The Time I Went Swing Dancing

I was recently invited to go swing dancing with a few of my friends. No big deal – I knew that they had gone before, but I was always busy with one thing or another.  That, and the very idea of dancing got me nervous.

I had never really understood how dancing worked, why people did it, or what was so fun about it. My first exposure to “dances” was in middle school, and needless to say – I’ll be honest here – those events were pretty crappy. I went anyways for my friends, but I would literally get bored within the first ten minutes. My school’s dances began as a frenzy for the crappy food, then degenerated into a mass of hormonal teens bouncing up and down in a cafeteria to equally bouncy music. When high school came around, I didn’t even bother.

So you could understand why I had reservations when it came to dancing. Then this voice popped into my head and said, “Hey, you’re not in middle school anymore you giant wuss!  Harden the f*** up, worst case scenario you get bored, and best case scenario you have fun.”

All your friends are doing it, Jason. Give in to peer pressure... Photo: Austin Swing Syndicate

I tried arguing with the little voice in my head, but nothing could convince it! Apparently I didn’t try hard enough because that Thursday night, I was standing outside the building’s pillared front entrance in my Sunday best. I had gotten there a few minutes before my friends, but it felt like an eternity! I was jittery and couldn’t stop shuffling around like a gerbil on crack. My friends showed up and we tried to go inside but were turned away because it was still another few minutes before they started, which only got me  more restless. We ended up talking about cars as they rolled in, prompting a “theatre of life“-esque discussion of what a person’s car said about themselves.

I turn around and BAM there are two fairly attractive girls standing right behind me. Now, I’ve been conditioned to not really care what anyone looks like, simply through working with many people across all levels of attractiveness. But hell, I was jittery anyways, and they were right behind me. You can see where my level of nervousness was heading.

Finally the doors opened, and since I was first-timer, I got shuffled into the “introductory class” with another one of my friends, while the rest went off to the ballroom. The room was dimly lit, lined with chairs along the walls, and a little smaller than your average classroom. Just from looking around, I could see that there was a pretty even 50/50 split between guys and girls. The instructors clapped their hands (think kindergarten) and began showing a few basic steps in the middle of the room. The group got in a big circle, guys on the outside and girls in the middle, with the girls rotating. Guess who was my first partner?

That’s right, one of the girls who was standing right behind me.

****To be continued, it’s late and I’m tired.****

Did you have an interesting first-time dancing experience? What was it like? Let me know in the comments, so I can pretend I have friends.