The Sweaty Face of a Social Dancer

There is the general external perception that dancing is such an elegant activity ~ it’s all glitz and rhinestones; you’re perfectly coiffured; are demure and look like a princess … the reality is quite different, especially when you social dance, especially if you’re me and especially especially when you’re wearing a dress entirely inappropriate for dancing! It’s raw, it’s visceral and it’s sweaty ~ especially when you’re at it for 3-4 hours. But damn-it, it’s fabulous.

At the end of a day of Competitive Edge seminars and workshops there was a gala ball where you dressed-to-impress, so I wore the dress I intended to go out in afterwards … because I didn’t intend to stay until the end … because my ability to leave a social dance before the end is well documented … it isn’t, I just can’t leave, and I didn’t and I danced and danced and then was about to leave 10 mins from the end … and didn’t.

My brother asked me what I was up to, so I sent him a picture of my “current state” to which he replied “dear god do they have the paramedics on standby?!” … rude!  I was about to be offended when a cha cha came on and I abandoned my phone and took to the dancefloor again.

You just can’t explain the joy-of-dancing to someone ~ to me it’s just utterly joyous – even when you’re limping home covered in crusted sweat! … especially when you’re limping home, covered in crusted sweat!

… I eventually got to my friends birthday, after midnight …!

Why I Dance

Why I dance … the short answer is, because I can. The longer answer is because 18 months ago I couldn’t ~ I didn’t have enough energy to walk 50m, let alone dance. I’d been in and out of hospital, had a blood transfusion and finally had an operation that left a not-really-very-disposable internal organ in a bowl.

Some people criticise me for never sitting down at socials, I don’t apologise for that. I literally care not-a-jot.

I dance now for all the times I couldn’t dance in the past and for the times I may not be able to in the future. I dance because it brings me joy.  I dance because I lose myself and all the stresses of my life.  Dancing was my focus and motivation on the long road to recovery.  I push myself, because it may be taken away in an instance.

Dancing is joyful, it is when  and although my nerves sometimes cripple me in competitions, I will keep going and strive to achieve.  Because that also makes me happy.

My First Ballroom Competition

Today I competed in my first dance competition, ballroom at that, not Latin, which is what I’ve been focussing on more over the very short two years I’ve been dancing.

My dance teacher has put me straight in at Silver Medal level despite having not done that medal test, nor indeed

Pokemon Go ~ Gen 2

I nearly lost my shit tonight, I’m not going to lie. I noticed in the taxi on the way home after a night out with a friend that there were unidentified shadows all over “Nearby” screen.

My poor poor taxi driver …

January 2017 in Pictures

Looking back on January it’s been a good start to the year already ~ I saw the New Year in with Laura and Nick and their family and friends drinking copious amounts of advocaat. 

A Million Faces

After I came off a FaceTime call today with my sister I started to mess about with reflected selfies, taking pictures of my iPad with my phone. These are just a few ~ I took loads of them while, frankly, messing about. Some of them I really quite like.

Tube Strike Walks

I didn’t realise there was a tube strike today when I arranged two interviews. That’ll teach me to avoid the news because it’s endless misery. It was only on Friday when the recruiter sent me a message saying “don’t forget there’s a tube strike” that I realised, but one interview at 2pm in Mayfair, followed by a second in Old Street at 5pm should be fine, right. I’ll get a bus in, it should be ok, might take a little longer, but that’ll be fine, right?? Oh yeah … no. 

After sitting on the bus for over an hour, I’d made it only as far as Euston, nowhere near Mayfair. I pushed that one back, thankfully a recruiter, decamped from the bus and hightailed down there in foot, in the cold and rain. Joy. Meanwhile I got a call from the 5pm appointment asking that it be changed to 4.30pm. If I left the first by 3.30pm that would give me an hour to trek across town to the next one – that’s fine, right? 

I literally made it with 5 mins to spare to the second interview – enough time to change my shoes and de-dishevel me ~ well enough to look presentable(ish). 

I walked 4.6 miles today, on top of two interviews ~ exhausting. (… the rest of the steps are incidentals, and arm movements) 😆

January Rivoli

God it’s so good to be back in the ballroom for 4.5 hours of dancing.  It was an utterly glorious night zinging around in circles, quickstepping, waltzing, jiving – doing line dance after line dance ~ I barely sat down all night

An Albany Christmas Singalong

I love these bunch of idiots ~ we have the best of nights ~ last night we were at singalong in Crouch End, tonight we’re at our new venue for the second time, The Albany in Great Portland Street. After the show we sat around drinking baileys, singing Christmas songs and laughing until incontinence was a very real possibility …! Happy times.

Samba Masterclass

Samba Masterclass Students with Mariusz (front and centre) c/o Mariusz

I’ve been looking forward to this, the second samba masterclass since it was announced a few weeks ago.  Since the first one, I’ve clocked up many hours practicing samba for my Silver Latin Medal exam and it didn’t disappoint ~ lots of wiggles, whisks and rolls, with some of the best people around.