Did I mention that I love to dance? Oh, right, I have done that once or twice. Well, on the 22nd of November last year, Mr. Riley and I went to our first Lindy Hop lesson and I got hooked. Immediately. Completely. Joyfully.
To celebrate my first Lindy anniversary, I decided that I would have 7 days of dance... a whole week with at least some dancing every day. Fortunately, the Sheffield Lindy scene accidentally conspired to help me with this mission by hosting their first mini-exchange, the Sheffield Winter Warmer.
Day 1 The Winter Warmer was 3 days of beautiful dancing, starting on Friday 16th November with a Blues taster class by Green City Blues at the Shakespeare on Gibraltar Street. I hadn't managed to get to any of their previous events, despite being intrigued by blues dancing. What I discovered is that, like with many dances, if you have a good lead, blues is lovely. However (and this is a BIG however), because the hold is so close it can feel a bit uncomfortable and awkward and embarrassing if the lead isn't good. The pub had booked the Natchez Burning Blues Band as part of their Beer and Music Festival. Honestly, the organisers of the Winter Warmer could not have booked a better band if they had done it themselves. They played a mixture of Lindy-esque Rock 'n' Roll and Blues and us dancers completely took over the room. One thing that I have noticed in the last year is that bands do love to see people dance to their music.
In the evening there was a social dance at St. Vincent's on Solly Street. The Winter Warmer was not just for fun, but also for raising some money for Shelter and Movember, so there were many, many moustaches on display. The night started well for me, but I ended up having one of those occasional nights where I go through a bit of a crisis of confidence. I assume that this happens to most dancers, and it has definitely become less frequent the longer I have been dancing, but still the logical part of my brain occasionally loses the battle of 'why would anyone want to dance with me?', so I don't ask people to dance, and probably don't look massively approachable, so don't get asked to dance. Unfortunately, I was also sitting next to someone who got asked to dance about 150 times (actually, it was more like 10) whilst I wasn't asked at all, which just made me feel worse, so I decided that I would sneak out just before the end and head home early. The rest of the guys went on to the Red House on Solly Street, and by all accounts had a huge amount of fun there.
Day 3 On Sunday there was a tea dance at the Community Centre on Fir Street in Walkley. My confidence issue of the previous night had completely passed (honestly, hormones have a lot to answer for), and I had a wonderful time dancing with everyone. My favourite dances go to Emma for Baby Driver and to Danny/Dave for some stealing action during my favourite track to dance to, Love Me or Leave Me. Not, of course, that I didn't completely enjoy every other dance I had, they just happened to be the ones that really stuck in my mind! I still can't dance with anyone else to 'Baby Can Dance' by Carsie Blanton. It was our first dance at our wedding, and it means so much to me now that I just want to keep that memory exactly the way it is. Plus, as it was pointed out, there are probably all sorts of legal issues and I might end up finding myself married to somebody else if I danced to it with them, so it probably is just best to sit it out and have a little reminisce about my favourite ever dance with my husband.
I left the tea dance and missed the evening activities due to wanting to spend some time with Mr. Riley. Sometimes it can feel like we haven't seen each other for ages due to his shifts and my hobbies (hobbies? I mean dancing!), so we try and make the most of it when we do have an evening off together.
I would just like to say that the Sheffield Lindy Hop and Blues people did a fantastic job organising the Winter Warmer. It had a lovely, relaxed atmosphere and, crisis of confidence aside, I enjoyed every bit of it and am already looking forward to the next one.
Day 4 I decided to try the Steel City Swing Lesson on the Monday. I hadn't made it there yet, mainly because Mr. Riley has the car on Mondays and almost always works in the evening. From where I live, Heeley is a 10 minute drive, but a 50 minute walk or a 50 minute bus journey, and I struggle to spare that amount of time on a week night. This time, however, I managed to get myself a lift. The Monday class is very different to Sue's Wednesday class, but they seem to complement each other well. Craig and Emma took us through some positional stuff in the 'technique' class, getting the Leads to aim their Texas Tommies, Swing Outs and other related moves so that the Follow ends up in a specific place... thereby able to utilise a space on a crowded dance floor. In the 'fundamentals' class, which is the one for beginners, I tried leading for the first time. Wow, you have to THINK when you're leading, and that takes a bit of getting used to .What I liked about this class was that you are encouraged to make your own decisions when dancing rather than just following a routine, and this in turn will help on the social dance floor. It's not until you start social dancing that you really start learning how to dance, but it can be very intimidating at first. My advice is to just get out there and give it a go. Sometimes whisky helps.
After the class we all went for a drink and talked about hairy legs,sperm donors and sanitary products.
Day 5 Not yet having danced outside of Sheffield, I decided to mosey over the snake pass and head to Manchester for their Tuesday night lesson, followed by a little bit of social dancing. Mr. Riley had an unexpected day off, and suggested that he come with me, so we had ourselves a little road trip.
