It started at the Wake Forest Fourth of July Celebration (which happens on the 3rd of July, BTW). A local beach band was playing some golden oldies and Sara and I watched all these older couples dancing around, having a great time. They weren’t flashy or anything, but they were having a blast.
Fast forward a good bit and we’re now enrolled in Don Bunn’s Learn to Shag lessons! We had our first lesson last week, and I’ve never concentrated so hard on what my feet were doing in my life. If you see me muttering “1-and-2, 3-and-4, 5-6, 1-and-2…”, you know what’s going on.
It’s funny how different people learn. Once I get going, I just sort of let the pattern continue. I drive around with my fingers doing the steps on the center console, trying to cement the muscle memory. Sara, on the other hand, learns best when the instructors used words for the different parts of the step: “forward-forward-back, back-stay-stay, rock-step.. forward-forward-back…” As we go through the step, she’s saying those words to herself to keep the step going.
The first dance lesson was fun. The one part that threw me off was the request to step to the right and meet your new partner. Many thanks to Laruen, Haley, Margaret, and Regina for their patience. The hardest part of dancing with other partners is where to look. I was trying to specifically not look at my feet, but at the same time, I’m not trying to cement a connection with Regina by staring into her eyes. Weird stuff. I’ll stick to dancing with my beautiful wife whenever possible, and I look forward to us being one of those dancing older couples come this Fourth of July (or the third, to be more accurate).