Hyperreal

I did my second Southport this weekend. And much like the first one, it was pretty fab.

Unfortunately I’ve never finished my first Southport blog entry. But I intend to make sure I finish this one!

The format of this post will be: first a rambling summary, then a day-by-day description, then a thoughts and lessons bit at the end where I stick all the stuff I forgot to say earlier… Enjoy!

As I said, Southport was fab. Probably not as good as my first one back in June, but the first time for anything is always going to be special…

It was good to see so many old friends – meeting a few for the first time. The social aspect of Southport is an essential part of the experience. I’d hate to go there and not know many people.

Although we missed having Franck and Sheena’s waffle parties this time, there were plenty of other things going on – though probably not with as many people in one chalet as for the waffles…

The dancing was also particularly good. I, like many people on the forum, spent much of my time in the blues room – though that’s really only because the other rooms were so hot and/or crowded. The main room was hot and crowded, the latin quarter was even hotter but not so crowded. The blues room was crowded most of the time, but with the doors open it was nice and cool and at least most people were moving slowly most of the time and so bashing into people didn’t hurt so much.

Late at night though, after about 2 am, things got quieter and that was when I could enjoy my dances so much more, without having to worry so much about random people colliding with us.

As for dance partners, compared with last time I probably asked fewer people to dance that I didn’t know. Not sure why that is. Perhaps I don’t feel it necessary to dance with everyone. I have neither the ego to think I’m doing everyone a favour, nor the hunger to determine the quality of every dancer in the world.

I know who I especially like dancing with, I found a few new people to add to that list and I enjoyed dancing with them as much as possible and reasonable. I realised at the end of the weekend that I’d missed some people I’d have liked to dance with though. Not sure why… Must try harder next time.

Gotta say that except for a few postponements (which I later fulfilled - hope I didn’t forget anyone!) I didn’t turn down anyone for a dance. I didn’t get any absolute refusals either – again, one or two postponements.

Another aspect of who I ask is I find some people intimidating. Sometimes because of their reputation as dancers, or sometimes due to their personality… I decided though on Sunday night to dance with as many really fantastic dancers as I could when I had the chance… In particular this meant dancing with Nina (of “Nigel & Nina” fame) who seemed to turn up only for the Sunday night.

Last time I’d danced with her was at a party after a workshop they gave in Dundee. As I said at the time I was intimidated, wasn’t connecting with the music, and danced really badly.

This time was different though. Sure it wasn’t her best dance of the night, but I think it was one of my best dances of the weekend. I still felt a bit intimidated, but the music was something I was more familiar with and I hope I gave her a dance she enjoyed.

Talking about music… Overall the music over the weekend was excellent. But when it was bad, it was really bad. Way too much boring swing music of various speeds in the blues room. Oh, and in the main room, though not quite as bad…

The Scottish DJs excelled themselves as ever. Not only does Sheena play such great blues sets, but then she goes through to the main room and knocks ‘em dead through there! John and Steve gave us lots of good tunes through the nights in the blues room. Must have been a real challenge to fill all that time with so much good stuff… And Robert got a slot too, again, in the blues room - a truly excellent set from him. I think Jive Addiction need to give him some more time in the future.

The only other DJ I actually noticed was Marc. Maybe because he’s the only one I am sure of the name of, but again, he has similar skills to Sheena – good in both the blues room and the main room. Definitely someone worth travelling to hear.

Which brings me onto the workshops. I only did 2 full workshops, I dropped out of another two due to heat and crowds (Marc and Rachel’s Cuban Blues) or feelings of ineptness (Lisa’s Waltz). I also caught the end of the beginner’s West Coast Swing with a friend to show her the moves they’d been teaching. She picked it up pretty fast.

The two full classes I did – the Cha Cha and Funky R’n'B Jive – were both with the same fixed partner. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I didn’t dance with so many new people, as I hadn’t had the classes introducing me to lots of new faces. In some ways these classes act as mini rehearsals where you get to find out who you want to ask for proper dances later.

I’ll talk more about the classes later - thought they were all good though, except that the music for the Cha Cha I found too fast to manage to dance to. Isn’t there any slow cha cha music?

Only one other big thing to talk about… The accommodation. Our apartment was very near the main venue – that was great. Still unimpressed with the general quality of the place though. Do any of the apartments in Southport have a toilet door that locks for instance? Anyhow, I didn’t really spend much time in the flat, so it doesn’t matter greatly.

Think that’s me covered most aspects of the weekend for my summary. But before people stop reading I want to start thanking people…

First of all, big thanks to Jive Addiction - John, Wes, and all their helpers – for running a great event. It’s the best.

Thanks to all the great DJs…

Big thanks to all the great people who I met – marvellous company.

Thanks to everyone I danced with. I enjoyed every dance (even when I didn’t look like I did.)

Special thanks to the ladies who I had as company on the way down and back up (and whom I shared a flat with in one case.) You lot made the weekend extra special.

Last mention goes to the two lovely girls I’d have liked to have brought home with me – each for different reasons. Didn’t want to let go of one of them… I don’t think the other one wanted to let go of me.

Both worth travelling to the other end of the country to see. And I hope I do see you soon.

Think that’s all I need to say in this summary…

Have decided to post this now, write the rest later, and publish as I go…

Come back soon to check for updates…