Swing Dancing Madness/Bonanza

The last week saw a huge change in my new normal weekly routine (which has mostly involved going over to various nerdy friends houses and playing any variety of board/card/miniatures games).

I threw a wrench in the works and went all in this last week with the swing dancing madness!  And when I say madness, I do mean madness extreme bonanza extraordinary fun time.

(I have no idea what this is from, but it is hilarious)

Cast photo for the Beginners and instructors

I hit up a swing DJ Dance on Tuesday.  I hit up a small concert on Wednesday.  I hit up Glen Echo for a big swing dancing night and finished the week with the last of my beginner classes.  Each and every experience was a fun time.  I think I have decided that there is no better way to meet new people.  Talk about a way to break down the barriers.  Having a reason to walk up to complete groups of strangers and ask one of them to dance… that’s like an invitation into the friend circle, as long as you are not creepy.

All of these events were easy enough to find.  gottaswing.com has a great selection of events in the DC area as well as Charlotte, NC, Hattiesburg, MS, and Williamsburg, VA.  I got to dance comfortably with dozens of people.  They were all very accepting of the fact that I was new.  They wouldn’t criticize me or make me feel like a screw up.  When I asked for pointers, I had a number of them that gave me valuable tips.  The #1 lesson that I learned from all of these different trips is that you should not constantly apologize if you mess up, just try to get back on beat and keep your feet moving.  I started by saying I was a beginner and just danced away.  People were so nice, including one of gottaswings organizers, Debra, who danced with me a couple of times and helped me with some techniques.

I’d like to say thanks to Lily Matini and Doug Van Sant, as well as Kevin Idon’tknowyourlastname, for the valuable lessons and friendliness at the Capitol Hill beginner dance classes.  Thanks to Gottaswing.com and living social for introducing me to a whole new way to enjoy life and learn some slick moves.