I'm Like ET - Ready for Home

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Jan - 2011

Another exciting month with lots of developments.

Despite the wonderful time I'm having meeting so many delightful & friendly people and dancing my socks off ...... I'm really homesick for the first time in my life and ready for home. It doesn't help either when my friends in Portugal tell me things like "it was a warm & sunny 17 degrees today'" and "we sat outside in the sun for lunch yesterday". Me thinks they may have a slight malicious streak? Especially as we had one of the wettest winters on record for my first year in Portugal - 4 months of rain and not one day suitable for an outside lunch. Mona and Ben who are currently house sitting sent me some gorgeous photos they had taken & it really struck me just how lucky I was to live in such a special area.

I'm totally taken aback by the generosity of the dancing community. On a weekly basis I'm being offered help, teachers are giving me their time & experience, more dancers & teachers have booked their flights and I'm making the most wonderful friends through it all. It is quite extraordinary.

There were several 'firsts' this month:-

• I actually enjoyed a freestyle dance!!! Yeah & woopadeedooda!! I didn't have a false smile locked onto my face pretending that I wasn't in full throttle concentration mode. It was 100% genuine that I could truly dance with arms & legs working at the same time ....... what's more ..... I could even talk without everything coming to an abrupt stop. This is all thanks to Claire - she is just wonderful and one of the many people who have been absolute stars regards being supportive & so encouraging. A record was on that I loved to dance to and Claire just didn't give a hoot as to what happened. She just laughed & continued to dance no matter what. I had to learn to adjust my plans because she didn't always do what I had thought I'd led. So an excellent opportunity to practice the good etiquette of going with the flow of what happens - if a 'mistake' occurs just pick up as best you can & continue dancing. The other mantra that kept going through my head was "whatever happens, don't look surprised"!! Then people don't know that it wasn't what you had carefully planned!

• Learning the Beginners Moves was going quite well & for a daft moment I thought I'd have a go at the Intermediate Class. After a few seconds I thought "oh, my goodness" and nearly took off to my chair but Kirsty blocked that move & persuaded me to keep going! I'm so pleased she did. Thanks to her I stuck it out & survived to the end without imploding ....... or my brain bursting into flames when the system overloaded! Miracles do happen.

• First Tango lesson without resulting in the desire to throw myself off the nearest cliff. I had been well & truly put off by Tango when I did Ballroom. I found it a ridiculous dance at the time & wasn't into the dance style or the music which I found absolutely dire. So down & depressing. But things have changed a lot & Argentine Tango is so much better (in my humble opinion). The style is so much for interesting & the music more varied - even seen it done to more popular music with a Tango twist added. Much more to my liking. Can you tell I've been converted?

• Bought my first piece of equipment - an Ion Rocker something or other. It has a 12 hour lithium battery so will be great for dancing by the reservoir or demoing dance in the streets of Portugal.

• First African drumming lessons with Steve Rivers who is another highly skilled teacher. He has awesome skills at getting people to be totally uninhibited about having a go at something that is totally out of their comfort zone. Fun, VERY LOUD, & very challenging for my left & right brain co-ordination skills. My theory is that doing the drumming will help my ability to hear rhythms and improve my co-ordination. One can but live in hope eh?

• Contacted Portugal News which is a newspaper for Brits living in Portugal. It is nicknamed The Algarve News where we live in mid rural Portugal as the main content focus is for those living in The South - as if the rest of Portugal doesn't exist! But that is a bit unfair & lets face it most things DO actually happen down there or Lisbon. When I've been in touch before the person I spoke to was very friendly & helpful so they have lots of brownie points in my book. Anyway, I thought I'd get in touch regards writing an article or doing a press release. I was gobsmacked when I got a reply the same day saying yes. Must be a quiet week in the news. Not that I'm complaining. So I'd better get some info on how to do a Press Release.

• Booked a 1 to 1 lesson with Sue Freeman - it was wonderful to be able to spend some time with Sue & have the opportunity to chat with her a bit. In the classes she is of course very busy so there isn't much chance. Sue, being the amazing & patient person she is, actually got me to hear 'the 1' of a phrase of music. We did an exercise where I had to pass over a plastic lid on the 1. This sort of thing normally freaks me out & scares me to death (bad memories of music at school). So when I was able to do it much to my amazement (& Sue's I think) I had tears rolling down my face. I was so delighted & over the moon as it is something that has always eluded me. I used to feel so stupid at my lack of being able to hear or understand what I was supposed to be listening for. Crap teacher at school (I now realise) but at the time it can really effect how you perceive yourself & your potential abilities.

