Dancing is one of my favorite things. Since my childhood, I've loved it. Would be hard for you to know that if I didn't write this blog.
As a young child I was able to take dancing lessons. Ballet, specifically. I hated it because I'm not a very good speller. Especially words in French. So what the heck does that have to do with dancing?!
My ballet instructor would begin the class by having us write on the floor, in chalk, various dance steps in French. Once you spelled the word correctly you could proceed to the dancing part. While others in my class danced their little hearts away, I sat on the floor with chalk dust all over my leotard.
I came to hate the class so much that even at around age six or so, I would go off to my lessons, waving and smiling back at my mother, only to never get there. I would return later telling her "I had fun. Love ballet." Once in a while I would go to class. But always with the same results.
And then came our "performance recital" for the parents. OMG! If I remember correctly my mother came to see me dance with the group. I, of course, was mortified. I didn't know the steps let alone the routine. More afraid of telling anyone the truth, I did perform. Watching other's movements, I tried to imitate but was a few seconds off. Afterward, I finally had to tell my mother. So much for dance lessons. Although I think if I had taken "tap"...
But I did love to dance. I used to watch all the old B movies on TV with Fred and Ginger. Even in black and white the dancing was like a dream sequence. My whole self would move...dipping, swaying and twirling. I was "in heaven."
As a latch key kid, I would get home and turn on music. With no one there, I could be in my own world and dance and dance and dance. I would, like Fred, jump onto things with my arms up above my head. From chair to chair. Chair to couch. Couch to floor. Twirling. Stepping. I would get so dizzy. Magical. I was in a place untouched by the real world. So all into myself and my dreams. I still have that place. But, now, I have shared it with you.
When I was a teenager the "first" real dance craze was the "twist." And boy, did I. Twist, swing, mashed potatoes...all those.
Later on, I learned to Square Dance. My folks had Square Dance friends and they would invite me to join in. Loved it.
While in college I took a Modern Dance class. Loved it. Then I took a Folk Dance class. I loved it, too. And now we come to why I attached the above Scottish Fling video. I learned that fling in the Folk class and performed it as a solo for my final. Got an A+.
And, I didn't have to spell anything! Ain't life grand?
