Oh Camp Jitterbug, how I adore thee.
Hohoho. Where do I begin.
The dance on Friday at the Hub I volunteered and ran around more than actually danced, which was probably a good thing seeing as I was not feeling the rhythm so much. Still, a guy I have a good relationship with from blues dancing sauntered up and stole me away for a few minutes. It was his last dance of the night and my first. I felt a little bad seeing as it was very much a warm-up dance for me, but fun nonetheless.
Saturday... oooh man. The classes were fantastic. I was a little surprised at the low levels of some of the "intermediates", particularly the leads, but the teachers made the classes worth it and I definitely still learned a lot. The dances Saturday (both the Hub one and the after hours one at the Washington Dance Club) were decent for me - the best part was watching the stellar Jack and Jill contest and the Couples Prelims.
SUNDAY was when everything really began to come together with for me. The 'Soulful Social' before the dance really helped me warm up, get comfortable and enjoy the night air on the water. Met some sweet people, danced some sweet songs, ate cheese and crackers. (Yum!) The even itself was in the Naval Armoury, and OH MAN was I on that night. I caught nearly everything all my leads did and was able to take advantage of room for improvisation. The Couples Finals took my breath away. I didn't even notice my legs falling asleep folded up on the hardwood floor. What was supposed to be the very last song was mind-bogglingly fast and there was no one I particularly wanted to dance it with, so I filled my water bottle and stood behind the band watching them and Chris Chapman and his follow (both equally entertaining). Towards the end people stopped dancing and crowded around the band, clapping and hooting and hollering. When the song was over we roared and demanded another song - which they gave us. A jam circle pressed back the sea of people and some amazing dancers filled it. Best ending to a dance, ever.
Colin drove me and his three guests to the after hour's dance as he had the night before. The difference that night is that we blues-bombed Dick's. There was an older black gentleman there with a wheeled piano and two long lines of potential spectators. Fortuitously, that gentleman was a mean jazz piano player. There was no question what way things would go.
The after-hours itself was four of the best hours of dancing in my life. There was a huge range of skill levels and I danced with them all. This means that my arm is a little sore from when one lead really cranked it, but it also means I experimented with people much better than I - including one of the instructors. What struck me most about dancing with him was how loose he was. For me it was difficult to follow, though I knew even at the time that it was only difficult because I wasn't skilled enough. (It's the same way I was with the better Swing Kids when I first began.) When I reflected on this looseness to Brett he explained it was because the best leads give you a direction and then wait for you to get there. As soon as he said it it became extremely obvious - of course that's how it should be - but so many leads do more than that. The best I can describe it is to say that the instructor I danced with suggested where I go; usually I am guided there. It was strange to have so much (relative) freedom, but now that I've glimpsed the lofty heights I have that much more to look forward to.
Also, the solo charleston competition was probably 15 of the happiest minutes of my life. And I was just watching. Shayla looked SO GOOD in the prelims, the two guys who got 2nd and 3rd had me screaming and slapping the floor and the woman who won the competition was possibly the sexiest, most feminine charleston soloist I've ever laid eyes on. (Including YouTube videos.)
Brett drove myself and Adrienne home that morning. I fell asleep to the sounds of birds chirping and slept through the first two classes today. The last two were fun enough and I said goodbye to some of my acquaintances as the social before taking the bus home, to lounge and recuperate before going to work tomorrow morning.
It was an eventful Memorial weekend, to be sure. When I was younger I would have either been in parades or watching them in lawn chairs or on blankets with the rest of my family. There's definitely a nostalgia factor there, but I'm heading home this weekend, and I'll get my family love fix then. (Like I could get enough of them all in three days. XP)
What Camp Jitterbug really made me realize is that though I've come very far as a dancer since September, there is still a very long way to go to the top. It exposed me to everything beyond the Seattle swing scene (which is still awesome) and reiterated the best part about lindy hopping: the pure, explosive joy of it. When I dance really well - when I watch others dance really well - my heart could nearly burst from joy. There are so many things I want to accomplish in my life - but becoming a lindy hopper as intense as the ones I've seen in the past few days is near the top.