Saturday 22 January 2011

Taking a good dance home #drinkupandleave

When you have a great dance, that really worked, and you were totally in the zone, and you're not really going to have a better one that evening, I think there's a good argument for quietly finishing your drink and going home.

Your last dance of an evening can stay with you for days. I tend not to remember any particular steps at all clearly, but I do remember the general sensations of rhythmic and lyrical movement. Softness. Relaxation and the fading-away of external things. Flowing, confident, calm and balanced. The moments of hesitation,  adventure, curiosity, surprise. Shared emotion, expression and response. My nose gently against his cheek.

You can stick around in the hope of getting another, and sometimes that makes sense too, but if the odds don't favour it, the benefits of just leaving are great, especially if you're planning to go on dancing for years and you can afford to be patient.

Anyway I think if you take a good dance home with you* not only does it give you a happy mood and confidence, it goes into your brain and your nervous system and makes you dance better next time. It's one of the things that stops you getting stuck.

Sometimes it's not possible because I have to wait for a lift in someone's car. Then I hide in girly-huddle or take my shoes off as an "Out of Play" sign.

*although other interpretations of that sentence would be possible - and do as you please, as far as I'm concerned - whether they're a good idea depends on other things entirely.

5 comments:

maya said...

A good way of adding a frame or taking a mental photo of that particular time.I agree with you about the mood lifting qualities of later viewing as you point out so well.
Not something that we realize or are able to do at the time (my case often).Will have to think of alternative frames to use when I cannot follow your wise suggestion.

Anonymous said...

Yes, better to leave on a high note. If the music is really good but I know I won't be dancing anymore, I sometimes stick around a bit longer just to enjoy the music and have a chat. Its nice having the car as I can leave when I want.

Anonymous said...

Jarvis Cocker said there is an art in knowing when to leave a party (or words to that effect).

David Bailey said...

Totally agree - also it's good if you can start on a good note.

In fact, it's good to have good dances all the time... :)

But seriously, if I have a good dance, and it's towards the end, I usually take that as a sign to leave on a high.

Another rule of mine is that once I decide to go, I go. No hanging around or last-minute dances, as those usually don't work well.

Nuclear Girl said...

Agreed. I always try to leave a milonga on a good note if I can. I've had more than my fair share of bad experiences at milongas, so the few good nights are very precious.