Nice Weekend

[quasigeostrophy]

Got back from Illinois a couple hours ago. Went to the English-American Dance Weekend in Urbana, IL with medusas_secret. I had a really wonderful time, but I can tell it's been too long since I've regularly gone contra dancing - I took some Naproxen when I got home and I'm still stiff and achy from all the dancing and driving. I also have a headache, but I think that's just from a couple of late nights - the ball ended last night at 11:30 CST, but I hadn't adjusted from EST and it was about an hour from the dance venue to medusas_secret's place.

I like English country dancing a lot - this weekend was the first time I'd done it. It's the obvious cousin to American contra dance. Some of the notable differences:

- I was told beforehand that ECD was less strenuous than contra. I guess that's true, but a couple of the dances during the workshop yesterday afternoon and definitely a couple of them from last night wore me out. There are moves that involve skipping around rather quickly.
- There's more eye contact than in contra dance.
- There isn't as much close contact (like for the swing move) as in contra.
- Related to the above, something I definitely had to get used to last night at the ball, is the concept of hoop skirt space. I kept getting in the way of some of the girls' skirts.
- The flirting seems more engineered as part of the dances, whereas in contra that aspect is much more spontaneous.

I was the only man with a kilt at the contra dance on Friday night, but for the ECD ball last night I felt woefully underdressed. There were some great outfits, including one I'd like to duplicate sometime - the gentleman looked straight out of 1776, complete with tricorner hat. I may have to check around Williamsburg, VA later this spring for some appropriate pieces.

The workshops yesterday were fun as well. There was a workshop on mummers plays, and I took a small part as a giant in a ploughman's tale we performed during intermission at last night's ball. It was silly, and I can't act, but it was fun. I also went to a group singing workshop. We sat around in a circle with a book of folk song lyrics and each picked something to sing. Twisted bloke that I am, I managed to find and choose Tom Lehrer's The Irish Ballad.

Today I'm going to sit around and recover, and help Toni with laundry. While out of town, some ideas came into my head for my video demo reel, but I'll start working on that tomorrow...

Comments

[cathouse-blues.livejournal.com]

Dumb question of the day #47: Are you in SCA?

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

I don't think that's a dumb question. No, I'm not in SCA, although I think some experience there might have helped me a little during a couple of the sword and staff fighting scenes we worked on during the mummers plays workshop yesterday. I feel like a complete maladroit (mainly because I am one) holding a sword or staff - I know I'm not doing it right. :-)

[cathouse-blues.livejournal.com]

So with whom are you participating in all this fun stuff?

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Generally with whomever wants to join me. :-) medusas_secret invited me over to IL to the dance weekend I just got home from. I'll go to the regular ones in Indy on Tuesday evenings on occasion by myself or with whomever. Interested? It's public, safe, and generally everyone is accepting and helpful to beginners.

[cathouse-blues.livejournal.com]

Definitely! Do I need to get out my garb, or will street clothes do?

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

For the regular Tuesday night contra dances in Indy, street clothes are fine. Whatever's comfortable, especially shoes that won't kill you on a dance floor. You will work up a sweat.

Info on the Indy group's dances is here. I haven't actually been to ours in a while, but I need to start going back to get myself back in shape.

[djinnthespazz.livejournal.com]

Sounds like fun.