I'm going to be offline for a few days while I'm learning new dance moves at Swing Out New Hampshire. This is a Lindy hop dance camp, which is a dance form in which I have only the most modest of skills and a dance community where I will know exactly two people, both instructors who probably aren't going to remember me at all from the class I took from them several years ago. (Fair enough; I wouldn't remember students under those circumstances either.) It's a real camp-camp, involving campfires and s'mores and swimming and other traditional activities which do not include blogging. I'll hope to find lots of comments when I return on Monday!
This is a boundary-pushing trip for me, since I'm terrifically shy among large groups of strangers and since, sadly, I'm out of practice at going to dance events where I'm a beginner and a stranger. I was so nervous about signing up for it that I decided it was a Hangup and therefore should be attacked head-on. I expect it will be good for me, and I'm hoping it will be fun as well. At the very least, my Lindy skills should improve exponentially with four days of immersion. I'm hoping to pick up a little bit of Balboa as well and to make some new dance friends, ideally ones that have interests that extend beyond Lindy, or could be lured into such.
It's very weird to keep having to come up with something to do over Labor Day weekend after having it dedicated to worldcon for most of the past quarter-century.
Oh, I love watching Lindy Hop! Have fun!
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | August 27, 2008 at 06:30 PM
It's a real camp-camp, involving campfires
...and no need to bring any dangerous piece of wood. Enjoy the time away.
Posted by: Serge | August 27, 2008 at 07:10 PM
Hi! Finally de-lurking. I'm a StoryReader '93 (so I don't think I've ever met you in person) who greatly enjoys your blog. Have fun in NH!
Posted by: Allison | August 30, 2008 at 03:07 PM
Hi again. I'm home but exhausted (dancing until 5am last night...) and will be a bit getting caught up.
Welcome, Allison; were you at the SR reunion last fall?
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | September 01, 2008 at 07:31 PM
Glad you made it back home, Susan.
Posted by: Serge | September 01, 2008 at 08:07 PM
Dancing until 5am sounds like you were having fun!
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | September 03, 2008 at 06:47 PM
What worries me is that Susan danced until 5am the day she drove back home. Presumably she caught a few zees somewhere in between. Still...
Posted by: Serge | September 03, 2008 at 08:15 PM
I caught about 1.5 hours of sleep between dancing and getting up for breakfast and packing. I could easily have danced all night (I was on my third wind by then) but I thought I should get a little sleep before driving.
It was a slow drive home with a lot of breaks.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | September 03, 2008 at 09:07 PM
1.5 hours of sleep between dancing and getting up
I was afraid you'd say that.
Posted by: Serge | September 03, 2008 at 09:36 PM
good to see you got home safely. Did you have a good time?
This is also your poke about k'zoo. Poke. Poke.
Posted by: Sisuile | September 04, 2008 at 11:52 AM
Sisuile:
I had a wonderful time. I've got half a blog post written about it, and hope to finish it today. My evenings this week have primarily been spent coming home and passing out; unsurprising given the accumulated sleep deficit. Last night I went out to a local swing dance for some actual practice and didn't do too badly. One guy asked me to dance three times, which I guess means something good about my dancing. (Given that he was probably young enough to be my son, I don't think it was any other sort of interest! Nothing like being surrounded by hot, barely-dressed nineteen-year-olds to put one's physique in perpective.)
On K'zoo: I am pondering something on improvising saltarello using varying steps and rhythms. I get so sick of dances that begin with sixteen tempi of saltarello done as a processional around the room. I know Judith (SCA name; I'm blanking on her real one) has done stuff with freestyle saltarello but I think she was more doing different moves rather than different steps. Do you think I could film dancers and show a short video as part of a paper presentation?
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | September 06, 2008 at 07:07 AM
Given that he was probably young enough to be my son, I don't think it was any other sort of interest!
Never seen The Graduate?
Posted by: Serge | September 06, 2008 at 09:48 AM
Serge:
I was perfectly happy to date older men (dramatically older in some cases) when I was a teenager, but the other way around doesn't interest me at all.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | September 06, 2008 at 09:51 AM
Oops. That wasn't a good example. Still, maybe those kids are interested in dating women who aren't kids. The bottom line is that they liked dancing with you, whatever the reason, one of which may be that they think you're a good dancer. After all, I expect that kids go to dance camps to dance, not because of all the 'chicks' who are also there. Then again, like Sgt. Schultz, I know nothing, nothing!
All that silliness aside, I'm glad you had a good time.
Posted by: Serge | September 06, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Do you think I could film dancers and show a short video as part of a paper presentation?
I think it's a good idea.
Admittedly, my first thought was to wonder how many dancers may be there in order to have live demonstrations.
Posted by: Carol Witt | September 06, 2008 at 12:19 PM
Susan, when I was 16, I dated a 48-year-old. Have I told you this? It wasn't real dating, it was to hide that his partner, my music teacher in high school, was gay. But it was a lot of fun. I have twice dated guys 13 years younger than I was and both times were quickly disasters. Of course, these days I don't date at all.
Serge, the young guy wasn't from camp, he was from a local swing dance.
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | September 06, 2008 at 05:07 PM
Carol:
All I'd need would be me and one other person. The trick would be locating such a person who lives near me and teaching them the moves beforehand. If I used a video, I could just use my usual dance partner.
Marilee:
When I was 19 I dated two separate 38-year-olds. Both were good experiences and while we've mostly lost touch over the years, I'd be pleased to see either of them if they suddenly turned up.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | September 06, 2008 at 05:43 PM
Go for it. Videos are important for demonstration in the discipline. And this is a panel on the challenges of reconstruction. Did you get the email I sent out last week with my deadlines in it?
That will dovetail nicely with Andrew's Tempo piece looking at music & dance in the italians. I know he's looking at Bizarria d'Amore, but I'd have to look at the abstract for the other two. Thea is doing hers on German variations of Italian dances. I don't know what Donna is doing, but probably something else on Italians. We're going to be a mite focused, I think. ;)
And it's good to have fun dancing with the cute young things.
Posted by: Sisuile | September 06, 2008 at 07:27 PM
Saw the email, but my next free day is 9/14, so anything requiring thought doesn't happen until then. September is a hectic month; only three free days. (20th and 28th are the other two.)
Focused is good!
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | September 06, 2008 at 08:30 PM
Marilee... I feel strange, considering that my first real date (with some physical intomacy) was when I was 27. I wasn't exactly precocious, eh? She, on the other hand, was 5 years older, had a kid, and was married in the process of getting a divorce.
Posted by: Serge | September 06, 2008 at 08:46 PM
Marilee... I misunderstood the part about where the young men were from. I've had even less sleep than usual, this week, so that I could meet the office's deadlines, but it's taking its toll on me.
Posted by: Serge | September 06, 2008 at 08:49 PM
I started dating when I was 13 and am still friends with the guy and his wife. Most of the others I dated along the way I haven't seen in years. I stopped dating in 1987 when I had the first renal failure with the incidental stroke and coma. My life is hard to keep up with as it is; I don't think adding someone would actually help. And I don't want someone to become my caretaker.
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | September 07, 2008 at 07:08 PM
I think I'm about worn out on the whole relationship thing myself. I am tired of getting treated like a sort of inflatable doll and being all devastated and depressed wrecks the rest of my life.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | September 10, 2008 at 07:13 AM
Yeah, I'd be tired of that, too. Maybe you need some time out and then rethink.
Posted by: Marilee J. Layman | September 10, 2008 at 08:00 PM