chicken in a dumpling?

I recently had the pleasure of enjoying a home cooked meal with friends, everyone brought a plate, or a bottle of something, and we all just got to sit down and chat. The fun started before all of the guests arrived when I was in the kitchen with my mate and he was cooking a secret family recipe, as I was chopping vegetables to roast in the oven.

We were both rambling on about our days, our lives, the sands in the hour glass, when I cheekily decided to steal a taste of the cooking while my friend was not looking.

This little bite sized delicacy was covered a crunch golden crumb coating, it was steaming hot, and I just could not resist.

I was expecting the most luscious chicken nugget, I was thinking it would be moist and salty, I was thinking it would be flavorsome and full of texture.. I was wrong.

What at first looked to be home made chicken nuggets, turned out to be a sort of sweet gnocchi covered in an almost biscuit crumb, that was steaming hot because of boiling, not because of frying.

I was horrified and wanted to spit my stolen treasure out, THIS IS NOT WHAT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE, but I kept chewing, exploring the new textures and flavours, and wouldn't you know it, it was delicious (I went back and stole a few more, this time with a different expectation).

How often we all go into a situation thinking we know what it will hold for us, or what the out come will be, and how often is it that our expectations dictate to us what that outcome will be.

For me teaching a class is a very similar experience. I can not afford to go into any class with an expectation of what the out come will be. Every class is different, even if I have taught the same thing a million times and I suspect that the students have learnt it before. If I went into a class with set expectations that were not met, how often I would be disappointed, confused, forced to try to have a second crack at it a week later with a different expectation in mind.

The same goes for attending a class. Each and every class you attend should feel in so many ways like your first. As an experienced dancer you can not afford to walk into a beginners class and demand chicken wings if we have prepared sweet gnocchi for you! It is so important to keep your eyes and ears open in every class that you do, so that you don't miss out on the perfect time to perfect your dancing taste buds and enjoy all the flavors and textures around you!

As a new dancer, every class will feel odd and at times not to your taste, but as you grow, and learn what flavors to mix in with your dancing, your appreciation will grow and you too will be able to hone in your taste buds!

I suspect this will apply more and more as we try to get the shift between all level 1, 2 and 3 moving up and down and sideways not just starting at level one and ending up at level 3. In the past we would encourage students to stay in beginners class for months and months, then when they made it to level 1 they were there for years, level 2 is a recent addition to the Tasswing structure that means we can iron out a few more crinkles before you are introduced into level 3. In the olden days you earned your stripes after years of beginners and level one classes, when you made it to "intermediate" as it was called then, you were there for life! You had seen it all and you were the cream of the crop.

These days, the scene has grown, the teachers have new philosophy's, and you guys seem to want to explore more and more faster and faster. That is why we are doing our best to provide a way for you to taste as many new flavors as possible, to find the flavours you like, to work on getting it all to work, and in as many levels as possible.

This means in some cases you can shoot through to level 3 in four short months. In our recent Balboa frenzy we had beginners students who were 4 weeks old, move into level 1 beginners bal for a month, into level 2 for a month and then into level 3 for a month. These guys did not stay in the level 3 class, most of them came back to level 1 or 2, because at the end of the bal frenzy level 3 were not teaching bal anymore.

With this new structure, its almost circular, and we encourage everyone to come back to level one (heck even beginners, you know i love it when you visit) as often as possible to see whats on the menu!!

Till next time..
Relle