I miss dance events

I know a lot of people are saying that they're enjoying staying at home in peace, that they've realised they do better without the late nights, the noise, the sleep deprivation, the crowds of people, the airports, the stress. Other people are saying that it's been so long now, that they can't even remember what dance events were like.

Not me.




I miss the music. I miss being this close to it. I miss feeling like the music is going to swallow me whole. I miss dancing to it, and I also miss standing by the side of the dance floor, staring transfixed at the musicians.



I miss taking classes with inspiring, amazing teachers.


I miss sitting down in piles on the floor to listen to brilliant talks and lectures. (Look how close we're all sitting!!!)


I miss going out for brunch or afternoon fika with friends after long nights of dancing, being deliriously tired but happy.





I miss wandering around new places, new cities, art museums, landmarks, that I might never have gotten around to travelling to if it hadn't been for dancing.


I miss daytime dances + activities at exchanges.


I miss watching my love win mix & match competitions. :)


I miss walking around the dance floor and everywhere around me seeing people I care about. I miss the deep talks and the small talk, the quick hugs, the solo jams, the close embrace.


I miss just hanging out.


I miss going out for dinner and getting quality time with dear friends, whom I may only see a few times a year at most, but whom it's still always marvellous to spend time with.


And I miss going out for dinner with big groups of people, some of which I know, some of which I don't know, and just chatting and laughing and connecting or reconnecting.


Photo by Cheeky Rastall


Photo by Andrew Perry


Photo by David Poul

I miss competing. I miss the nervousness beforehand and how the nervousness goes away as soon as I start dancing. I miss watching and cheering for the others in the comp, I miss meeting new people in the prelims, I miss bringing out all I have. (And yes, I always wear the same trousers for competitions. :))


I miss singing for dancers, so much!


And I miss being this tired and bubbly happy and crashing after. :)


I miss shenanigans and silliness.


I miss photographing dance events (but I already wrote a post about that here).


I miss looking and feeling like this.


I miss Sunday tea dances at Swingin' Spring. Well, any tea dance, really, but especially at Swingin' Spring. Everyone knows that tea dances are the best, right?


I miss Sunday night dances at cocktail bars like the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh or the Liquor Rooms in Dublin.


And I mean just look at these people, what's not to miss?


I miss late night brownies and ice cream at the Blue Moon Café in Herräng ...


... and late night Blues Against Humanity in the café at the Spoonful ...


... and just ... just late nights! (This photo is taken at 03:51.)


And I miss walking home in the early morning light, dance shoes in one hand, tired and wobbly and entirely happy. I miss that feeling that I sometimes would have at blues or balboa events but very rarely at lindy events; that I've had exactly as much dancing as my body and senses can carry and want in one night, nothing less.


Photo by Joel Höglund

I miss the Blues Garden.




Photo by Joel Höglund




Photo by Joel Höglund

No, I need to say that again: I miss the Blues Garden. Good god I miss it so much.


Photo by Nina Galicheva


Photo by Cheeky Rastall


I miss the dancing.

I miss the joy and the unexpected delight of when things are just working, I miss the physical soreness and the mental exhaustion and the feeling that the brain is entirely full and I can't fit any more learning in it, I miss the connection and the feeling of experiencing the music through my body, I miss dancing being my instrument.


But just looking at all these photos I realise that it's not even just about the dancing, it's about the people. As always.