mellowThe people were really nice; experience levels seemed to vary from beginner to quite experienced, and the music and leader were both great.
English dancing, I can now say, doesn't fill me with the same fierce joy I get from contra dancing, but there's a very stately pleasure to it. There's a lot less energy on the outside of the dance; English is more restrained, the steps are closely tied to the music, and getting where you're going faster than the music does only means that you end up standing around for a few beats waiting for the next bit.
The figures were familiar enough that I caught on pretty quickly, and I'm something of a natural dancer (who knew!) so between those two things, I didn't feel at all lost. The leader did a really good job of talking about a few of the unfamiliar things, and I wish that EVERY caller would explain to people about "giving weight" when dancing!
There's a gender-free English dance in JP 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, except August, so I'll probably go at least once more this summer, but my focus will definitely be more on getting more contras. Greenfield, June 6!