Normally when we decide to go somewhere new we get completely lost and I end up crying and stressy and horrible, but this time we found our way without any trouble at all. Manchester Lindy's venue is the Freemasons Hall. The first class was for Intermediates and we went over some footwork variations, which is my next challenge. When I watch other people dance, the Follows that I really pay attention to are those that do lovely things with their feet, like kick ball changes and little twisty things, and I can never seem to make them fit and then end up on the wrong foot when I try. It was really helpful to go over that in the class, and I'm going to make a real effort to put some variations in on the social dancefloor. I kept half an eye on Mr. Riley, because he has never danced in a class where you change partners, but whenever I looked over he was smiling and seemed to be really enjoying himself. The beginner's class came afterward, and I chose to Lead again while Mr. Riley sat it out. We did some 6-beat footwork, with tuck turns,changing places and bringing back in. I'm starting to find it really interesting to feel how different people follow. Some just don't, because they know what's coming. Some try to, but have no tension at all. Some are so solid and tense it feels like there's nothing to work with (and they must be giving themselves sore shoulders). And it's really lovely to get someone who get the balance of tension and looseness right, who waits for your lead and who ends up where you put them. After the class, which was shorter than Sheffield classes leaving more time for social dancing, I even got to have a dance with my lovely husband, which we haven't really done since the wedding. He's so good, it drives me crazy that he doesn't realise it. He did, however, seem much more comfortable in Manchester with people he doesn't know, and I wouldn't be surprised if we head over with some regularity now. We'll have to find somewhere cheaper to park though.
Day 6 I have a Spanish class on a Wednesday until 8.45, but I hot-footed it down to Solly Street to catch the last half of the improver's class and the whole of the intermediate class. I like coming in half way through improver's, because it really tests my following ability. Having not learnt the routine from the start I need a good lead to quickly get me up to speed, so I guess it also tests their leading ability. Both classes this week were challenging, but I managed to throw in a kick-ball-change or two from Tuesday's Manchester class which made me smile. After a full day of work, 3 hours of frustrating Spanish class and then an hour and a half of challenging dance I was ready to go straight home and not do my normal divert to Rev de Cuba for their swing night, so sadly missed Tessa Smith playing, but I bet you any money she was as lovely as ever.
Day 7 This was my Lindy Birthday, and what better way to spend it than withour first teacher, Mike Tate. He teaches a free class at Rev de Cuba in Manchester on a Thursday for their 'Swing Revolution' night (the Sheffield version of this, also with Mike, is on a Wednesday), so once again I ventured back over the Pennines after work. Unfortunately, Mr.Riley was working so couldn't come with me, but Lindyers are so lovely that it doesn't matter if you're on your own, you soon have someone to talk to. The venue is massive, and the dancing was downstairs in a bar that really should have been dark, smoky and playing dirty blues music. However, thanks to the smoking ban, we had enough air in our lungs to dance. I arrived just as Mike's lesson started so joined in with that then stayed for a couple of hours afterwards as well. After the lesson there is a live band (all this is for free!), and this week it was Swingamathing. They have played at Sheffield Rev de Cuba a number of times, so I knew what to expect - fast, fun and long songs to dance to. I've said it before, but there can hardly be a better work-out than a night on the Lindy dance floor. I even put my two leading lessons to good use and led Sarah... I think I need some more practice though!
And that's it. I have completed my Seven Days of Dance and have now been Lindy Hopping for a whole year, and hope to be dancing for many,many more years to come. A huge thank you to everyone who has been part of it, all my new friends, the people that work so hard to put on such brilliant events, the Sheffield Winter Warmer monkeys, Steel City Swing, Manchester Lindy, The Dance Co., Tim at Rev de Cuba, Mike for getting me started, Sue for keeping me going, and to every single person who has danced with me in between. Here's to the next year... I have a feeling it's going to be a good one!
If you are tempted, details of Sheffield and Manchester lessons are below, or google 'Lindy Hop + your city' to find some in your area. To read why I think everyone should try it, go here.
DETAILS OF SHEFFIELD LESSONS:
Look for Lindy Hop Sheffield on Facebook for loads of information about classes, socials and related dance events. If you have any questions feel free to get in touch by leaving a comment on here or on Twitter (@MrsWickie) and I'll do my best to answer or at least put you in touch with someone who can.
Mondays:
Steel City Swing
Fundamentals: 20:30 - 21:15
The Everyone Centre (next to Heeley Bath)
Broadfield Road
S8 0XQ
£4 (£3 conc) per class
You can find Steel City Swing on Facebook
Tuesday:
University of Sheffield Swing Dance Society
Beginners: 20:00 - 21:00
Arts Tower Lecture Theatre 1
£4 for non-members, £2 for members, membership costs just £6 and lasts the academic year
You can find the SU Swing Dance Society on Facebook
£5(£4 conc) for 1 class/ £6(£5 conc) for 2 or more classes
Thursdays: SHU Swing!
Beginners: 19.00/19.30 The Hubs/ St. Vincent's Social Club (check details before you go as the venue/ start times currently vary) £3 per class You can find SHU Swing! on Facebook
DETAILS OF MANCHESTER LESSONS:
Look for Manchester Lindy on Facebook for more information about classes etc.
Tuesdays:
Beginners: 20:30 - 21:00
Freemason's Hall
Bridge Street (off Deansgate)
M3 3BT
REV DE CUBA - SWING REVOLUTION: Free lesson with Mike from about 8.30, followed by a live swing band. Wednesday's in Sheffield Thursday's in Manchester
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