Dancing across the world

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Dance, Dance, Dance

I have been done with my dance classes here for a couple of weeks and I thought it was time that I recapped it. For those of you who didn’t know I took an eight-week short course run by the University of Sydney Sport and Fitness. I couldn’t decide between taking beginning and intermediate ballroom. I felt pretty confident that I know the basics but I also didn’t know if I would know the same style as they taught over here. Eventually I decided to sign up for intermediate. I also talked to the instructor and got to attend the beginner class too. The most fun was that I did it with my friend Sarah. She’s never done ballroom but she used to do ballet and swing.

So on Thursday nights for 8weeks of April and May Sarah and I met at the dance studio on campus for 2hrs to dance our hearts away. It was so much fun. In the first class (beginner) there were about six girls and two guys. I decided because I was in this class for free I would be nice and dance the boys part. It was very fun because we learned new dances that I’ve never done before but I didn’t really like the style of teaching because we learned patterns rather than moves that we could do on our own.

The second class (intermediate) involved 6 people. An older couple a younger couple and Sarah and I. The couples should have been in the beginner class but they couldn’t make it to the earlier time. This turned to be a little frustrating because they didn’t learn very fast and the pace of the class was dictated a little by them. The teacher understood that Sarah and I could handle more so she did teach us some extensions to the patterns she taught the others.

As for the dances, we learned the same in both classes for the most part but longer patterns in the intermediate class. We touched on Samba, Salsa, Rhumba, Tango, Foxtrot, Waltz, Quickstep, and Slow Rhythm. I don’t know if I’ll be able to remember the patterns until I get back but I’m sure I’ll remember some.

I enjoyed the break from the weekly stress and having dancing in my life again, but it just wasn’t the same. Of course no one is as great a teacher as the one the only Rosie, but my teacher was a fellow Uni student so she was nice and fun to chat with. As the weeks went by the sheer excitement of dancing wore off a little bit for us and we began to get a little tired of dancing straight for two hours. I think we would have been able to dance more if we had had partners. There are only so many times you can repeat a pattern by yourself before you get bored. If I had been there to perfect it I maybe would have had a different attitude but I was really there for the fun and social aspect of it. I did enjoy being the best lead in the first class because several of the other girls fought over getting to dance with me. I tried not to let it get to my head though.

I hope I will remember the new dances that I learned because I feel kinda special knowing something new. The likelihood of that happening would be greatly increased if I could find the music that we learned them to so that it would trigger some memories. Unfortunately I haven’t found any of it yet but maybe if I start looking that would help.

Anyways no dance class is over which is sad. On the other hand I have started listening to my ipod a little more walking to and from class. Specifically I have been listening to my dance playlist. This means I have literally been one-stepping and two-stepping to and from class. I think people think I have a funny limp but I enjoy it. It puts me on top of the world and reminds me of all the fun times back home on the dance floor., I can’t wait to come back and go out dancing with people who dance like me. I have also been listening to my rhythms music hoping to remember all the folk dances I know from there. I wish I could find a way to teach those to others that wouldn’t be socially awkward………oh well maybe I will someday.

So dance well, and dance often……

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