• My first Blues lesson was with a teacher who is second in command to a Bishop somewhere in the country. He also happens to be a DJ who specialises in Blues music. Still not sure if it was a wind up or not. Anyway, I enjoyed the lesson & he was happy to do a potted version of the lesson for me on video which was great. It kind of amused me the thought of him seeing to his parishioners & then saying "won't be around this evening. Off to do a spot of Blues Djing & teaching".

Several things happened on this Blues evening. I was introduced to Cheryl who is a Le Roc Federation. examiner. I introduced myself to her & did a bit of 'Dancing In Portugal' promoting. Then to my absolute horror she suggested I dance with her as a 'lead'. I confess ........ I totally wimped out! I would have been SO embarrassed. It still feels like I can't remember a thing when on the dance floor. So Cheryl led me & it was a really slow track which seemed to go on forever. I always find dancing to slower music so challenging but it is getting easier.

• First 'stranger' books! Earlier in the week I met a delightful lady called Pam who came up to me, introduced herself and said "I'd like to help". There are some people you meet who you just know in an instant that they are going to be someone you are going to get on with & become good friends. What was amazing was that after a few chats & email exchanges ....... 10 days later she booked her flight to come over with her daughter. WOW. I was impressed.

All in all a packed month with a Musicality workshop by Steve Lambert thrown in for good measure. Don't ask me why but my blonde brain thought the workshop was going to be quite different to what it actually was. Somehow I assumed it was going to be more 'theory' based & more about actually understanding music. But in fact it was very practical. One of the things that hit home was to be more aware of 'how' you dance to each track according to the genre. In other words if you have a particular style of dancing don't do that to everything. Steve gave an example of someone who is a VERY good dancer who likes dancing to @*^^ type music & it looks great. BUT the guy dances like that to everything & it just doesn't look right when the track has a Salsa or other influence of music. Hence, once you are more experienced it is a good idea to change certain things like your frame, you hip / arm / head movements etc. Obvious really!! Steve said that observers should be able to tell what genre of music you are Modern Jiving to even if they can't hear the track of music.

PHOTOS - Top two photos courtesy of Kim Willis (Marvao area). Bottom photo - taking 5 dogs & 2 sheep for a walk down the lane!

Christmas Meltdown - Dec 2010

Well a lot happened this month - understatement of the year!

My new dance experience of the month was definitely Kizomba. I thought I was going to a Salsa lesson at the beginning of the social dance evening. WRONG ..... and if I'm honest I would have bottled out of going to the class if I'd known it was Kizomba ....... I'd seen the video clips!! It definitely is not the dance to start learning if you suffer from shyness or inhibitions. I'm so glad I had a go. It was fascinating to watch the dancers afterwards - it is a dance style where there is such variation in how people individualise the dance to their own personality & the music. I had several very enjoyable dances & the other great plus was that I got chatting to Luke Stephenson.

As usual one of my card was at the ready for networking & Luke duly received one of them. But after dancing with him I did wonder if he would get in touch. It was still early days for my Salsa dancing & until now I have only ever done New York style which is quite different to Cuban style. I didn't have a clue & felt I floundered somewhat. To his credit though Luke still contacted me by email saying he would like to help me with my dance quest. I fell about laughing though when he apologised for only being able to offer at the most 2 weeks as he did have paid work he had to do!! You gotta chuckle - here is someone who is offering to help a stranger & he is apologising that he can't do more. Quite frankly any help is much appreciated. Next thing I hear from Luke & he tells me has booked his flight to Portugal for shortly after his return from Cuba. WOW. He is the first guest teacher to commit by actually booking a flight. Luke's enthusiasm is just wonderful ......... the next email also made me chuckle "can I teach every day? This is just my sort of person. With an attitude like that my quest will be sooooooo easy.

Learning the lead role during the month of December was rather painful for me. My brain & body were really struggling with integrating the information. Hence, I took the Total Immersion approach to learning the lead and went to beginner classes 2 - 5 times per week. I could genuinely make my excuses regards my lack of ability & say I'd only been learning the lead for 3 weeks .... but just ommit the fact that I had in fact done 9 classes! Towards the end of December I started to freestyle a bit and got a bit more confident about asking people to dance. There were several women who were so encouraging, supportive & kind. They would ask me to dance & say "come on Yolande, you need to practice". They helped me when I got stuck, reminded me of the bits I'd forgotten, gave me helpful & constructive feedback. The most important thing was they smiled & kept going no matter what - we had a lot of fun & a lot of laughs. I shall be eternally grateful to them. It was Ivy's infectious smile & encouragement that kept me going when my courage failed me.

