swinging... ;)

[jay]

Double progression. Balance and swing, Hey-for-4, Star-left, chain through to a courtesy turn, right-through-to-an-ocean-wave... swinging around fast enough to get dizzy. All moves I've learned two weeks ago and today, going to a 3-hour contra dance workshop in SF. Most confusing was the third dance today, when the #1 couples were sent out of the room, the #2's taught the dance by the caller, and then the #1s returned to be taught *only* by the #2s, while actually dancing. I was a #2 lead, blanked and threw my quad into chaos. (blush)

It did get better... I was the only beginner in the room, which surprised me. It was taught by a visiting caller from Boston (Chris Ricciotti) who did a great job of giving tips and suggestions and challenging the experienced dancers there (nearly all had been dancing for years) while giving me enough explanation to allow me to learn the dance moves. The last couple of dances were complex, enough so to give the other dancers some difficulty. But... the transitions were interesting, once it starts moving it's like... a roller coaster, swinging and swirling seamlessly and flowing up and down the two lines. I noticed my pre-planning and eye contact improving, and was praised as a fast learner :).

Afterward.... I went over to Berkeley, and had Ethiopian food at a new restaurant with tenacious_snail, whom I'd met at the dance.

Comments

[elissaann.livejournal.com]

I love the idea of the mystery dance for the #1's.

That definitely sounds like a workshop for experienced dancers! Yay you for getting through it.

As you've probably figured out by now, the gent is not actually the lead, except in deciding when the swing ends (and I'll take over that decision if I think we're going to be late for the next move). All four people (and the caller and the band) are leading the dance, which is one of the things I love about it. If I space out, there are 3 people ready to get me back to reality; conversely, I can make things go easier for another dancer with a head nod or hand gesture.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

Contra is so much fun! I need to go back to the dance here. Sounds like you had a good time :-)

[faeryguinevere.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you had a fun time :) It sounds great.

[inflectionpoint.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a wonderful time! I am glad that you are dancing and look forward to sharing that with you.

I love love love hey for four, and was so happy and excited when I finally got it down. It took me a while, but it makes for fun and a lot of chances for eye contact with folks.

If you are ever in a hall with an upstairs gallery, perhaps sit out one dance and go up into the gallery and watch how things look from above. Seeing the dancers weave in and out and make the patterns is like a human kaleidoscope being shaken. It's very beautiful.

Yay to you for trying new things! And which restaraunt was it?

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

Ethiopia. Telegraph (duh) around Russell. We were looking for Addis, and somehow, I couldn't find it. We both ate amazing and yummy and spicy food.

The dance lessons were way good and challenging. brian1789 and I were the least experienced dancers there, which was NOT what I was expecting. I got to learn lots of stuff, though not necessarily the stuff I was expecting to.

[dryadgrl]

I thought you and tenacious_snail knew each other already! (I'm totally teasing, the way that as written amused me.)

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

This was a "gender-free" dance, hosted by a LGBT group, so it was called as "leads" and "bares" (no armband) rather than gents and ladies. And it's just a positional term... I was being lead by the more experienced dancers!

I usually default to ending swings a bit early, rather than risk being out of position.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

(grin) I want to go again in a couple of weeks.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

It was good for me... the endorphins, too :).

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Yes! You should come with us. :) The hey-for-four *is* fun for making sequential, flirty eye contact.

I'd love to watch the patterns from above, now that I have a better understanding of what is happening. Although neither of the halls in Oakland or SF have balconies.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Given that the 1/15 dance was 50% beginners, I'd expected a beginners-welcome workshop to be mostly tyros, likewise. Far from it, it was nearly all advanced dancers looking for pointers from a visiting contra-master. But arguably even better for a beginner like myself. And the flow in the more-advanced dances was swirly and lots of fun.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

(grin)

Should have said "rendezvoused", it sounds like I picked her up there and took her home!

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

Yay learning to dance! I am usually the one who throws my group into disarray by forgetting steps during ballroom dance. But it's fun enough to keep trying.

Which Ethiopian did you go to? My favorite of the seven or so along Telegraph are Cafe Colucci and Cafe Eritrea d'Afrique.

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

There was one guy that I danced with a few times that I noticed I often ended up out-of-position after swinging with him. Only after noticing that someone else he was dancing with have the same problem, I realized that it probably wasn't my fault/my confusion. I mentioned it to him, he seemed to appreciate it, and was able to correct his swings. Yay for you for realizing that a little less swinging, while less fun, also means less confusion, and that is better for all the dancers.

note to non-Bay Area folks: this dance was associated with the Lavender Country and Folk Dancers

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

*grin* I had the same response as dryadgrl. But you DID take me home! (Which worked out nicely, since my Impact class was only about 8 blocks away from the contra dance, so I saved myself a drive back and forth across the Bay)

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

I have a history of being willing to forgo my own fun at socialk events in order to enable the group to work together less awkwardly. ;)

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Simply called "Ethiopia" on Telegraph, Les hadn't noticed it before. It was very good.