A Swinging Christmas

After a very long dry spell, this has been a swinging week. Danced at Paladino's on Tuesday. Then, went over to Pasadena for the Lindy Groove Christmas party ... one of those bi-annual parties where they host live music. This week was Barbara Morrison and the Geoffry Aymar band. Absolutely fabulous. Met up with some old swing friends, and made some new ones.

I say swing friends as opposed to just friends because it's a strange community for me. It's a diverse crowd; actors, architects, optometrists, receptionists, computer game programmers, consultants, social workers, firemen, web designers, nurses, doctors, retirees, students, professors, event planners, etc etc. Generally swing friends, except for maybe a couple, don't cross over into other areas of my life. When I go dancing, it's ALL about the dancing. I don't want to chitchat. I don't want to try refreshments. I don't want to bother with small talk. I just want to dance. And if I'm too out of breath to dance, I want to watch. It's not as if I'm ever really in the mood for small talk ... I get this from my mother. Generally I can tolerate chitchat when social situations require it, but I just have no patience for it when the music's on.

When the music's on, I just want to move to it, and discover those magical places where creativity blooms in the space between me and my partner. It's not about the huge aerials or flashy moves. What I crave are those smooth moves and the plays on rhythm and breaks that are so delicious within a tight partnership; those times when I can't help but widen my eyes and compliment my partner on some great move, and vice versa. So much of what I love about partner dancing are those little moments of spontaneous creation ... like an inside joke that only we get.

It was a fantastic night. I wore my lucky skirt (with the fringe!), and danced to my heart's content. I tore myself away when my cheeks started feeling cramped from smiling all night. WHen I got to the car, it was 0030! Today I'm back at work, feeling a little worse for the wear on only four hours of sleep ... but even then, I can't regret it.