This month saw me back at Lindy Hop classes with one of my all time favourite teachers Sue Freeman. Attending her classes is such good value - a laughter therapy session and dance class all rolled into one. As soon as I walked in Sue said "Oh, it is the chicken lady" & then carried on with the class much to everyone's bemusement. They didn't know that I used to sell eggs from my happy hens to her demo for the intermediate class. Learning from Sue is such a pleasure - she is a highly skilled teacher with regards to how she engages the class, relaxes people & encourages them. Sue has some great one liners & breaks the moves down into doable moves in the classes so it is all good fun. But she doesn't pull any punches. At the end of the day you have to get on with it, bite the bullet and practice at a freestyle. You can attend classes for ages but need to get to freestyles to really get it together & be able to Lindy.

December 18th saw me in Warrington visiting my friend Jane the night before my Zumba Instructor training day. We had a great evening chatting, eating, drinking wine & watching pre-recorded Strictly Come Dancing. All well and good until the snow really started falling & I started to wonder if I was going to be able to get to the venue in the morning. Needless to say I didn't sleep well & with bleary eyes set off in the early hours of the morning.

The 1 hour Zumba class at 8.45 am was something I am glad to say I survived with a modicum of dignity. Only just mind you. The Zumba Trainer was unreal - being so lively, blond, slim & fit (for 3 days on the trot!) should not be classified as human. It is obscene if the truth be known - a bit like the people who like to go to the gym before work in the morning. Which gene did they inherit that totally didn't enter the shopping basket when my mother made me? Anyway, I made it to the end of the day & learnt many things including how to recognise the difference between Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia & Reggaeton music. So I was a happy bunny all in all.

Towards the end of December I braved the Somerset snow & made it to the Xmas Meltdown 3 day holiday organised by Holiday Rock. Arrived rather frazzled to find myself extremely exasperated at the ridiculous situation of there only being one room key for 2 of us who were sharing a room at The Webbington Hotel. At first it seemed like it was just Stroppy Receptionist Syndrome but sadly it wasn't just that. Their 'system' could not cope with issuing more that one room card thingy. How ludicrous is that? The grumpy old women programme will be interviewing me soon ...... I was seriously unimpressed & struggled not to have a hormonal response. Why? I had the dogs with me again which made it a right pain in the proverbial having to walk to the other end of the labyrinth of corridors to leave the keys at the desk for Gill so she wasn't locked out of the room when I was out walking the dogs. It was darned hard work as I must have done about 9 'costume' changes at least in a day. The slush & muddy conditions meant that I couldn't go out in dance gear to give the mutley crew a walk & pee break. So one minute people saw me in dance gear & the next in my wellies & scruffs.

But all in all it was well worth it. Gill my room mate was great and the 'holiday' was so good. Lots of good dancers & teachers, fun classes & people giving me their details wanting to help.

New Years Eve was spent on the sofa with the dogs & me flatly refusing to go anywhere. My limbs were on strike. It was soooooo good not to be vertical!!

PHOTOS - Xmas Meltdown 3 day holiday organised by Holiday Rock

White Rabbit On The Motorway

PHOTOS - Weekender organised by Rock Bottoms in Torquay.

Lots of great classes, excellent teachers & fun friendly people.

Nov - 2010

I gave myself a few weeks of dancing as a follower and concentrated purely on improving my follower skills - in other words trying to NOT assume what the guy was going to do & focus on being aware of the lead signals & feeling the lead. It was rewarding when guys said things like "you are so easy to dance with - you go where I lead you". "You smile & keep going no matter what". My efforts were noted which makes it all worth while. I was picking up tips that I wish I'd learnt years ago.

Then it was a case of having to bite the bullet and decide 'tonight is the night' for attending the Beginner's class as a 'lead'. "Your life is never going to be the same again Yolande". My face must have been a picture my first night. It was really daunting having to switch roles & I felt like a white rabbit stuck in the middle of a 10 lane motorway ......... scared witless. My co-ordination went totally out of the window. I had a choice of either getting my feet or arms to do the move. They flatly refused to move at the same time. If someone spoke to me whilst doing battle with my lack of brain & limb co-operation then everything totally ground to a halt! I had to stop, politely explain that conversations were not possible at this moment in time and then carry on.

This was also the month when I had my first module of the Le Roc Federation course with Roy Greenhalgh. Someone suggested that the course might help me fast track to learning both the lead & follower roles of Modern Jive. Lets face it I needed all the help I could get my hands on. Also, it might be a good idea to have a piece of paper saying I could teach if I ever needed it on Portugal (I am a qualified teacher - Certificate of Education but if asked in Portugal may need something specific to dance). At only £180 it seemed worth it. I hope Roy has a LOT of patience as well as being a good teacher. I felt totally overwhelmed by what I had taken on to do & my brain went to mush. Not a reflection of his teaching - just me thinking "Oh sh_t" & panicking. I guess I should have maybe got more experience before taking on his course but what the heck.

