Sometimes the dancers outnumber the audience. Then it's like having a rehearsal in public.
I like when dancers in my class are willing to come out on a night when we don't regularly dance, and participate in a special event.
Tonight, we helped the local library celebrate their 100th birthday as a city department. Coincidentally, this week also commemorated being in their current beautiful building for 25 years. Two special birthdays! As part of a week-long series of special events, the library extended an invitation for dancing. And so we did.
It never ceases to impress me when dancers are not only willing to come out on a non-dance night and participate, but also willing to assume a level of responsibility for the event by agreeing to introduce a dance. I love hearing the dancers share about their own dance experiences! Some have been dancing for 30 years. I was shocked to hear Estella say she only started dancing in class last September. Is it really possible she has only danced for 9 months?? I watched Lynn dancing Tino Mori. When did she gain such confidence in her steps? When we invited the audience to join us for some beginning level dances, one gentleman chose not to get up and join us. But when we did the couple mixer Sasha, that didn't stop Kay from going over to him and engaging him in doing the movements - even if he wanted to stay seated.
The dancers do Internet research about the dance they will introduce. Some will type up what they want to share so they say it - and pronounce it - just right. I always learn something new listening to what they have found. Many of them drove a long way from home to participate in tonight's event - Coquille and Myrtle Point are 30-45 minutes out of town. And Sunday is Paul's only day of the week off from work! What a dedicated group! What a love for dancing! For me, one of the best parts of tonight was seeing the beautiful smiles on people's faces as I looked around the circle.
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