17th “thing” achieved: 10. Visit 2 new dance venues outside of Surrey

I’m a creature of habit. there, I said it. When I was younger I craved new experiences, was always happy to go to new places and see new things – but over the years I have become more introverted, set in my ways and reluctant to break my cosy routine.

Dancing’s a great example of this – I dance many different styles and genres, and could pretty much go anywhere in the country and find somewhere to dance. But the idea of travelling too far (and having to get home after); rocking up at a venue where I don’t know anyone and they don’t know me; not knowing how the classes work or the etiquette for a particular venue – these things all make me feel like giving up before I’ve even set foot out of the door!

Quite a few of my 40 things are centred around pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and this is another of those things – so I decided I would challenge myself to visit two new dance venues that I’ve never been to before.

1.–West Coast Swing – San Francisco.

I love West Coast Swing. It’s such a beautiful, smooth dance and has a great connection between lead & follow (for non dancers – usually a guy will “lead” – i.e. indicate what move is required, and a lady will “follow” or execute the move).  Most West Coast Swing (WCS) dancers focus on the nuances of the music as much as the beat, making it an incredibly fun experience.

As the name suggests, the dance originated on the West Coast of America, so when visiting California, it would have been crazy not to have experienced a proper WCS dance on the actual West Coast! A friend of ours from the UK, Richard, had previously moved to San Francisco so when Natalie and I were on holiday, we made contact and asked about dance venues. Richard introduced us to Mission City Swing – a class run by a fantastic instructor, Eric.

Upon arrival we weren’t sure what to do, there was nobody to greet us so we just sort of wandered in and milled around. When some regulars turned up they explained we could pay etc in the break between the first and second class.  We entered the room and saw people were shuffling backwards and forwards in some sort of warm up. After a while, we just shrugged and started copying the other attendees – drilling the basic rhythm and movement. Luckily we’d both done some WCS before otherwise it would have been very intimidating for a complete newbie!

It turned out that we’d arrived part way through a progressive series of lessons so we were trying to catch up on 3 weeks’ worth of instruction. I believe that the expectation was that newbies would wait for the next 4-week series, although they were happy to welcome us!

When the class started, the instructor was amazing – really clear explanations, technically demanding but fun too. After we’d met a few of the dancers during the class they were much more willing to chat to us and we found they were a really friendly group that were open and welcoming, and we got lots of dances despite being completely new faces.

I’d say that it was definitely worth going and a wonderful experience to take home with us.

2. Ceroc – Fleet, Hampshire

One of my favourite dance styles is Ceroc . It is an international dance club which is really versatile, easily accessible and fairly formulaic so all venues operate roughly the same. They are centered around welcoming new people and there is a culture of always changing partners so you don’t get left on the side like a wallflower. A perfect way to expand my dancing horizons and see new places without a major culture shock!

I dance Ceroc a lot but tend to stick to my “home” venue. It’s on a regular night, I know everyone, it’s comfortable. But in the interest of trying new venues, I decided to branch out a little.  Fleet’s not far from me and I have lots of friends that go there already. In fact, I’ve been promising to give it a try for almost 4 years!

With no more excuses I decided to finally take the plunge, and without the safety net of my best mate to hold my hand. It may sound silly to those who know me, but even a venue where I probably know lots of people can be intimidating when going for the first time; I’m not as outgoing as you’d probably assume!

Anyway, I arrived and was greeted warmly at the door, the lady there gave me a run-down of the layout of the venue (classes, where to get water, drinks for sale, toilets) and I joined in with a brilliant class and got stuck into dancing. Quite a few people I knew were there and a lot more who didn’t know me soon approached me for a dance. I definitely felt like the new toy, as it seemed like everyone wanted a go! At one point I had 3 people queueing for a dance, it made me feel very special!

I am glad that I decided to expand my dancing horizons. I don’t want to be stuck in a rut and there are so many positive experiences to be had by just casting your net of experience further afield. I’ll definitely be going back to Fleet and I’ve promised myself I’ll be brave enough to try some other dance venues too.

This experience also served as a great lesson to me about how it feels for others when they come to a new place for the first time – be it work, dance club, social group, or even joining a group of people in the pub. Just because someone appears to be experienced, seems outgoing, or looks like they know what they are doing, doesn’t make a new place any less intimidating.  It hammered home the importance of a friendly welcome, clear explanations of what to expect/where to go/what to do, and including them in your conversations. I’ll definitely be making an effort for all new faces that come to my regular haunts, and I encourage you to do the same!

For more information,

• If you’re ever in San Francisco, DEFINITELY check out Mission City Swing
• If you want to try Ceroc, here are some links;
  • More info about Ceroc, and find a venue near you
  • Ceroc Surrey
  • Ceroc Plus (Fleet)