Elsa who was my first Helpxer lived nearby & after seeing Roy for part one of the course I called in to see her. Being the lovely person she is Elsa offered to get a group together for me to practice on. In for a penny in for a pound - I said "ok, that sounds like a great idea".

This was also the month of starting to seriously network. Even at the local post office in Sheffield when we had all the snow. I got chatting to the girl behind the counter - she has a brother who runs a morning radio station programme ..... in Portugal!! He is always looking for people willing to come on the show & chat. Now THAT I can do - what a fantastic opportunity to talk about my quest.

My first new dance experience of the month was Rueda (a salsa style barn dance with a caller) - such unbelievable fun. Priceless. Rod Lawson the teacher has such a great attitude. I really liked the way he put people at ease. At the beginning he got people to move to music to warm up. Then he asked if people had walked or driven to the class. His point being that if you had moved to the music & had learnt the skills of walking & driving you were more than capable of learning dancing skills.

The group of dancers were a very friendly bunch. At times things seemed somewhat chaotic as those who didn't know what to do went spectacularly wrong but no one minded in the least. I laughed my way through the class. The 'raw' beginners group were helped by the more experienced dancers who had come along to help Rod.

Where is that 48 hour day, 10 day week, 5 week month, 14 month year? I'm like a kid in a sweetie shop whilst here in England. There are so many choices for places to go for dancing. I would love to do more Rueda but simply do not have more spare evenings. Wednesdays clash with Lindy Hop. I need more time.

During Novemember the snow & ice came like I have never seen in my life before in England - it seriously hampered being able to get out & about. So there was no dancing for nearly 2 weeks. What a pain that was just when I'd got going.

Moving Mum to Her New Flat v. Dancing?

October 2010
The very first job I had to deal with once back in England was organising my mum's move to her lovely new flat. They say moving house is one of life's top stress inducers. I think brownie points should be awarded for doing this task twice in 5 years. It is bad enough when it is all your own accumulated detritus to pack, sort, organise and agonise over regards what to throw away. But when it is some else's - urgh! Mum was no help whatsoever - treats the whole episode a bit like the queen - her staff do it all for her & things just miraculously happen without her having to be bothered with it all.

So there wasn't much happening on the 'dance quest' front until the end of October. Started Modern Jive classes again & got thoroughly hooked. Then of course there was The Scarborough weekender organised by Easy Dance which was huge fun. Met a friendly gang of dancers & teachers who added themselves to the 'interested in Dancing in Portugal' list (hence, the weekend was great for networking), danced lots and in between workshops rushed out & walked the Mutley Crew (dogs). Exhausting but worth it as I wouldn't have been able to attend the weekender if they hadn't come with me.

Strange but once I started dancing again it was so much more fun that sorting out all of mum's boxes in the garage! Odd eh?

** PHOTOS - Top 3 Scarborough Weekender with a photo underneath of a street in Castelo de Vide. The street is a LOT steeper than it looks & the elderly lady on the left hand side was negotiating walking down the bit where there was no wall to support. Not easy when the surface is cobbled as well. I watched with baited breath from my B & B window.

2,214 kms later.

End of Sept 2010 - There was a two week turnaround time for me after the Islantilla holiday to get ready for setting off to England. For the first time in my life I was driving 1,500 miles through Portugal, Spain & France on my own(ish) ..... I had 3 active & energetic dogs with me so I did have them for back up, protection & moral support. If I said I was sh_tting bricks at the thought of traveling that distance it was an understatement. What if my sat nav died on me & I ended up in Italy? I guess the wine & pasta would be nice but I would definitely miss the ferry!

With my heart in my mouth, Mona & Ben's cheery waves & assurances that everything would be ok ..... I set off. And what fun I had.

My plan was to enjoy the journey & log it in my set of life experiences & achievements. Not stress about it (ha ha), take my time & learn something along the way. I wanted to avoid hotels etc & make the journey as cheap as possible by sleeping in my van. The dogs had plenty of space (my van is more like a dog hotel!) & I had a ledge. Yes, you read correctly ... a ledge. It is functional, comfortable & practical but there is no space for sitting upright to drink wine & read. But a happy oversight resolved that problem for me (more about that later).

First stop over was with another Helpx host who was Mr. Hospitality himself. My plan was to meet one or two other Helpx hosts for the chat & simply park up on their drive way. I was a tad wary of being in my van just parked up randomly somewhere.

