Hyperreal

Hey! Week 12!

Well guys, this is going to be the last week I post my “impressions”. I think we’re all getting a bit bored by it, especially as I’m now more in the swing of things.

So let’s run through the usual process – start with some background; then through the evening; and finish up with a few choice comments on how I feel at the end.

So we’re back to the usual teacher this week. Missed her. Franck was good, but it’s always nice to go back to what you’re used to. There were a few new things – got one of the free Ceroc CDs and was given the opportunity to buy some DVDs. Might think about that for the future.

Onto the class. Beginner class was a bit different in that we did the Ceroc Essentials– in the middle of doing the arm jive swizzle. We also did an octopus, a first move push-spin, and wee variation on the back-pass.

Straight-forward. Pretty much everybody seemed to be doing OK – didn’t actually seem to be many new-starts – at least all the women I danced with during the class were doing quite well.

During the first freestyle, I hardly got a chance to get the drink of water I so badly needed, I was in so much demand. Sometimes being in a minority is a good thing.

I don’t think my performance matched the level of demand… I did all-right, but it’s always difficult for me to get my brain in gear for the first few dances. Had to stick with very simple moves until then. I think I upped my game by the third or fourth dance though.

On to the intermediate class. The demo looked like it was hundreds of moves, but allegedly there were only four.

First was a side-to-side variation with a wrap where the girl had to use the other hand!!! It was pretty cool. Maybe my move of the week – it was certainly the easiest. Had a bit of a giggle with a girl who just couldn’t get used to using her left hand. Even just after we had been taught this move she was getting it wrong, and then much later on she came round again and she was still trying to use her right hand. We managed everything else pretty well though, so we just had to laugh about it. :rofl:

Next up was a shoulder slide push spin. (Hey, got the full name!!! ) This I couldn’t do particularily well, as I couldn’t get a convincing push as the girl stepped back. Quite often I’d miss completely!

That led into a first move walk-around lean. (Not sure of the name.) Pretty good, but I prefer the lean that we did last week – it was easier! Quite often I wasn’t in the right place for the lean – not good if the girl wanted to just lean in before I was ready!

Next was some accordion-type thing. Have I done an accordion-type thing before? I remember the name, but I didn’t recognise the move. It had a couple of tours of the girl going round my front and back (actually, now I think about it, I don’t think I was moving as much as I should have been ) before a wee spin off, and a return.

And that took us back to the side-to-side…

I enjoyed the class, even though I wasn’t convinced I could do any of the last three moves particularly well. :whistle:

So with the class over, onto the freestyle! I wasn’t in so much demand this time, but it was just as well as I was tired and thirsty and needed all the breaks I could get. Still danced a fair bit, maybe five or six times, adding up to over 10 for the night. That’s probably a record for me, though I’m sure it’s a tiny number compared with some folks, but I’m happy with it. :nice:

I got to practice a few of my intermediate moves, in particular the side-to-side and the lean things we had just done.

With the side-to-side because we had just learnt it, every girl I danced with assumed that every time I did a “let go”, I wanted to do this move and catch her left hand rather than her right – and I really have no idea how I would indicate different. :confused: One lady I danced with though would catch with the left hand, but was expecting me to lead something other than the wrap. I couldn’t figure out exactly how my lead was meant to tell her to wrap in rather that anything else she could have done instead. So two puzzles there. :confused:

While I was resting I had the opportunity to watch some of the dancers – one guy I know who hangs around here was there, and I’ve got to say, he’s a really good dancer. :worthy: Sorry I didn’t get the chance to say hello, but you did seem to be dancing non-stop!

Another guy I watched seemed to be making a meal of every dance he did – I think the meal was porridge the way he was stirring it. (I don’t want to say any more though in case someone chastises me for being critical again – though he certainly wasn’t a beginner.)

During the class and the freestyle I met lots more nice people, want to say a big “Hi!” to them here, even if they aren’t reading this. Hope to see you again soon! :nice:

I left at about quarter past ten, very tired, but much happier than I’d been for a few weeks. Last week I asked you all to give a mark out of 10 on how much I enjoyed the class. I’d say last week was maybe just about a 7, and this week was at least an 8.5, bordering on a 9.

But that’s enough about the night…

As this could be the last opportunity in this thread, I’d like to thank absolutely everybody who has helped me through these last 11 and a bit week (12 classes + 2 workshops)…

To the person who introduced to me to Ceroc, that’s something I’ll always be grateful to you for.

To the taxis – you guys are superb. :waycool:

To the other dancers, thank-you for the dance, for the patience, for the smiles. :nice:

Total respect to the DJs. It’s such a hard job, and they tend to get little praise when the music’s cooking and so much flack the rest of the time. :clap:

And to the teachers without whom, etc, etc… :worthy: :worthy:

Biggest thanks though goes to all you people out there in forum land. I’ve been amazed at the warmth and generosity of you all, giving me the help and encouragement I’ve needed when things haven’t gone well. I simply wouldn’t still be dancing if it wasn’t for you guys. :flower: :hug: :flower: :hug: :flower:

Maybe see some of you on Saturday, otherwise, see you round the forum!