Ballroom Dancing

Just a quick post to let you know what fun we had at our first ballroom dancing class! It was great, really funny but entertaining and interesting too. I love learning new things and to be learning a new physical skill in a sociable setting with Rich was brilliant.

There were about 20-24 couples and the studio was big and plush so didn't feel seedy or embarrassing or anything. The studio is owned by Darren Bennett and Lilya Kopilova of Strictly Come Dancing fame and our class was taken by Darren's dad!! He was excellent - funny, patient and very thorough.

We tackled 2 dances - the cha cha cha and waltz - and learned the one basic step of each dance. So, that is 30 minutes to master each step!! Seemed rather slow to me but I pick up routines and steps quite quickly. There were plenty of people who clearly needed the slow approach... I'm not complaining anyway, the longer you take, the more it will sink in and presumably the easier it'll be to go on to learn more complicated steps.


Rich was doing really well on the cha cha cha (I keep hearing Craig Revell-Horwood saying "char char char darling....") but struggled a bit with the basic waltz step. He'd be going on fine and then get the wrong foot and lose it! We giggled so much though, it was hilarious. And there were moments when we felt as though we were really dancing, floating along doing a waltz, looking into each others' eyes rather than at our feet - then we'd crash into some other poor hapless couple and bump back to earth again!!


It was so nice to try something new and be willing to make fools of ourselves. Very liberating.
After class we had a quick drink with another couple from the class in the pub next door which happens to be the pub I drink in before Sheffield Wednesday games on Saturday afternoons! The landlord was really taking the mick out of me!! Threatening to "out" me to the football locals etc etc Which is nothing compared to the micky taking that will hit Rich in the golf club this evening after I accidentally on purpose told my friend about our dance classes knowing that her husband is a fellow committee member down there!!


So, we will definitely be going back. I don't know how good we'll get but we really enjoyed it. And hopefully it will eventually be good exercise. It was a bit slow this week but, as we get better, we'll fly round I'm sure. Can't be bad.


PS. It wasn't quite as comical as your Country Dancing class Beth/Peridot - I still giggle when I think about that.....


Well, as you might have guessed, the above was prepared after our first class a week last Monday but, due to cyber issues, I didn't post it. Now, having had a think about what I'm going to do about the blog, I've decided that I will carry on posting and talking about my life. I'm not intending to be airing dirty linen in public as details of someone else's divorce are pretty damn dull but think that there is plenty of food and exercise and life type stuff happening which I still want to chat about.


As an aside, I might start a Divorce Blog - are there such sad things out there?? Must be. It would be a place where I could weep and moan and gnash teeth and vent bitter spleen if required without infecting my usual prevailing mood of positivity and optimism.


We went back for ballroom/latin dancing class number 2 last Monday. It was even better than the first. We were much more competent at our 2 basic steps and actually learned a third - the tango. We managed much longer spells of dancing in hold to actual music so it felt more natural and fluent. I know we're going to love it. At one point, as we were tackling the tango (not to be confused with the Argentine Tango - flicking legs and jumps etc) I caught sight in the mirror of the 2 of us speeding round the floor and thought - "Wow! We're actually dancing!!"


The couple we met last week brought another couple along and so the 6 of us and another couple joined us in the pub afterwards. It was such a lighthearted atmosphere, everyone brimming full of enthusiasm for the class and for learning something new. I loved it. I'd say all 8 of us were in our 40's (maybe heading for 50 in some cases) but we were giggling like teenagers. Although maybe that is wrong - teenagers are far too concerned about being "cool" and not embarrassing themselves to be going ballroom dancing!!


So, there is plenty of stress, tension, anger, angst and downright criminal damage going on (Rich's car has been trashed on 3 separate occasions now - yikes!). But there is also fun, laughter, hope, love and, most important of all, potential.


God - time flies when you're having fun! We should have been to class number 3 on the Monday just passed but, after a difficult day emotionally, we decided to stay in and watch the highlights of the final day of the Ryder Cup instead. So, we'll have some serious catching up to do next week! Thank God that the Europeans pulled through - the mighty G-Mac justifying his pick as the guy bringing up the rear. It was nail-biting but the best contest I've seen for years!!