Sat Nav actually took me to a dot in the middle of no-where which wasn't a great start to my adventure. I just kept on going & eventually got to the town where I was supposed to be. BUT I didn't speak Spanish so in my best Portuguesey Englishey Spanish I accosted the nearest person who looked ok (he was walking a dog on a lead so that gave him some credibility). I had a vague address & Mr. H's name & figured that he must be known locally. Mr. Dog Walker said it was close by (I think) & so I followed but then got twitchty as I had left my passport & money in the van. Mr DW assured me & not to worry as he was the local Policeman Chief!! He was also rather pissed & it totally escaped him that being with me wasn't exactly protecting my passport & van. Mr. DW then proceeded to pop into various shops asking if they knew where Mr. H lived - go figure. Eventually someone did, we found him thank goodness & Mr.H escorted me back to the van explaining that getting to his place was going to be a challenge because of various road works & narrow streets. Great.

Mr. H is definitely one of life's more interesting characters & insisted on cooking me a meal & that I could have a spare room. He gave me a grand tour of the 15 Century palace that he bought & is lovingly renovating, slowly but surely with the bits & pieces he recovers from his daily searches at the local skips. His building has the most spectacular original door that is straight out of a Harry Potter book. It is HUGE with a smaller door set inside it for us regular mortals to use. On a full size billiard table in the restaurant-to-be are all the treasures he has found whilst checking out UK charity shops. A lesson learnt as to the bargains & treasures that can be found if you are persistent. I had planned for an early night but it was not to be. Mr. H likes a good debate & discussion. I had to keep my wits about me - he is someone you don't want on the opposing debate team!

But I had obviously made an impression & he later emailed to say his mate Antonio was interested in my Dancing in Portugal quest.

After a long day driving I got onto a campsite for my next over night stay. I felt I deserved a glass of El Vinho but couldn't find my bottle opener. Well, to be honest I didn't look THAT hard. I'd spotted some friendly campers nearby who had a comfy looking caravan. "Maybe if I go over with my bottle of wine, explain my predicament they might let me sit inside for a while whilst we all partake?" And that is indeed what happened. A very pleasant & comfortable evening was had by all & ...... wait for it ........ the other guests were Lindy Hop dancers & would be passing my way on their travels through Portugal in April 2011. Now there's a happy coincidence. Addresses duly swopped.

The "I can't find my bottle opener" trick was successfully repeated for the next few nights as I happily trundled along the roads to Calais. Arriving in Dover & then having to negotiate UK traffic was 'pants' as they say. Drove for several hours & then pulled up for a sleep in a service station. My lesson learnt there was that you do indeed get a fine if you overstay the 2 hour parking time limit & drive off. Luckily I did find out that it was better to pay the excessive parking fee rather than get the fine. Welcome back to the UK. xx

You Call This a Holiday?

Photos info - see below.

Every spare moment I had it was a case for 'close the curtains & SLEEP' so I could reserve my get up & dance energy requirements!

~ Up at the last minute to have some breakfast at about 9.30am. Attend first class 10 / 10.30am.

~ Then a private lesson with Keith before lunch.

~ Go back to room & sleep for an hour before next lesson usually around 4.30 pm.

~ Back to room for another hours kip before dinner, good chats, laughs & dancing till 1 - 2 am. With some reading to help wind down after the dancing - it always takes a while to come back down to earth after an evenings dancing. Dancing is just the best 'high' and the great thing is it isn't illegal, fattening or immoral. Wish the same thing could be said for chocolate.

By the end of the holiday my mind was set - rural Portugal has got to have some of this (yes - I know - this is said for totally selfish reasons). Why on earth have I let so many years go by without dancing - nearly 8 years which is criminal?

John was right - it doesn't matter how long it takes to get the dancing going." Just do it". Without even a proper plan people have still been encouraging & supportive. I'm sure in time 'The Dancing In Portugal Quest' will develop its own plan & style according to who gets involved.

PHOTOS - Just because we are adults doesn't mean there isn't a kid in each one of us!! Party games organised by Wes & Chris on the Hawaiin Fancy dress evening.

Plus of course one of my favourite photos of a peaceful moment when Tessa's six pups were finally asleep in the cat basket October 2004 ....... Well, it is kind of relevant ..... lots of activity & then sleep kindofthing.

Islantilla (Spain)- Reality is Scary

What bliss it is to drive in Portugal - a 6 hour journey to the hotel in Spain & not one single traffic jam or roadworks! Dealing with the horrendous traffic is one thing I most definitely do not miss about England.

All in all Chris & Wes who run Jivestyle (they turned out to be dancing buddies from Nottingham 8 years ago) put together a great holiday. They made every single effort they possibly could to ensure the dancers had fun & enjoyed themselves. I'm not sure many people fully realise the blood, sweat & tears that goes into organising these things. Having been at the organising end of these things in the past I do!!

