The dance in Knoxville

He said

I think the tradeoff was fair.

I go to a contra dance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_dance) with Danielle on Monday night and she goes to a baseballl game with me Tuesday night. If I actually found myself enjoying the dance, well, then that would  just be a bonus.

Considering it was Danielle’s car, I didn’t have much choice.

We left Gatlinburg  at 7:15 p.m. and arrived in Knoxville a few minutes before 8 p.m. We used Mapquest but had trouble finding 1538 Laurel Avenue, the  location of the Laurel Theatre. Danielle  pulled over to  ask two 20-something girls for directions. They had never heard of the theatre but were quick to jump on Google to help. Isn’t the Internet great?

We paid the $7-a-person fee for the three-hour dance, which would be called by Nick Boulet and backed by the Wild Goose Ceili Band. I could see that Danielle was getting excited.  I, however, was getting nervous because I  had no idea what I was in for. I had seen some YouTube clips but was now faced  with the real thing. 

Needless to  say, nerves soon had me in the bathroom, where I couldn’t stop passing gas. I have similar feelings the very first day of a new school  year. My nervousness quickly passed as Nick announced, “Take hands four.” 

I held Danielle’s hand as the other couple faced us, and we were soon being instructed on the night’s first dance. As the dance commenced, I soon realized that I was not  only dancing with Danielle, but with every other  woman there, from the college-aged to the old-aged. All were accommodating to first-timers like me, whether that meant whispering instructions in my ear or pushing me in the right direction. 

Danielle says that the old English -- she cited the movie “Sense and  Sensibility” as an example -- used these dances as a way to  court. One dance called “The Gypsy” -- which ended up being my favorite -- actually had a move in it that required both the man  and woman to flirt with each other by looking into each other’s eyes as they did an almost “Dirty Dancing”-type move. I could  easily seee how some people might  get carried away with this, thinking that  they were being led  on or teased. But this is simply part of the dance.

 It didn’t take long for me to begin feeling the music. But after three dances I decided to sit one out, not realizing how sweaty I had become. Just as I began to get comfortable, I was approached by a woman who wanted me to be her partner for the next dance. This is the  nice thing about going to a contra dance ... the women ALWAYS outnumber the men.

I’m starting to like this contra dance thing.

Danielle recognized a few people from other dances she’s attended. Before we  left, Danielle promised to meeet up with everyone again at the biggest dance  of the year, which was scheduled for the following weekend in Lexington, Ky. Tonight’s dance in Knoxville drew about 30 people, but the Lexington dance, Danielle said, draws close to 300.

For more information on contra dancing in Knoxville, go to http://www.discoveret.org/kcd/.