowds, and though I managed to keep the panic down for the lesson, as soon as it was over, I bolted out the door. Ever see The Aviator? The scene where Howard Hughes meets the senator for lunch; the senator has put his thumbprint on Howard's drinking glass to rattle him. Howard pulls off the meeting spectacularly, but once he gets out the door, he falls apart. That's how I felt at the first dance.

So where did I get the idea to learn to dance? To impress a girl, of course. I met her at a New Year's Day dinner party at my neighbor's house. We've gone hiking a few times, or walked around the neighborhood, but she's very busy. She's told me that she doesn't want a boyfriend right now, because she's so busy with her job and school (she's going through her residency). However, she enjoys swing dancing. She dances almost every weekend. Soooo, if I want to spend time with her, I need to learn how to swing dance!

She went to the first dance, but got there after I had left. I still didn't know what I was doing, and was way too nervous to enjoy myself, so it was better that I left (like a scaredy-cat!). The next day, she came over and showed me the triple-step that had kicked my ass the night before. She explained to me that in Swing, the male leads and the female follows. She said that the woman will do anything the man leads her to do. Of course, that put a smile on my face! I like the simple, conservative, "old-fashioned", premise there.

By the time she left, I had the rock-step, and triple-step down pretty well, so we went to a dance at Baldwin-Wallace college that evening. She and I danced twice, but then I sat down to listen to the student band while she danced with other guys. She's an excellent dancer! I did have fun, though, and wasn't nervous at all, with the much smaller crowd.

A couple of weeks later, I took my first Jitterbug lesson. (Everytime I write or read "jitterbug" I hear George Michael in my head...) I had asked my friend's daughter to join me, because I wanted someone there that I knew, to make it easier. She agreed to go, but had to cancel at the last minute due to work. I thought about skipping it, but that was the first class of the series, so I grew a set and went alone. To make a long story short, I had an incredibly fun time. The teacher was excellent, very low-key, patient, and well prepared. We learned the beginning steps to the Jitterbug the first hour, then the beginning steps to the Balboa the second hour. There were as many guys as girls, with lots of couples, but also several single women.

To teach, all the men got behind the male instructor, and all the women got behind the female instructor, and we just practised the steps, first without music, then he'd play something so we'd get the beat down. It was very elementary, which made it easy to learn. Once we had learned the steps, the women formed a circle around the instructors, and the men paired up with them. We'd practice the steps for a minute or so, then the ladies would rotate to the next man. This was great because we got to chat a bit, practice, then she'd move on. Even if one woman knew what she was doing, the next 5 didn't. We got to learn, joke, and laugh with each other. It kept things very informal, and loose.

I already knew the jitterbug steps, so that was easy. The Balboa was new, and it took a bit longer to pick up, but I finally did. As the lesson went on, I gained confidence. When I danced with the lady instructor, she told me that I had a strong lead, which was good. Also, as my confidence grew, I imagined dancing with S. I'm truly looking forward to being able to dance with her. Since this type of dancing has specific rules, and moves (it's not free style), I probably won't go to another dance until I know what I'm doing. The Lead must be able to think ahead, and transmit to the Follow what he wants her to do next (spin, twirl, come in close, whatever, I don't know yet). I want to be able to do that well before I dance with her. I want to sweep her off of her feet.