I went to my first swing dancing class tonight. I got there just in time, and was very surprised to find that the class was 75% male! The instructors were quite surprised. They said that it was typically female-dominated.

We started out with learning the Charleston. I had never learned that. It’s still taking me some time, but I think I’ll get it. I did much better with East Coast, or the Jitterbug, but I had learned that before and it’s rather easy. The East Coast a six-step, whereas the Charleston is an eight-step. I found myself counting out loud as I do these steps, especially if my partner wasn’t leading well. We’re all really eager to work together and do well, though, and that’s the best part; I’m anticipating that my dance partners will improve quite a bit, just as I hope I will.

It was really cool to see the instructors as they showed us some of their best moves. I’d like to become advanced in swing dancing, and this may just be a start, but I can see my poorly-coordinated self learning how to become better-coordinated.

One of the best parts is, after instruction, that we get more (optional) practice at a dance floor on the other end of campus. I didn’t attend tonight, but I think it’ll be a common feature of my Wednesday nights.

Furthermore, I think I will be blogging a lot about it because I want to keep good track of how I’m doing. It provides a way to reflect and self-evaluate. Maybe I’ll even have pictures sometime!