weekend-riffic
This weekend I went to the Dance Flurry for the first time. Through the cunning (and carefully timed) use of nasal spray decongestants, I was able to dance. The start of the weekend was slow: I had to wait until my friend Tamar arrived to check in to the hotel (since only her name was on the reservation), and she hit major traffic coming from Boston.
However, it was great to see her, and hang out with her throughout the weekend. While I waited, I was able to get in a few dances, and once we'd checked into the room, we quickly made our way back to dance some more. I stayed up too late (though, I seem to have been waking up after about 3-4 hours of sleep while sick anyway, so I'm not actually sure if it mattered when I went to sleep).
On Saturday, still determined to take it slow, I went to two sessions of experienced/challenging contras (admittedly, I sat out at least one dance during each session), plus a a bit of gender-role-free contras and traditional (boring) contras. I managed to catch a tiny bit of a "Dance Enhancers" session, where I finally began to understand how to twirl in a swing dance. In the evening, I was introduced to the calling of Ron Buchanan, who called the two craziest square dances I've ever done (one with "canon contras" and the other with two simultaneous heys), and got to hear the amazing Giant Robot Dance play again. And, of course, I stayed up way too late.
On Sunday, I was back to being tired, and so I sat out a few more dances. But, I still got to participate in the 4x4 Contras, the (mediocre) Rock 'n Roll contras, and a few dances at the final dance.
My ride out was with a lovely retired woman who's pursuing a million interests in her retirement. People were, in general, really friendly at the Flurry (including people I see in Greenfield, and who aren't as friendly there). I wondered if it was because the festival is so big, people are suddenly more kindly disposed to each other. I saw a ton of people I knew, including many from Earthdance.
On Friday morning, I was a little worried about going, both because I was sick, and because this was one of the few weekends this spring when neither Simon nor I had to work. And when I got there, the first two people I saw asked where he was. By the time I went for a walk around Saratoga while waiting for Tamar, I was really excited about having a weekend alone, away from Earthdance, away from Simon, with other people from my life, with the freedom to operate completely on my own timing, and to have a lot of fun.
On Saturday afternoon, I finally saw Christy, and we talked about how really, it was ridiculous that Simon wasn't coming out to see her. I suggested that she should call him, and point out that she's not this nearby often, and that he should come hang out. (It was a conflicted feeling for me, knowing that he really should come and hang out, and also enjoying having some alone time). When I talked to him in the evening, he had decided to leave his house within a half hour. He arrived in time to dance the last session and a half on Saturday, and stayed for Sunday. It was interesting to experience both happiness at seeing him and dancing with him, and also feeling a little disappointed that he was around. It also felt really great that he had come based on conversations with Christy and Stephanie, and not based on me dragging him along.
I had hoped to learn to swing, to hambo, and to tango, but alas, I got so caught up in my love of contra (and the realization that I really haven't been dancing lately).
The downside to spending the weekend dancing is that I now need to wait several days before taking nasal decongestants, and my sinuses really hurt. Amazingly enough, however, I've been able to breath much more today. But my ear hurts. Hopefully, this will clear up soon, because I'm getting kind of tired of it. And hopefully, I'll find a ride to contra this weekend, because I really really really really want to get back to dancing at least once a week, both contra and contact improv.
However, it was great to see her, and hang out with her throughout the weekend. While I waited, I was able to get in a few dances, and once we'd checked into the room, we quickly made our way back to dance some more. I stayed up too late (though, I seem to have been waking up after about 3-4 hours of sleep while sick anyway, so I'm not actually sure if it mattered when I went to sleep).
On Saturday, still determined to take it slow, I went to two sessions of experienced/challenging contras (admittedly, I sat out at least one dance during each session), plus a a bit of gender-role-free contras and traditional (boring) contras. I managed to catch a tiny bit of a "Dance Enhancers" session, where I finally began to understand how to twirl in a swing dance. In the evening, I was introduced to the calling of Ron Buchanan, who called the two craziest square dances I've ever done (one with "canon contras" and the other with two simultaneous heys), and got to hear the amazing Giant Robot Dance play again. And, of course, I stayed up way too late.
On Sunday, I was back to being tired, and so I sat out a few more dances. But, I still got to participate in the 4x4 Contras, the (mediocre) Rock 'n Roll contras, and a few dances at the final dance.
My ride out was with a lovely retired woman who's pursuing a million interests in her retirement. People were, in general, really friendly at the Flurry (including people I see in Greenfield, and who aren't as friendly there). I wondered if it was because the festival is so big, people are suddenly more kindly disposed to each other. I saw a ton of people I knew, including many from Earthdance.
On Friday morning, I was a little worried about going, both because I was sick, and because this was one of the few weekends this spring when neither Simon nor I had to work. And when I got there, the first two people I saw asked where he was. By the time I went for a walk around Saratoga while waiting for Tamar, I was really excited about having a weekend alone, away from Earthdance, away from Simon, with other people from my life, with the freedom to operate completely on my own timing, and to have a lot of fun.
On Saturday afternoon, I finally saw Christy, and we talked about how really, it was ridiculous that Simon wasn't coming out to see her. I suggested that she should call him, and point out that she's not this nearby often, and that he should come hang out. (It was a conflicted feeling for me, knowing that he really should come and hang out, and also enjoying having some alone time). When I talked to him in the evening, he had decided to leave his house within a half hour. He arrived in time to dance the last session and a half on Saturday, and stayed for Sunday. It was interesting to experience both happiness at seeing him and dancing with him, and also feeling a little disappointed that he was around. It also felt really great that he had come based on conversations with Christy and Stephanie, and not based on me dragging him along.
I had hoped to learn to swing, to hambo, and to tango, but alas, I got so caught up in my love of contra (and the realization that I really haven't been dancing lately).
The downside to spending the weekend dancing is that I now need to wait several days before taking nasal decongestants, and my sinuses really hurt. Amazingly enough, however, I've been able to breath much more today. But my ear hurts. Hopefully, this will clear up soon, because I'm getting kind of tired of it. And hopefully, I'll find a ride to contra this weekend, because I really really really really want to get back to dancing at least once a week, both contra and contact improv.