Alright, so I've not posted in a while. I also haven't been on msn for a while. This may or may not be because I haven't turned on yet this term. I'm currently posting from my phone, which is no doubt costing me an extortionate amout, but I feel obliged to post anyway.
Friday night was Jazz at Johns. 'twas great fun, and there were lots of petreans about (and lots of dancers. We pretty much took took over the Big Band room, and got a shout or mention after about every 3rd song).
I have decided that Jill (with the black converses and hardcore knitting) is my favouritest girl in the world at the moment. I always feel comfortable when I dance with her, because she's always smiling (as if at some private joke) whenever I dance with her, and she doesn't surprise me too often (though she does sometimes look a sorry sight when she's sitting out for a song... but that just makes you want to pull her up for another dance.)
The majority of people fit into one of the following categories:
Serious Beginner(Often has a look of intense concentration on her face, as if she's dancing for the practice rather than the fun. She looks annoyed if you do something she hasn't seen before, so don't over-do it. One or two new simple moves per dance is enough. If she manages to follow it, her expression becomes one of self-congratulation. It's often good to dance with her becuase if something turns out the way you wanted it to, you _must_ be doing it right.)
Fun-loving(even if you can't get her to follow everything you're doing, it doesn't take long to work out what will work and what won't, and she won't get annoyed at you for trying things. Simple variations on what she already knows will often get a laugh. Over-the-top movements like massive/miniture/bouncy/low-down steps done to a familiar rhythm are easy for her to follow, but if she doesn't notice you dancing them, it doesn't spoil the dance, becaue you're still dancing the same rhythm. She is the most fun to dance with.)
----And here ends what I could be bothered to save in the shitty faves, because there was no guarantee it would have worked. I now think I have a method for recoving things in future----
Serious Advanced (normally sports a polite smile, and is well drilled at saying "thank you" after a dance. She will occasionally be made to laugh appreciatively if you can do something interesting that works particularly well with the music, but she has been to all of your classes(and more), so there aren't many *moves* that will surprise her.
She will often work in her own quirky variations on what you're leading, which earn her either a laugh or a slightly confused look. It can be hard to tell whether this is her being [flashy | confused | bored | just comfortable dancing with you]. As a result, dancing with her can be quite intimidating. This is why steal dances are so good, because all you have to do is lead a few swing-outs, and she'll probably get stolen long before she gets bored.)
I only really felt like I was dancing well with Maria for the first time a few saturdays ago. I think her inherent flashyness and love of air-steps and jumps makes her one of the hardest people to dance the simple stuff with, but it seems that all you have to do is get her into a swing-out, and she's pleased as punch.
The rest of my original entry was concerning swing-outs, and why they're so hard to learn in classes, and why flash-gits like Maria are good at them. That will have to wait though.
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