I am, as you know, addicted to dance. But I'm a little heavy on the west coast side. I'd like to expand my horizons and learn other dances and/or get better at the other ones I know a little bit of but never practice. Because it's my birthday week, because it makes me happier than anything else, and because I have otherwise been trapped in an infirmary, Rex has sent me out dancing nearly every night in the past week. I am enjoying this sooo much, but I know I'm going to be going through withdrawals when I have to taper back again.
Last Wednesday, the San Antonio Swing Dance Society had their annual Christmas party so I went to that. When I was a regular, the club started thinning out and it never really picked back up, but the Christmas party is usually the time when everyone who used to go comes back like it's a reunion. That wasn't so much the case this year, but there were a few people (including me) that came for this reason. I also came for the selfish reason of cashing in on my birthday dance. I had a good time, but I admit it was a little disappointing that the crowd was still small and I missed a lot of old familiar faces.
For my birthday on Saturday, Rex was going to go with me to the Annex for their ballroom dance Christmas party, but he was too sick to go and we had to cancel the babysitter. He told me to go without him. I was scared I was going to sit the whole time since I am not very practiced at ballroom (even if I do know the basics and can follow pretty well) so I don't feel very confident asking others to dance. Fortunately, one guy was there who I hadn't seen in forever and he always likes to dance with me. Other patient leads also asked me to dance, and I was able to practice just about everything a little bit. They even had a birthday waltz for those with December birthdays, so I got another birthday dance in there as well. After 10pm, they change the music so it's west coast the remainder of the night, but hardly any westies ever go because they generally don't do ballroom and no one that age wants to start their night out at 10pm, but there are a few that do so I got a little WCS in there too.
On Monday, I went to Sam's because Johnny P. and the Wiseguys were playing. I don't care to go to Sam's much anymore because I now know all the bands they host there and most of them are rockabilly, but I do make exceptions for the bands that I do like. I am also spoiled with nice hardwood floors and leads who know what they are doing. No offense to my good old swing dancing friends, but there are also a lot of other people there who push and pull and yank my arms, flail and stomp and have no consideration for the people around them. I am not fond of the uneven concrete floor or the college kids who don't know what they are doing and make it impossible for even the best leads to protect their follows from bodily injury. Still, it was soooo good to see the old gang and cash in on another birthday dance. However, I left before the second set without having danced with half the guys I meant to dance with -- because it was so packed and chaotic that it wasn't as much fun on the floor.
Tuesday is my weekly Alamo West Coast night at the Annex. I requested a birthday dance when I paid my entrance fee, but there were so few people there that I think they didn't bother to do it. I was very disappointed in the size of the crowd, but Ian always makes it worth my stay. The best part of the evening though was when Rex cut in when I was about to dance another song with Ian! He was still sick and had kissed me good-bye, saying "I wish I was going with you." Lo and behold, he'd arranged for Grandma and Grandpa to babysit the sick kids so he could surprise me at the Annex. And surprise me, he did! I was speechless. All I could do was smile. I think I was glowing, I was so happy! Sadly, I was very tired from the previous nights' lack of sleep with Rex coughing and the kids up sick too, so we left half an hour early. But Rex's romantic surprise was the best present he ever gave me.
Everyone was still sick on Wednesday, and I'd spent the day disinfecting the house. I was antsy from a week without running, and Rex was going to bed early due to illness. So he said I might as well go dancing again. I went to Midnight Rodeo because that's where the westies usually hang out on Wednesdays. Unfortunately, there was only a small representation of westies that night: 4 leads and 2 follows. But that also meant that I didn't have to compete for their attention. I got to practice two-step a lot, as well as a little bit of the other country dances and some west coast. They made me look so good that when my fatherly dance friends left and the crowd started to pick up (at 11pm), strangers came to compliment how well I danced and lots of guys asked me to dance. I love all the offers to dance, but the thing I don't like about bars is that the guys always ask to buy me drinks. Fortunately, this time, they didn't linger in an attempt to flirt but understood I was there just to dance.
I hadn't planned on going out dancing on Thursday, but now everyone in the house was sick and Rex was going to bed early again. After I put the kids to bed, I decided to head out to Cowboys. I was nervous because I didn't know where anyone would be dancing. I'd heard Arjon's was the place to go on Thursdays but I am least confident in salsa. Wild West is also a good place to go on Thursdays, but they cater more to the drinkers, and I'd already been frustrated twice that week with the 1604 being closed and having to take twice as long traveling the frontage road. So I chose Cowboys, knowing that their Thursday night lesson usually draws a crowd. Unfortunately, when I got there a little after 9pm, I discovered that the earlier lesson had been canceled so almost no one was there. The good thing was that I ran into a guy I knew who was there with another girl. I didn't know her but she apparently knew who I was. (Weird.) After they danced together a bit, she left to go to Arjon's and he stayed for the next hour and a half to dance with me. I was thrilled because I love dancing with him and never get the chance. His strong area is in country dances, so I was able to get a lot of practice with two-step and triple-two, as well as a few others. Two nights in a row of non-stop dancing with some great leads made me feel a whole lot more confident in country dancing. If I have a few more nights like that, I won't feel so awkward when a weaker lead dances country with me.
I love getting to dance every chance I can, and if I had my way, I'd go dancing every night of the week. But I know I can't do that. Going dancing this much is not normal, but I am taking advantage of it while I can. I just wish more people I knew would be out and about this week too. Oh well. As with everything, I'll take what I can get. I'm enjoying the fun.
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