With the help of an all inclusive package that meant we had free drinks (not conducive to dancing actually!!) & shared meals everyone attending soon got chatting. Normally at classes & freestyles there isn't much time for chat so having the time for a conversation was a pleasant bonus of the holiday.

By day 2 it really hit home the enormity of what I was trying to do.

Not only do I have to become aware of what the followers do & their steps, I obviously need to learnt the lead role - what their steps are & the art of leading.

Then there is the daunting task of being able to break down the moves, talk the moves through WHILST doing them for both the men & women. Serious multi tasking going on there. The scary things don't end there sadly as one of my worst fears is counting the dancers in to the music & being consciously aware of the beat. I can FEEL it but panic if I have to verbalise it. How the hell do you find the one - where is it, how do you recognise it, does it have pink spots on? Then there are 4's, 6's & 8's so it starts sounding like a maths lesson (I scraped through my O' level to Miss Brown's obvious delight). Did someone mention phasing? What's that?

And then there are the DJing skills - an art form in itself and at times seems a bit like the hand shaking club. Very secretive & hush hush. It soon dawned on me that each DJ has their own 'style' & so they are understandably not too keen on sharing playlists that are unique to them. Oh heck & shucks. Well, you never know some may take pity on me (& yes, they have done bless them). Along the way I am picking up tips which many are generously sharing as to the speciality of putting together music for dancers. And to think I naively thought you just threw together some music & stuck it on an ipod player. WRONG.

And I haven't even mentioned equipment yet. This is the point where I remembered being a techno phob. Have you ever seen all the buttons & dials on DJ equipment - you'd think they were at NASA. I like 2 buttons - one for on & off and the other for the volume control. Swear words come to mind. The nuances of wireless headsets that have regular Diva moments pale into insignificance.

By day 3 I just KNOW I have to be certifiable to be contemplating this crazy idea of mine - I KNOW I must be mad. I haven't even danced regularly for 8 years apart from a few months 3 years ago.

It was teacher Keith Davies & then all the wonderful friends I made on this holiday who stopped me from having apoplexy. I had about 4 private lessons with Keith who was patient, fun, encouraging & generous with advice (as well as being a fab dancer of course). Not for one second did he give me any sign that he thought I couldn't do it. Also, by the end of the holiday many people had given me their contact details regards future happenings in Portugal saying they were keen to come over. WOW.

'Why' & 'Am I Totally Mad?"

The question going through my head is "why is there hardly any dancing?" I've seen very little at events & it all seemed very inhibited. A man did ask me for a waltz at a local function which I was delighted about, enjoyed & pleased that he did ask. But I have to be honest & say it was the tamest waltz I've ever experienced or done in my lifetime. Is it a cultural thing not to 'let go' in public? Have I just not found out about dance places yet? There is of course the challenge of negotiating the Portuguese language which I'm working on but I have been asking a lot of local friends of various nationalities who have lived in the area a long time as to what there is going on in the area regards dance.

So what is it? Am I crazy for thinking anyone will be in the least bit interested? Is everyone too busy?

Or is it a case of the chicken & the egg?

Maybe there is no dancing as there are very few opportunities to learn & absolutely no where to go and dance - apart from a few discos which cater for a limited age group (no ageism intended). So if there is shyness & lack of confidence maybe people just don't. Would they dance if they had the knowledge & experience of a few steps? Time to find out?

I asked a few friends what they thought of me teaching some dance classes, thinking they would fall about laughing. But they were either VERY good actors or just terribly polite (don't think so - I know them well enough to know that!) or ...... they did in fact genuinely think it was a great idea. It took me by surprise when the grapevine resulted in several people coming up to me after a week & saying "I hear you are setting up dance classes? When & where? I'm / we are interested."

Crikey - it is going to take a bit more than a week to learn how to teach. The thought of which was actually doing my head in ........ can I do it? It scared me to death as to whether I was capable & had the right mind set. My multi tasking gene definitely got passed on to someone else as I have struggled to find evidence of me having any in my gene pool. Then there is the challenge I have of what I can only describe as physical dyslexia (co-ordination challenges). Also, I had a sneaky suspicion that there was more to this teaching dance lark than met the eye (I was soon to be proved right on that score!). Hmmmmmm - my other experiences of teaching certainly gave me a darned good indication of the fact that teaching isn't as easy as a good teacher makes it seem. BUT unless I taught some people how else was I ever going to get dancing buddies for Modern Jive, Lindy Hop, Salsa and .........

The other BIGGEE was - How the heck was I going to promote all this without a dance partner & no dancers who can demonstrate the different dances in order to then be able to encourage people to try the dance? People need to actually see the dance being done.

