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To Jam or Not to Jam
Friday, January 15, 1999 Last year at this time I was down in Oakland, at Potlatch! I had a great time last year, and I'm sure this year will be fun as well. I'm way behind on doing another issue of Anita's BOD, print version, though! Since the first issue covered the time up through December 1997 (and was really too long) I'd like to put two more together, for the first and second halves of 1998. At dance class on Thursday, another reader delurked. Jonathan, a dance buddy, told me that he'd found this journal, started reading the dance camp entries (he was there, too), then got addicted and just kept reading. I'd wondered about that spike in hits last Tuesday! This isn't Jonathan Garrigues, by the way, it's a different guy. The after-class dance Thursday night was just packed! Cat Daddy Chris asked me if I knew of any larger venues. I think they have so many current and former students now, and lots of other people drop by -- it's only two dollars if you aren't a class member -- that the crowds are really there. This wouldn't be a problem except for the people standing on the dance floor and not dancing! Some folks were just hanging out and chatting, which should be reserved for the entry way or even outside on the sidewalk.
This afternoon I went downtown for Hyper Dan's Rush Hour Jam. It was fun, but we could use a few more leads! In addition to Dan, Anne, Levi and a friend, and me, a group of four kids that had been in Dan's workshop were there, and a few other folks dropped by for a few dances. I was glad to see my buddy Antonio! He hasn't been out dancing as much lately; I used to dance with him several times a week! He has told me that moving out to Lake City, and having no car, has greatly limited his dancing. I always like dancing with him. He does East Coast swing, with a very light touch. Some of the folks were such beginners! I try not to critique as I'm dancing, since that's not much fun for a partner. I did give them a few hints, though, just to make it more practical to dance with them. One guy couldn't feel the beat of the music yet, so he kept dropping steps, turning an eight-count pattern into a six-count (or seven-count!) pattern. Lindy has a lot to think about when you are just learning! and there are subtleties and fine points that become important as you get more advanced. Dan started making noises about not doing the jam every week, but turning it into a more spontaneous event. I told him that I could certainly understand that having something like this as an obligation does take a bit of the fun out of it. But if people have to find out (how? not all folks are on email.) whether or not an event is happening, that's going to keep the numbers down even more! So we'll see what happens there. There had been discussion Thursday evening and today about where to go dancing tonight, since there were many choices. I'd been leaning towards going up to Shoreline, where Hep Jen was DJ'ing a dance at a teen center. She's always reliable! But after the jam, I decided a quiet evening at home was in order. I stopped at Borders and bought a few books, then took the bus back home. I ran into my friend Blunt on the bus. He sat directly in front of me (the bus was crowded) so he had to crane his neck around to speak to me. He's involved in a new web project, which is somewhat anonymous. Email me if you want the URL. We laughed about his energy and enthusiasm -- for any new project. He asked how I've kept this journal up for as long as I have (but it's not that long, really). I'm just such a creature of habit!
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