The Wandering Monkey

The Sunday dance class starts in about an hour. For this class, my dance partner and I have agreed to divide the teaching responsibilities. She is going to take the first hour and teach the East Coast Swing moves. I will take the second hour and teach Lindy Hop.

During the holidays, my partner went back to the States for a month. I lead the classes on my own and took specific students to demonstrate moves. I found that I liked class leadership. We accomplished a great deal, too. The students learned basic Lindy Hop within one month, and they are starting to improve and improvise. When my partner returned, I found the class did not flow as it had.

She and I actually learned different styles of Lindy Hop. I do Savoy style -- its name taken from the Savoy Ballroom in New York City where Lindy Hop began. She does Hollywood Style, a.k.a. Dean Collins style -- a slightly modified but very cool looking version specificly created to look good while being filmed. I knew the basic steps follower's Savoy steps, so she learned my style.

Besides just dance style, sometimes we just drive each other crazy. I think we are on opposite sides of the personality diagram. She is a very excited, energy-filled person. But I can't figure out what's she might do or say next, so it's difficult to relax. This is a problem for me during class, where the students are hanging on our every word. We have both said, in good humor, that if we knew each other beforehand we never would have sat down and said, "Hey, let's go to China and teach swing dancing."

In many ways, our different life views makes our partnership stronger. She comes up with ideas I would never consider, and vice versa. We are on the same page when it comes to our dance goals. She wants to bring Lindy Hop to China as much as I do. So we'll see how it runs tonight and take it from there.

Peace
-J