A dance and a disappointment
Aug. 18th, 2016 08:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearOn Tuesday, Dave and I went to a Ceroc dancing beginner class at International Student House near Great Portland Street. It was very well organised to include people of varying experience. A couple demonstrated some basic moves on the stage and then walked us through them until we had built up a short routine. There were more men than women in the class, so they rotated the extra guys in and out, also making us switch partners at regular intervals.
Now, a fair few years ago, I would have had several problems with the format of the session. I would have struggled to pick up what we were supposed to be doing, and felt embarrassed when I got it wrong. I would have grown frustrated with several of my partners for not knowing what to do or for doing it wrong, and wanted to correct them. And I would probably have been rather uncomfortable at being in close physical contact with so many strange men.
However, on Tuesday night, I just went with it, did reasonably okay at the dancing, and mostly really enjoyed it. The experience of dancing with so many different people was very varied, and I certainly benefited from the direction of those who clearly knew the dance moves a lot better than me. It's hard to let your partner direct your movements completely if he's not very confident or very assertive - and it's very much easier to get your own movements right when you have an experienced partner basically putting you in exactly the right place all the time.
Still, at the end, when Dave and I eventually reunited, we were both able to run through the whole routine with no trouble, and we're planning to go again next week. My only wish is that we had more opportunity to dance with each other during the class, since we went together, and really wanted to learn together, too.
As I've been rereading my LJ from the beginning, I've been making a list of things to revisit - and the first of these was The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. My review from April 2007 didn't go into a huge amount of detail about why I liked it, but was very enthusastic. Since I couldn't remember ever having read the book, I decided to read it again. Last time, I apparently read all 350 in less than 36 hours. This time, it took me three days to get 125 pages in, and I then gave up. So, a decade apparently makes a big difference to the experience of a book - or maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind for it this week, for some reason.
It tells the story of a boy named David, who finds his way into a fairytale realm and encounters many strange characters and creatures on a journey through dark woods and mysterious castles. It's about fairy tales, and is written in quite a traditional way - telling rather than showing, using archetypes - which made it feel quite remote. The beginning section, detailing David's history and family relationships was very well written, maintaining a child's perspective but also conveying the reactions and interpretations of the adults around him, even though he himself didn't understand them. However, once he crossed over into the alternate world, it became quite dull and I quickly lost all interest.
Now, a fair few years ago, I would have had several problems with the format of the session. I would have struggled to pick up what we were supposed to be doing, and felt embarrassed when I got it wrong. I would have grown frustrated with several of my partners for not knowing what to do or for doing it wrong, and wanted to correct them. And I would probably have been rather uncomfortable at being in close physical contact with so many strange men.
However, on Tuesday night, I just went with it, did reasonably okay at the dancing, and mostly really enjoyed it. The experience of dancing with so many different people was very varied, and I certainly benefited from the direction of those who clearly knew the dance moves a lot better than me. It's hard to let your partner direct your movements completely if he's not very confident or very assertive - and it's very much easier to get your own movements right when you have an experienced partner basically putting you in exactly the right place all the time.
Still, at the end, when Dave and I eventually reunited, we were both able to run through the whole routine with no trouble, and we're planning to go again next week. My only wish is that we had more opportunity to dance with each other during the class, since we went together, and really wanted to learn together, too.
As I've been rereading my LJ from the beginning, I've been making a list of things to revisit - and the first of these was The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. My review from April 2007 didn't go into a huge amount of detail about why I liked it, but was very enthusastic. Since I couldn't remember ever having read the book, I decided to read it again. Last time, I apparently read all 350 in less than 36 hours. This time, it took me three days to get 125 pages in, and I then gave up. So, a decade apparently makes a big difference to the experience of a book - or maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind for it this week, for some reason.
It tells the story of a boy named David, who finds his way into a fairytale realm and encounters many strange characters and creatures on a journey through dark woods and mysterious castles. It's about fairy tales, and is written in quite a traditional way - telling rather than showing, using archetypes - which made it feel quite remote. The beginning section, detailing David's history and family relationships was very well written, maintaining a child's perspective but also conveying the reactions and interpretations of the adults around him, even though he himself didn't understand them. However, once he crossed over into the alternate world, it became quite dull and I quickly lost all interest.
