goings on

Oh MAN, this time of year is so much fun but oh so busy!  Ive not blogged forever and some of my excuses include
*  Buying frocks at the Vintage Fair
* Meeting two new wedding couples and teaching them their wedding dance
* Teaching some dear friends of mine their wedding dance
* Private lessons, private lessons, private lessons
* Attending cooking classes at the Wursthaus Kitchen Salamanca http://www.wursthauskitchen.com.au/
* Celbrating the Birthday
* A feeding frenzy at Montys
* Loving my new Ice Blue Kitchenaid

The dancing amongst it all has taken a little bit of a back burner but it has been so nice to fill up the evenings with fine food, fine wine and friends! 

We are all gearing up for the upcoming ball, and although classes will conclude mid December and resume again in Feb (dates to be confirmed), I cant see any sign of my calendar freeing up for a while!

The Vintage Fair was held at the Masonic hall the weekend everyone was away at CCB.  Armed with my measurments and a measuring tape, I pawed through many a beautiful vintage frock.  My number one tip is to wear a knee lenght slip, this way if there are no change rooms (or the one they have is constantly occupied) you can always just find a corner, and do a subtle try on without drawing too much attention to yourself.  I managed to walk away with an original 1950s frock, lemon yellow and perfect for Pimms coctails on the balcony over summer!

The wedding classes have really picked up, with the requests getting wilder and wilder every new summer.  Non swing songs are always a challenge, but have all worked out, and I'm finding it easier and easier to help get everyone ready for their big day! Red Hot Tip for those thinking of a wedding dance: Choose a short song!

I fell in love with the kitchen at the Wursthaus, it was a smaller and more intimate affair compared to the Agrarian Kitchen www.theagrariankitchen.com/ although I would recommend ANYONE go to either.  I'm not sure what classes they will be running over the summer months, but I'm hoping to be at all of them!  A whole new world of flavors and techniques have been introduced to my own kitchen recently as a result of the cooking classes I have been doing, and I must say, I have enjoyed being a wide eyed student for a little while!

Dinner, celebrations and the Kitchenaid are all for my birthday.  Montys www.montys.com.au is my most favorite restaurant.  They know us so well, and are always so accommodation.  Don't be scared to sit down to a kilo of mussels and a gin and tonic to start your evening (that's right before you even look at entree).  I have my favorite items on the menu but also like to try something that I know I could never attempt to recreate at home (I try making the mussels every few weeks at home but still like theirs more!!).  If you only go out to dinner once in one year, this is the place you want to go to - pretty sure I'll say yes if you feel like inviting me too!!

Celebrations deserve a post of their own, but the best night of night was had, with the perfect venue taking care of all of my party decorating problems!  The Ivory Lounge with its lush velvet chaise lounges and low lighting created the perfect atmosphere for a sophisticated evening of cocktail and cucumber sandwiches.  Stay tuned for a more detailed post soon!

This blog may soon turn into part dancing - part gossip from my life - part details of juicy love affair with my Kitchenaid.  The retro Ice Blue is perfect for my kitchen, matches my apron, looks great on the bench and has already made my life easier!  Poor friends and family will soon be bombarded with home made cakes and pasta dough, cookies and home made sausages (that's right!! you can do that!!).  Im already dreaming of some time off over Christmas to put on some smooth tunes, and get my "Sally Home Maker" on followed by previously mentioned Pimms cocktails and dinner parties.

While The Cats Away - The Mice Will Play

It turns out due to some fancy pants blues event in Adelaide, I will soon have a weekend free for secret lady luxuries, like baking cookies, eyelash curling and PRIVATE DANCE LESSONS.

The wedding season has begun so time slots are filling up nicely - but if you are keen for a private lesson on the weekend of 16/17th October, send an email to relled@gmail.com to book a time.

Classes will be at my place, and every student will also get to sample said baking (if its too warm, lets go with home made lemonade!!).

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Relle

The highs and the lows

Why do people come to their first swing dancing lesson?  Why do they come back for more?  Why do they suddenly stop coming and become ghosts of "the old days"?

For some its easy to see, they are being dragged along by their significant other, usually an enthusiastic girl, dragging along a less than willing but has no choice guy - and low and behold - some of these guys are actually good! Its not often that I see it the other way round, some poor shy reluctant girl, getting bullied onto the dance floor by her super keen boyfriend, but it does happen every now and then!

Sometimes its a case of a few gals getting together just to try something new, have a little bit of fun, get out and about for a wed night.  After the beginner warm up - everyone cancels their gym membership and discover that dancing yourself thin is the new black!