A bit of a dilemma to say the least. But then it came to me ....... I wonder if dancers and even teachers may come out & help in exchange for a holiday? A bit like on the Helpx scheme basis. I'm of the opinion "if you don't ask you don't get" so my dance holiday in Islantilla was a chance to test this idea. And that is when things got really interesting & set in motion something that is now starting to take off like a rocket. I thought it was going to take 1 - 2 years to get this going. WRONG - it has taken a few months. YIPPEE & YIKES - it is really happening.

My Guardian Angels Arrive!!

I now believe in angels!!

On Wednesday 1st September I get a phonecall saying "we are in Portagem".

Oops, slight misunderstanding - I thought they were arriving after the 1st sometime. So it was a case of a quick tidy round & then off down the road to meet 2 more Helpxers Mona & Ben who were from Bavaria (**for an explanation of the Helpx scheme see below)

Photo of Mona & Ben with visiting friends in my kitchen - Christmas 2010

From the moment I met them we have chatted & got on like long lost friends. Thursday lunchtime we all went to visit friends of mine for lunch who got the impression we had infact known each other for years as we got on so well & were so relaxed in each others company.

It says a lot that 2 weeks later I confidently set off for my dance fix in Islantilla Spain with Mona & Ben minding the forte. As all my very best friends know I do not leave my 2 & 4 footed critters very easily! But with a big smile on her face Mona waved me on my way telling me not to worry ..... and I didn't! I was confident that Mona & Ben could cope with the piglets, dogs, cats, sheep, guinea fowl, chickens & the at war cockerels Liberace & William. Infact Mona had great fun continuing the piglets training of sit, spin & back up with the use of fresh figs as rewards. I think Sean, Arthur, Dennis & Pudding rather enjoyed it too!!

It all went so well infact that not long after my return from the holiday I asked Ben & Mona "you wouldn't by any chance like to do a long stay ........ like maybe 6 - 8 months ..... or a year or two? " !!!!

To my delight they said 'yes' for the 6 to 8 month period. This enabled me to go back to England and concentrate on learning how to teach dance. Regular updates via email help me to feel connected with home & although I admit to feeling very homesick I'm sure it will all be worth it.

Without Mona & Ben's help this would have been a very difficult quest as not only are they looking after my pets but they are also looking after the land (the brambles are always threatening world domination) & overseeing various jobs. A perfect exchange as Ben & Mona love the peace & quiet of my place and are enjoying staying there longer which means they can grow their own fresh veggies!!

** Helpx is a fantastic worldwide scheme where work is exchanged for food & accommodation. There is no exact formula other than that there is an exchange - the full details are worked out between Helpx hosts & helpers. I was a bit wary at first as although I'm someone who is very sociable I also very much like my own space. But the scheme has turned out to be just perfect for me. I learnt from a couple of experiences (!) like for example the person who thought that an hour accompanying me for a walk with the dogs was a fair exchange for full board & lodgings, being taxied around being shown around the area and being included in all the things that I went to!! Hmmmm - a big NO! I tried every subtle trick in the book & then decided that enough was enough. Within a few days of the unbalance in the fairness of the exchange being pointed out the person rapidly left!

I have made some fantastic friends from around the world thanks to Helpx & keep in touch with most of them. The scheme has also saved my bacon ..... particularly when the land went nuts last year spring. After all the rain & at the first hint of sun everything just exploded into a growth spurt that beggared belief. I was somewhat overwhelmed but my wonderful Helpxers just rolled up their sleeves & we tackled it all head on. I couldn't have done it without them.

Maybe the Helpx scheme is a secret angels in disguise club?!!

Friends, Vinho & Coffee are NOT enough!!

Drowning in my coffee does not resolve the need to dance!

Then lo & behold one of John Sweeney's emails pops into my mail box with info about dance and what should I find ..... but a Modern Jive holiday in Spain within easy driving distance - a mere 6 hours away. WOW & double WOW. It also turns out that it is organised by dancing friends from about 8 years ago.

Well, that meant I just HAD to book didn't it? With baited breath I phoned Wes Stala of Jivestyle and found out that there were still places. So that was that - I booked. The only problem was I hadn't really done any Modern Jive for many years - effectively an 8 year break with a period of a few months thrown in at around 3 years ago. YIKES. This is where 'It is all John Sweeney's fault' truly kicks in!!

An email conversation starts .......

Me - "Hi John, I am now happily living in beautiful rural Portugal which I love but it is a bit of a dance desert. I'm going on one of Wes's holidays & I need some DVDs to remind me of what to do".

John gives me the required info as to what DVD's would be best & then says "why don't you start something in your area?"

