Hyperreal

This night was three in a row for two different reasons – it was my third straight day of dancing this week; and it was my third week in a row at Rutherglen.

And my feet hurt!

Was it last week I was complaining about my sore feet? I don’t get enough arch support from my dance shoes, which after so much dancing on my Grand Tour left me with a painful left foot. On Saturday I went to buy inserts for my shoes to support my feet better, hoping this would cure it.

Well it has… I don’t get the same stretching pain in my feet. Unfortunately it’s caused a different pain instead. The arch supports I bought were too short and most of their support was falling at the back of the arch. Now on both my feet I have sore arches where I feel these things have kind-of bruised a rather tender part of my poor feet. After wearing them dancing on Tuesday and Wednesday, I had real problems through the day today…

So, I went back to the shop, got bigger, but perhaps lower inserts for my shoes, and went dancing tonight. Well the result is good and bad… When the arch support is where it’s meant to be, everything’s cool. But for some reason they slip back to hurt the part of my feet that have already taken a bashing.

I hope the solution is to deploy the velcro pads I got with the things to see if I can get them positioned in the right place, and keep them there!

In a multi-pronged attack, I’ve also ordered a pair of dance trainers to wear on class nights so my poor feet don’t have to take the beating they get when I wear my fancy shoes.

There’s a deadline on this – there’s a party in Edinburgh on Saturday that I fully intend to go to, and my feet better be better for it! Doesn’t look like I’ll have my new shoes though, as the pair I’d originally ordered had been discontinued.

Anyway, my feet don’t feel as bad tonight as they did last night, but then I danced a lot less tonight, so that might be a factor…

The night started with the “Ceroc Plus™” class, which seems to be developing nicely. We did most of the same sort of stuff we did last week, but we got to try out some of it in normal moves with a partner. So the jazz steps, when mirrored can make a rather nice side-to-side, and the triple-step/shuffle also works in first move things. Managed to figure out the tap-tap-sailor steps I was lost at last week, and so felt good about that. Felt bad that I still can’t do a full 360º spin without falling over. So, lots of good stuff, and more stuff to work on.

Intermediate class was interesting… Wasn’t convinced by all the moves, but as a whole, they seemed to work…

• accordion comb change-hands – Accordion to the right, but instead of accordioning to the left, with LH low and RH high, turn the lady CW in nelson and comb self with RH. Do a couple of sways/wiggles/steps and while doing that change hands to take girl’s RH with your L, and her L (out of the nelson position) with your R. To mark the beat and make the turn smoother, take LH out to left and then back in front of the lady to turn her ACW for a return and step back (going double-handed for next move…)
• octospin – lady’s breakthough, then man’s basket but don’t break though… instead lead the girl in a circle clockwise (walking backwards! ) for a couple of beats, then let go L-R lead girl out and into a CW turn. Coming out of that … “prepare” and then spin her back ACW. Catch L-R for the next move…
• first move backhander – first move, but on the turn out, switch girl’s RH from your L to your right, in a back-hander style. Use spare LH on girl’s near hip to lead her out for a CW turn (careful you don’t twist the girl’s arm at this point!) rather than return…
• one-handed catapult – classic move, and one of my favourites. We use the return to go straight into the accordion…

Our teacher didn’t like the first move we did, and I didn’t like the first move variation we did. The octospin is OK, but I find it hard to hold on to the girl during the walk round bit, and having to walk backwards… Nah, I’d rather make the girl do that.

So, apart from the move I already have got pretty well sorted, I don’t think I tried any of these moves in freestyle. I didn’t dance as much anyway, with the sore feet, and a relatively limited number of women there (the intermediate class had one extra guy!)

Anyway, either due to tiredness or pain I don’t think I danced as well tonight. The music was in it’s usual top form – there wasn’t really anything that I danced to that I’d rather not, and I think I’d have been OK with all the music even when I was sitting out. This isn’t an indication of a change in musical taste, in case you’re wondering, just the same thing again about just because I like dancing to it, don’t mean I like listening to it. (There was lots that I did though. )

There were an Australian couple there on a flying visit, and the woman commented on how different the typical music and style was from what she was used to. As I’ve read on the forum, they seem to have more contemporary, faster music on the whole, and there was much more dipping and dropping in their dancing than I’ve seen from most UK dancers. I hope they enjoyed there visit to Glasgow – they’re off to Madrid next…

Cheers… hope to see you all in Edinburgh on Saturday…