My back hurt, my feet ached, and I was exhausted – oh boy
did I have a great time at the latest Aspen Community Social Dance! No, really
– I had a blast. The aches and the
tiredness resulted from having loads of fun at this dance – I didn’t want to
sit down to take a break!
Last Saturday (like every third Saturday of the month), organizers,
Junee Kirk and Mel Taylor, and the rest of the crew treated us once again to one
of our favorite Aspen activities, the monthly Aspen Community Social Dance, this time preceded by intermediate cha-cha-cha
and beginning Foxtrot/Two-step lessons from instructor, Susan Kosch. A birthday party even broke out!
Unfortunately, we were not able to make it to the cha-cha-cha
lesson, but we did arrive in time for the foxtrot/two-step lesson which was great
for us because it not only helped
solidify our basic foxtrot steps, but it also allowed us to practice these
steps (and turns) to country-western Texas two-step tunes.
Foxtrot/Two-Step Lesson
The tempo of these two-step songs is generally faster than
that of those commonly associated with ballroom foxtrot and this did challenge us at
first. We soon got the hang of it though, and it was fun – but it was fast!
In addition to this “change of tune”, dancing foxtrot to
two-step music also afforded us the opportunity to learn a new twist
(literally) to a step already familiar to us – the promenade underarm turn.
Here’s how it’s supposed to look:
This turn, a beautiful addition to the basic promenade
step, adds a simple, fun little flair to an already whimsical movement. We were
familiar with doing this turn on the slow-slow steps, but we learned we could also
do the turn on the “fast-fast” steps of the promenade as well. I’m not sure it’s actually possible for us,
but we also told that we could even do it on both the slow-slow AND the fast-fast in the same promenade – whew!
Happy Birthday Tracy!
In between the foxtrot lesson and the open dancing we
celebrated a birthday. Guest of honor, Tracy, and a group of friends joined us for the evening.
Tracy's Happy Birthday Cake
Birthday Girl Tracy with Mom, Shirley
Tracy Sharing a photo
op with Friend and Skiing Special Olympian, Alex
Practicing Our Dancing During the Open Dance
To end the evening, in the open dancing portion we got to
practice our new twist/turn, some standard Texas two-step moves and even got to try a
little triple two-step. We danced and danced
and danced – and quickly; and we never sat down!
The aches and pains and tiredness have gone away – I hope
the new moves we learned don’t. Guess
it’s time to “practice, practice, practice so we’ll be ready for the next Aspen
Community Social Dance on August 18th.
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