I've been so caught up with Ballroom dancing over the past 6 months, that I'd almost forgotten the joys of West Coast Swing. Thanks to JulieFest this past weekend - I'm back in love with that dance all over again!
To celebrate her 50th birthday, dancing diva Julie Epplett decided create an entire weekend dedicated to her love for the dance! She brought in Mike Topel - a diva in his own right - to lead a series of WCS workshops and styling sessions and invites were sent out to all and sundry. And since it was a Madonna themed weekend, why not invite the grand dame herself? Well, that's just what Julie did! Lady M was a no show, but perhaps that was all for the better as it would have taken the spotlight off the rest of us party guys and gals!
JulieFest offered an entire weekend of WCS and at first I thought that I'd only sample a few bites here and there. On Friday night I went to the class on combining Cha Cha Cha with WCS patterns and wow was it a revelation! Who'd have thunk that you can alternate between two styles of dancing in the SAME song! After the workshops, I stuck around for the dance even though I wasn't quite sure if I remembered everything I had learned a year ago. Apparently my trepidation was showing in my steps coz one of my partners leaned in during a dance and said, "Look, I can tell that you've got it - somewhere in you. You have the feel of a dancer - now just own the idea! I KNOW you can give me something more."
I could only gape back at him (while trying not to miss time) and wonder if he was still taking about my dance moves! I tried to keep what he said in mind as I went through the rest of the workshops and dance sessions for the rest of the weekend. Obviously something went right because on Sunday night as I danced with the same partner, he gave me a big beaming smile and (much to my general embarrassment) shouted out, "Alleluia!!! She's got her SEXY back!"
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