Hyperreal

Yesterday I was in Dundee – as were lots of other dancers… Handy, as that’s where the first of the new regular Dundee parties was.

Umm, why don’t I tell you about it…

The party was held in the Bonar Hall – apparently it’s been used as the venue for the occasional party before now, but this was the first time I’d been there. And it’s a pretty good venue. Not a bad size (though it was a touch crowded last night), good floor, plenty of chill-out space outside by the bar.

Just as well about the chill-out space, as last night the main hall was a bit like a sauna. There’s a ventilation system in the hall – maybe even air-conditioning – but there was no evidence of any cool air coming from anywhere. At times it was unbearably hot. I took to trying to dance as much as possible in front of the fans – some small relief…

Because I’d expected it to be quite warm I’d decided to wear a new pair of linen trousers I bought the other day… Good idea in that they helped keep me cool, especially in front of the fans. Bad idea in that they were a touch long and kept getting the bottom of them under my heel, and then slipping on them. Hmm…

But I’m sure you’re not interested in all this nonsense… (Actually, what are you interested in reading in these blogs? What keeps you coming back for more? What are you looking for? Go on, leave a comment…)

So let’s talk about the dance. I arrived, I guess, just after 9, and the place was filling up nicely. Managed to get a few dances in before the class – a nice simple one, with a few cool moves – and then on with the rest of the night…

We had a couple of good DJ’s who both played cracking sets. As I said elsewhere, there seemed to quite a latin vibe to a lot of the music, but I liked it – suited the temperature… Lots of good tunes, maybe only one or two I wasn’t so keen on.

They’d be little point in all this if there wasn’t anyone to dance with. Fortunately there was! In fact there were loads of great dancers from all over Scotland. At least for folks on the east-coast, Dundee is nicely central, and I’d expect that future parties will have lots of visitors.

I danced with a lots of my favourite dancers from all over Scotland, some folks I rarely get a chance to dance with, and some who were totally new for me. All good, but looking back, I’m disappointed that I didn’t take more time to dance with more of the local Dundee & Perth crowd. Maybe next time I’m there I’ll make sure and catch up with more of my Dundee favourites.

I had a really good time, so many good dances. Often in an event this long a guy can get bored of his own dancing, but except for maybe a couple, I enjoyed every dance from beginning to end. Unfortunately I think I had one of my worst dances with one of the best dancers there. Not sure why this was. Kept finding myself doing the same moves over and over. Perhaps it was the music, perhaps it was performance anxiety. I’ve had at least one really awesome dance with her before though, so maybe it was trying to live up to that memory that got to me. Dunno.

Otherwise I felt really good about my dancing. Got lots of lovely compliments, including being told that my dancing was sexy. Don’t think you can get much better than that. It really helped make the night for me.

As an adjunct to the dancing, it was interesting to take part in another dare – fortunately just as a bit-player this time, and good to see lots of friends, old and new, and have some tasty lemon cake.

Thanks to everyone. I had a great night – cheers to everyone responsible. Especially to the lovely lady who gave me a lift there and home. Thanks for that! :hug:

I’m already looking forward to my next visit to Dundee, don’t know if I can make it next month, but maybe in October. But the Stirling weekend is next week, and that’s going to be a cracker!