Hyperreal

Just back from the class in Rutherglen Town Hall. What a fab venue!

Everything is new and shiny. Such a contrast to the GUU.

The floor is great, though I’d have to say it’s wax finish is not a good match for my shoes as I felt it a bit sticky at times. I need to get proper shoes for dancing in.

Also lots of good dancers were there. A lot of folks I already knew from other classes, but there were quite a few I don’t remember seeing before. I met or had pointed out to me a couple of folks from the forum that I also didn’t know, so “Hi!” to them, – in fact, “Hi!” to all the forumites who were there.

The hall was a bit smaller than I was expecting, but it wasn’t too crowded really. Better than a typical night at JJ’s or the GUU where it can be a bit tight.

Altogether recommended. Get your ass along there next week.

But how about the class? What were the moves?

The class was good. The beginners’ class was very easy. No, make that very, very easy. As a new venue with lots of new people I guess that was appropriate though. By the end the beginners I saw seemed to have got the hang of it, and had some moves to work from. Cool.

The intermediate class was a little more complex. We had a couple of basket variations that blended into each other to produce a move that reminded me a bit of the sway move we did on Tuesday. They led into a secret swizzle. And from there into a two-handed back-pass. I can’t remember the exact names of the moves. (Though one was definitely called the “basket ….. thingy”. I’ve been referring to moves as the “… thingy” for ages, never realising I was using a technical term!)

The first basket ended with a double-handed turn into an elbow lock. This was perhaps the trickiest part of any of the moves as I would never know when my hands went up for the turn whether they would back down in the right position. It varied a great deal on who I was paired with – maybe something to do with height.

The secret swizzle thingy (technical term again!) was pretty cool. Again, quite similar to the double-handed yo-yo we did on Tuesday, but, of course, with a different ending. This is my move of the night.

I didn’t dance as much during freestyle as I would have liked – having another dizzy day – but I still managed a fair number of dances with quite a few people. Enjoyed myself, I think I managed in some of the dances to get more variation into my moves. It’s funny, but I find it easier to do the more complex moves with the less obviously-good dancers. I think I sometimes can have more fun with the less experienced as I don’t worry so much about messing up. And as a result I can experiment more. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy dancing with the best women – it’s just a different experience. On nights when I’m not feeling tired and dizzy, my preferences probably change.

I impressed myself also by managing to remember the moves from Tuesday (with the help of some other guys who were demonstrating bits of them to someone else) and showing them to a couple of folks that missed them. I even almost managed to get them right!

So, a big cheers to everyone I met, talked to, or danced with. Thanks!

Altogether, not such a bad night. A good start for Rutherglen. Not sure when I’ll be back, but it’ll be soon.

If you were there, why don’t you leave a comment below… Just hit the comments link…