Charleston II

Monday was second my swing class. This time sans French 75, but with many more boys. How nice it is to have them "offer the hand" and then swing us girls out by our hips. Some of those cheerful young thangs just know how to guide us so smoothly that it is nice letting them show the initiative in the lead.

This week we did high kicks, turns and jumps. My petticoats ensured I was all modesty no matter how high I kicked or how much thrust those boys put on my turn. And the floor makes such a jolly good thump when we all come down together. Some of those fellas are actually quite advanced and just come along to give a girl some company. How lucky we are. 

Unfortunately we only have one little class left. I have my swing record out and I am going to practice, practice, practice, because next week I am going to start with a 75, shine those boards, and finish like a 57!

My First Dance Lesson

How much fun can one girl have on the boards with about thirty other dance-happy punters?

After filling in my first twenty minutes with some lovely French champagne with a twist, I joined the crowd in front of the stage as Emily and Xavier got us stepping and sliding in no time.

As it was the first dance-date for most of us, we had fun learning the basic steps, and then a few more "awesome" moves. After we astounded ourselves with our beginners' finesse, we were soon exchanging partners and learning even more additions to our little routine.

Some of the boys were very confident and others were fun, but all were polite and forgiving if we forgot a step or to. They "guided" us proficiently and we even had dancehall swapovers which involved a lot of clapping and even more fun when it was our turn to be partnered.

Today we learnt some of the fun steps of the Charleston. I know it looks a little comic on the big screen, but boy, was it fun! We did mini-Charlestons, and the Slide, and some of the boys did massive "Monkey Claps". Those pre-war guys and gals sure knew how to have some jolly good fun with their mint juleps!


Tune in again next week.

xx