For others it seems (and this for me it appears to be something of a recent turn of events), there is a desire to approach this dance as a competitive sport. Learn fast, dance faster.  Ask all the questions, do all the workshops, have all the private lessons and BE THE BEST at swing dancing and like the karate kid, practice the discipline day in and day out.  Often in front of a mirror, otherwise anywhere with a floor, regardless of the music, crowd, or appropriateness of doing a swing out into a crowded dining room of sedate retirees, trying to enjoy their meals.  These dancers seem to either stick around for the long haul, getting better and better at their art, or, they burn out in usually around 18 months.

The burn out blame is usually deflected.  I don't think I have ever heard "well, im just not that into dancing any more".  Its usually a case of  "I have nothing else to learn, so I'm not going to come to classes any more" or "I don't have anyone to dance with, no one is good enough for me so I'm just not going to bother."  Both reasons are heart breaking to hear, and result in people fading out of the scene for ever.  

The reality is, if you don't come to class and if you don't social dance, you get forgotten about pretty quickly, especially if you burn all of your bridges along the way.  No teacher ever likes to hear they have been out grown (the words "those who can do, those who cant teach" haunt my dreams), and no dancer ever likes to find out they were not good enough, and the irony is, you would never ever hear any of the "best" dancers make either of those claims.

Ive said it before and I will say it again, everyone can always learn from any class, be it a level "too high" for you or a level "too low" for you.  You might not learn new moves in a beginners class, you might not learn a new way of doing your foot work, or even hear a new joke, but you should feel as though you can take something away.  

A great dancer and good friend once said to me, "the great dancers make me feel amazing, I dont even have to lead them, I just hold their hand and they seem to float on air.  The beginers students make me work hard for my money.  I have to actually lead every move, think about every single step that im doing, they are whats made me the dancer that I am today.  I love dancing with the great dancers, but when I need a reminder to be humble, I dance with one of your students, and it becomes very clear, that I still don't know everything". 

People like my friend, they always find a reason to dance, because they love it, they love knowing that they aren't the best in the world (but also love not sucking at it), they love the music, the lessons, the other dancers, they highs and the lows. 

I caught up with this guy after the recent Joel and Sophie workshops and he reminded me that I love the highs and lows too.  I'm pretty inspired at the moment.  Stay turned for my plans for the summer!!

cut foot loose

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYL3j27sSH8

You know how people say their life flashes in front of them when they die - well I wish this clip was memories from my own life.  Ultimately I don't want for much, I want to be able to walk in slow motion, with awesome wicked hair being all flirty in the breeze, I want a sound track to my life that plays when I walk into a room, and I want my life to have been this clip. 

For those of you who do the Beginers class warm up - prepare yourselves - I have been inspired.

I'm off home to practice my flash dance moves, and write a thank you note to Kenny Loggins!

Welcome Home!

It has taken so long! so long but finally it happened - as Kyle picked me up and carried me over the threshold of our new home, it all became so very real and it smelt like manfume and new house (ok the manfume was Kyle).

A new house only has its new house smell for a very limited time, before you know it your old couch brings its personality to the air, a fresh cup of coffee is brewed, hair spray and perfume wafts about the place and suddenly, it smells like home, and not like a new house any more.  

I stood in my new lounge room and I took a deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth, and repeat.  I wanted to keep that new house smell in for as long as I could, lets face it, its going to be a while before that happens again.  This house only just had its finishing touches put on it a few months ago, its not been lived in before!  No one else has burnt their dinner in that house, no one else has left a half eaten potato cake on the bench after a late night out, never before had the air in there been decorated with fresh linen or dirty socks!

We still have not settled in properly, at the moment it feels like we are staying in a really nice hotel, and living out of suitcases, but finally we are no longer at the mercy of a land lord and their endless inspections, open homes and surprise pop ins.

There is no white carpet to fear red wine spillage, polished concrete is the most convenient floor I have found so far.  There are many many spaces to hang pictures up on the wall, and there is a garden that we can finally love because we know we wont have to hand it back in a year.  

But best of all, we moved house and did not kill each other.  We tied down tarp to a trailer in the middle of Hobart August winds and rain, we worked till late and we worked hungry, we negotiated parents being "helpful" and neighbors being nosy and moved house in 48hrs!

Im sure there will be some sort of house warming soon, but this weekend is unpacking and putting everything away.  After a week of take away I'm dying to just cook some real food (gas cook top), pop on some slippers and just enjoy the new home!

