Making friends is my strong suit. We should all know this by now. So it should come as no surprise that S and I were not even into the third eight count of our first dance in dance class when we made a whole room full of them. Jean began with a dance everyone already knew. S and I forgot that even though we know the dance, we are supposed to relearn it and not act as if we've learned it before. And so, when Jean got into her second eight count directly from the first, we continued doing the dance while everyone else stopped, bewildered and perhaps frightened.
S quickly said, That right there is what you would call the defining moment of making friends.
Yes, yes it is. She was so up in my head because that's EXACTLY what I'd been about to say.
We had no time to discuss our newfound and reinforced friendships because Jean turned on the music and we all danced with her calling out the steps as loudly as she could. She decided not to use the microphone this week. I was thankful for that since every time she uses the microphone, she yells out the steps over the ever-present hushshshshsshshhhhhhhssssshhhhhhhhhh that comes from it.
We learned Jamaica Me Cha Cha (which is not an offensive title at all) when that dance ended. It was probably the most complicated dance we've done so far. That means that the perfect time to make random announcements would be between the third and forth eight counts. Jean turned to us and said that she had a great time at dancing on Saturday and that over 100 people had been there. Then she turned to the Irish Catholic sisters and Dances With Walls and said, Tell them about the refreshments! You'd think that as a dance teacher she'd be excited about the dancing, but no, Jean gets excited about the spread that goes along with the dancing.
Anyway, back to the not at all offensively titled Jamaica Me Cha Cha. When Jean did the first eight count, S and I were like, Nope, did not get that at all. When S and I don't get it AT ALL, there's going to be a problem in the form of a dance meltdown. Jean did it again. We almost got it. Jean did it again and then moved onto the second eight counts. We got the first eight and then struggled with the second.
Then suddenly, S and I got it no problem. All it took was a few times and the seemingly very diffcult and tricky dance wasn't a problem.
Still making friends.
Most of the class was still struggling because it included some turns that came quickly and the "we're landing on that wall" instruction didn't help since Jean tells us about which wall we'll land on about 32 counts too soon so everyone kept turning towards the wrong wall. Also, pointing to the wall really is not as helpful as one might think, especially when everyone points to a different wall.
And that's when S asked, Where did that woman come from? She pointed to a woman who has been attending since the very first class. I was like, I don't know; she's been in this class. She was like, No she hasn't. Then I realized that S had never seen the woman because the wall in the middle of the room blocked her. See what walls do? They impede you from making as many friends as possible.
We danced that cha cha twice and then it was onto other dances like Cooler Than Me during which some dancers have a difficult time walking forward for four counts, turning around, and walking back for four counts. I shit you not. This is intermediate, people. Oh, and, this is not the first time we've done this song.
Then we learned more dances, meaning we did dances we already know. I was really tired for some reason and Jean kept saying we were going to take a water break but that never happened. Every time we finished a dance, she'd say, we'll take a break, and then she'd put on music and start dancing so that everyone would be almost to the side of the room to get water and then would stop in their tracks, run back into place, and start dancing.
By the time we got to Love Letter Waltz, I felt like my legs were gonna give out. That did not help with this dance since Jean instructs us to use as much room as possible. That meant that Scottish Dance Lady and I were on a collision course since she and I were using the same space. We had a few close calls but worked it out. Safety first!
After that, I sat down on a chair and sipped some water and told myself I would not jump up for Jean if she put on the music. But then she put on Something In The Water. She knows what makes me dance. I jumped up and started dancing. A few other people were dancing. Yet, instead of allowing others to jump in mid-dance, she stopped the music and then restarted it for the slower people. So my jump up was unnecessary. Way to play with my heart, Jean.
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