Otherwise known as... Dancing the Night Away
Yesterday was a PERFECT day. As I wrote about in The First Birthday Lunch of the Birthday Weekend, I had lunch in my favorite restaurant, The Ravenous Pig, with my pal John, we dined on cake and imbibed yummy beer at 310 Park, and then I went home to rest up before my big night out with Linette, my favorite adventurer y amiga en salsa.
I left home just before 7... Linette was judging pets in a Halloween pet parade in the Bigger Town next to My Small Town. When I got there, I couldn't find Linette anywhere, and I had never seen so many animals in Downtown Bigger Town. There was an adorable St. Bernard, an assortment of Chihuahuas, Bassett Hounds, Goldies, even a great big Doberman Pinscher that looked like it had been crossed with a Great Dane.
It was that big.
Linette was nowhere to be found, so I commandeered my favorite table at 3 Sisters Speakeasy. This is not just any table; it's a high top for two, located right next to a window with a cool tiki torch directly on the other side of the glass... it's like being outside, only it's inside! The best of both worlds! Whenever I go to 3 Sisters, and this table is available, it is mine. I texted Linette to let her know where I was and to take her time... a few minutes later there was rapping on the glass. I looked up. There you are! She told me she'd be a few minutes. No problem!
I perused the menu, and ordered a club soda. A few minutes later I was growing a bit impatient-- and hungry-- so I went ahead and ordered my food. When Linette walked in she told me that she had friends sitting outside and we would be joining them. Okay, cool!
So we told the server about the change, and left my favorite table all alone. Until next time.
Linette's friends were nice; I had heard a lot about them-- in the best way-- so it was great to be able to finally put faces to the names. I am afraid I made a bit of a rude impression on them, however. My food came not long after we sat down and I chowed down on steamed gyoza and a California roll. It's my birthday weekend-- I can do anything I want to! Everybody laughed. Their food came just a few minutes later. In Japan, the food always comes out at different times, and people eat when their food is ready. I know... I no longer live in Japan. But I have to say that I particularly miss this custom.
After we ate, and talked, and laughed, it was time for Linette and I to take our leave. We had plans to go to the Saturday Social at Salsa Heat, and that is what we did. We walked to our cars, and Linette gave me the bucket of beverages that she had on ice in her car to put into the cooler I had brought. Folks are invited to bring their own refreshment to the social.
We learned this the hard way last month.
The social always begins with a lesson, which is slightly above our skill level. I have to say the instructor last night didn't break down the steps as easily as others have. And, as usual, there were partners who were strong leads that talked me through the moves, and there were others who... weren't. Still, we held our own, for the most part.
After the social, we danced. Baby, Linette and I have come a long way in one month's time. We are still far from looking incredible like the people who have been doing this for a while, but at least we're out there, dancing. Let me tell you about a few of our partners.
Crazy Fun Latin guy. There was a gentleman I had danced with last week that I had initially been terrified of, but once I relaxed and just let him lead me, I was fine. He was the first person to ask me to dance last night, and I was very pleased to be a part of his crazy style again. Towards the end of the dance he always exclaims, Go! Go! as he twirls me about and leads through cross body turns and the like. It's simultaneously scary and really, really fun. Kind of like going down the incline on a super-tall roller coaster. You scream your brains out, and feel exhilarated at the same time. He asked me out, but we didn't exchange any information. I'll see him again. That's the beauty of the socials. I doubt we have much in common anyway, outside of dancing.
Cute Strong Guy. The tall guy from our Wednesday night class came and asked me to dance. Once we got out on the dance floor, he started trying to teach me things that I hadn't learned yet. Unfun. I told him I wanted to do what I already knew... Cute Strong Guy replied, Jen, we're here to practice.
Practice does not equal learning new steps. The part that I enjoyed the most with Cute Strong Guy was doing basic, moving my hips, and looking in his eyes. Now that was fun! The song ended and a cha-cha started. I went back to my table and he said he'd come and get me later. I had mixed feelings about it. I liked dancing with him, but he made dancing feel hard, not as fun as it should be. Just my opinion. At the end of the evening, I asked him to walk me to my car, because Linette had left a little while before, and texted me, recommending an escort to my vehicle. There were sketchy people about. When we got to my car we talked for a little bit, and he told me that when we saw each other on Wednesday he was going to give me his number so that we could practice sometime. I told him guys like him don't go out with girls like me. Dumb, dumb, DUMB. Why would I say such a thing?! Probably because it was after 1 in the morning and my brain was suffering from shaken dancer syndrome from all the turns.
I am also prone to putting my foot in my mouth. It's a flaw. One of several.
The Engineer. A guy that we had met during the lesson adopted us and joined our table. He was a nice guy who danced on our level, so we enjoyed cutting a rug with him, practicing the moves that we had learned from the Beginner 2 curriculum. Like me, he had just had one Intermediate 1 lesson. Whenever we didn't have a partner, The Engineer led us out to the floor. I am glad he was there, because he made us feel like it was okay to still be a beginner. The Engineer told me that my face gets serious when he would lift up his hand to lead me in a turn... Jen, you have this bright, happy smile, and then... you CHANGE. It's not a bad face, but it's not your bright smile. From that point on, I worked on keeping the bright smile on my face even when turning. I definitely appreciated the input.
Lovely Older Latin Man. At one point in the evening, while I was sitting down taking a break, a cha-cha came on. I had learned the cha-cha last week, as described in Practice Makes Perfect, and let my feet kind of cha cha cha in place under my seat. A truly lovely older Latin man came over and invited me to dance. He was a wonderful partner-- clearly an excellent dancer, but knew it was his job to make us both look good and that that doesn't happen when the woman is out of her depth. He talked me through a turn, a few simple moves, and... we just had a nice dance together. He instructed me to take smaller steps. (Several people have told me this... I'm working on it!) The cha-cha was followed by a bachata, and he asked me if I knew how to bachata. I told him that I didn't, so he gave me some pointers, and led me through a lovely bachata. I could have danced with him all evening, but I know I'm not an easy partner. I'm still learning.
I was dancing with Lovely Older Latin Man when the clock struck twelve and I officially turned 37. I can't think of a better way to start my 37th year... learning how to follow, taking smaller steps, and smiling.
Addendum: The author had several other dance partners, most notably a tall white man who continually made the same two BIG moves over and over again during the course of the dance. She couldn't wait for the song to be over, but she survived. Smiling. He is learning just like she is, and that's okay.
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