Pic is view from the bed, don't think i will get sick of it for a while!

Tell me lies - tell me sweet little lies..

Righto - Turns out there have been some fibs that have been told, and im here to expose the truth!  When I first started to learn to blues dance, I was told:

1 - Its easy, its just like walking

2 - its NOT a spectator sport, its all about dancing with your partner

3 - Its sexy

LIES

If blues dancing was easy and just like walking, the level one blues class this month would not be as popular as it is.  If blues dancing was just like walking, I've been walking wrong for my whole life and heck if it were easy, why does everyone have their "concentrating like I have to do a poo" face on in the middle of class (yes I see all when perched at the door..).  I have never seen so many open mouths and deep forehead furrows as I have in this class, then again, I dont think I have ever seen as many "yay" moments either so you gotta take the wins with you!

If blues is not a spectator sport then why the heck am I so mesmerized by everyone bottoms?  I could not look away, it was a deep sea of wiggles and wobbles and hips doing their thing.  Lord if I knew so many boys could move like that, I would have had a boylesque troupe and stopped messing around with princesses!! (actually, the offer is still on the table guys!!).  I get it, when its done right you should feel like youre the only girl in the room, like he is dancing with you and it does not matter who is watching - but lets face it, if we did not love attention, we would not be learning to dance, and we would not be learning to do that stuff with our hips that you were learning last night! Do it and be proud, if there is one thing gravity will take care of for you its momentum, the corner stone of all our dancing esp blues, so don't fight it, throw your hands up and give into it and be proud!

This brings me to my final point.  I hear a lot that the popular opinion is that blues dancing is sexy, that its dirty sexy fun and it should be done when the lights are low and the blood is hot.. Just think about that for one second, because I have felt this way before, I'm not gonna lie to you.. I think we have all been there, but think of it this way.  If you think of blues as the sex of dancing, you are sexing on husbands, fathers, boyfriends (MY boyfriend), girlfriends, mums, you see where I'm going with this.. I'm not denying that it should feel good, but it should not feel that good in that special way.. If you would be mad to see your parner do it in club with some hot young stranger, dont do it in your blues dancing!

I think if anything, everyone is learning to love moving to blues music, learning skills you can take with you through your lindy, I'm  pretty excited to be at this years TasSwing Ball because I honestly believe after a few months of blues classes, you will see an improvement across the board in all of your dancing, and will finally be able to do those funky moves that you see Kara and Mr Quinn bust out all the time!

Angry Cats and Clamped Clams

Oh man, last night blues class was like watching myself on a first date (ok more like first sleep over).  Feeling all awkward, not really knowing where everything goes, being all serious about something that is ultimately a lot of fun, can feel really great, and to be honest is usually more fun with its crazy and not at all candle lit sexy - yeah, we are still talking about blues dancing.

I remember a few years ago when I was on my first encounter with blues, well blues and I had been flirting, we had been giving each other that look, you know the one girls, I like to call it "sparkle eyes", blues had been hanging out with other girls, making me dead keen to get in on the action (oh dancing, treat em mean and keep them keen eh?), im not gonna lie to yo, I was gaggin for it! But it made me try too hard..

I threw myself at blues, thighs first, and clung onto it like an angry cat, ordinary fairly cute but then possessed!  I look back with a slight sick feeling when I think of how hard I tried to RELAX, the poor boys I must have violated, hell, the poor girls I must have violated.. Im blushing!

Its soo embarrassing to think back to a few years ago, when at CCB we (not just me!!) were issued with orders such as "no clam clamping" and leads complained of "heavy beavers".. Ill explain both when you are all 21!  Lets just say, we should always leave room for cheesus...

For those of you who have tried blues without instruction, it may have felt like a whole heap of fumbling round in the dark with no real great outcome other than a polite thanks from the girl you were dancing with or a sheepish I'm sorry for the guy who you were swaying with, its time to think of Kara as your blues dancing Cosmo.  She will show you all the moves, come to class and take the quiz.. "what does it mean when he tells me to relax" and find that inner blues beast that has been waiting for just the right song forever!!

The most important thing to remember is this, ITS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN.  Its not supposed to be hard work, its not supposed to be sexy, its not supposed to be sleazy or make you feel like maybe you just got pregnant from dancing with that guy.  Its not supposed to be for a performance piece, its not supposed to leave you feeling like maybe you gotta buy that girl a nice steak dinner and introduce her to your mum... its supposed to be fun.  You dont want to look back on your blues dancing and wonder if it was you that they were really talking about when they said they were gonna have to hose "them" down...