January 19, 2013 Changing dynamics

I've noticed a definite shift in the dynamic of our dance crowd since the cruise.  Those of us who went gravitate to each other much more than we did prior to the cruise.  It's as if we have our own special bond which was formed even with those we didn't get to spend much time with.  I find it really amazing how a single shared experience can alter the dynamic so much!

But that's not the only dynamic change I've noticed lately.  Apparently, one of the local clubs is closed for remodeling.  As it is nothing like Borderline in music style, personality or dance style, I'm amazed that the displaced patrons, or at least some of them, have found their way to our little home away from home.  Tonight, there was even a group from Meet Up there, and on our very own Dark Side!  These people definitely stand out and to my possibly tainted eyes, look like fish out of water.  They aren't used to a dance floor which is used only for choreographed line dances and couples dances which require at least a modicum of knowledge of the dance.  Many of them even have to be told that we don't drink on our dance floor or stand around yakking on it.  The dance floor is just that, a DANCE floor, and as such, what is done on it is only dancing.  Drinking, talking, picture taking, necking and anything else they choose to do that is legal in public can be done either in the bar area or around the tables away from the dance floor. 

Tonight, I had to explain to a young lady that people who decide to try to learn a dance on the fly should move to the back of the floor and that, on a crowded floor, a suitcase over the shoulder is not an acceptable or desirable accessory.  Especially if the wearer has no clue as to how the dance moves!  Do they not realize that said appendage completely destroys their balance?  It takes them in directions that no man has gone before (and probably never should again!) 

I don't consider myself a dance snob, per se, but I do think that an understanding of dance floor etiquette is not too much to expect, and even better, an understanding of the underlying etiquette for a particular club.  Quite frankly the rules for a club where everyone just bops around on a linoleum floor in flip flops and sneakers is going to be quite different from a club where people actually LEARN how to dance, and wear suede soled boots or shoes to make it easier to execute complicated turns.  I am, however, extremely grateful that the number of drunk girls on stilts with suitcases has declined significantly.  In fact, they have become a rarity.  They really posed a safety issue, especially for themselves.  I don't know exactly why they've stopped either coming or wearing their treacherous attire, but hope that the club's management realized that it was a liability to them as it increased the risk of someone hurting themselves or others on the dance floor.

I guess this post has turned into a bit of a rant.  I am grateful when new people come to the club because it helps to ensure that the club will remain successful and profitable but it would be nice of they would treat the place as a visitor would to a private home.  While we were all on the dance floor, one of the Meet up ladies actually had the nerve to steal a chair from the table next to me.  It was pretty obvious, before we got up to dance, that all of the chairs were occupied!  What happened to the common courtesy of asking before you take something?  Some peoples' children! 

After all of this ranting, it might be hard to guess that I really did have a good time tonight!  Yes, it was overly crowded and some of the dances were a bit treacherous, but I did get to spend the evening chatting with friends between dances and even got to do a WCS despite a decided lack of men tonight, so it really was all good!  I think, though, that I stayed too late because I allowed some things to annoy me and that usually happens when I am tired.  But I was having SUCH a good time!  Most of the kids who were already there were even pretty considerate on the dance floor! 

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful to have a place to dance that feels like a home away from home.
2. I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know my dance friends better.
3. I am grateful for probiotics which counter my negative reaction to the antibiotics.
4. I am grateful that my lymph nodes are already starting to return to normal.
5. I am grateful for a quiet day or two to just read and veg.

Love and light.