Me .... after having a minor seizure ...... "you have got to be joking. I couldn't even show one step for the lady never mind what the guy does."

John "Well, you could learn how to teach. It doesn't matter how long it takes does it?"

Me .... after spluttering & my brain going into apoplexy at the thought ........ "hmmmmmm, I guess you have a point. At least I'd eventually have some people to dance with if I can teach them".

My life has never been the same since & I don't think it ever will be. These couple of emails that went back & forth between John & I have started something that I would never have dreamed possible. No matter what happens .... the people who I have met already on this journey so far have enriched my life in a way that I could never have imagined.

I Nearly Crashed the Van!!

Picture this - at some point during August I was driving to the Crato summer music festival (sadly not the night UB40 were playing as it clashed with Andreas' birthday party). Linda & Joao (Olivia's 17 year old school friend) were in the van with me.

We have a conversation which goes along the lines of .......

Linda "Joao has done Lindy Hop"

Me - with brain not computing the fact that a 17 year old in rural Portugal has HEARD of Lindy never mind DONE IT (lets face it folks many dancing people in the UK haven't a clue as to what Lindy is) ....... "Pardon?"

Linda speaking slightly slower & louder as if I've gone daft as well as deaf repeats what she has just said.

RESULT?.........

Me nearly driving off the road in excitement & surprise. Luckily for us & my beloved van I regained my composure, slowed down to a snail's pace & incredulously asked if I'd heard correctly.

It turns out that I had heard right and Joao had just attended the August Dance Festival up north (at this point Linda sheepishly admitted she hadn't thought to tell me about it). This is an event he had been to several times & done all sorts of dance there. He innocently enquired as to whether I had any Lindy music. If we hadn't been on our way to something I would have turned around, got some music, watched a Youtube clip & reminded myself of the fun of Lindy.

There is hope - someone here loves to dance. Maybe there are more dancers but as yet I just don't know it? And as for a dance festival at the hottest time of year being successful - that is surely a good sign?

The search is looking promising.

Desperation Kicks In.

I started googling (as one does these days) for information on dance in Portugal. I asked around and heard rumours about various things. Someone thought there was a folk dancing group in Castelo somewhere. My hairdresser asked his clients & I heard that there might be a Salsa bar 1 & 1/2 hours away! Great - there's a lot of directions you can go in searching for a Salsa bar. More information needed me thinks. Other than that it was Lisbon (2 & 1/2 hour drive) where there was also Salsa on offer but nothing like Modern Jive or Lindy Hop.

There is a Dance School in Portalegre (30 mins away) but the challenge was that it seemed to be totally couple orientated & no freestyle evening where you could dance. It was a case of attend the lesson & then go home. Hmmmmm. Not quite what I was looking for & having to bring along a male enthusiast was problematic ..... no-one was volunteering & if I advertised I sense that would lead to various complications. If you can't offer a cup of tea to the guy who arrives to fix your internet telephone line (the poor young man looked terrified - apparently it is not the done thing in rural Portugal) then I suspect that putting an advert up for a dance partner is a definite NO-NO!!

The fantastic thing about for example Modern Jive is that you can go to any class or event anywhere in the world on your own & connect with people who find it totally acceptable that you ask total strangers for a dance whether you are a man or a woman and in a couple or not. The atmosphere is friendly, safe, fun and a recipe for enjoying yourself. The formula for learning is perfect. A lesson of 3 - 4 moves becomes a complete routine in its own right or each move can be added to what is known already. The lesson is then followed by sociable freestyle for practicing and then another lesson to recap what is learnt for beginners or an improvers lesson. Then more freestyle - excellent value for money at only around £7.

Dancing in the street at Portagem

The next part of the story involves another good friend called Linda, The Irish lads (Helpxers who were helping on my land) and a brilliant evening spent in Portagem at Xalipa's Bar where The Outsiders were playing.

Let me set the scene for you .............

July 2010 - a beautiful summers day at a tiny bar near Portagem river.

The Outsiders playing a wide range of music from the 60's to the 00's - rock, pop & blues.

Jason & Rowan hadn't had enough guinness yet & no-one else seemed to be moving in their chairs never mind out of them!

Both Linda & I love to dance & we got on with having a darn good time dancing in the street. How everyone else could remain in their seats with such good music playing is beyond me. Yes, people were enjoying the music but there was no physical expression of it other than clapping. Jason in all fairness to him did partake in 'what the heck, lets go for it' once the necessary guinness had been consumed (contrary to his protestations he can dance!). I was amused & puzzled by the total lack of dancing. Exasperated as well because it had been such a good night & I wanted more dancing & really missing it. But where? I needed to have a much more regular & reliable source.

Photos from top to bottom

~ Rowan & Jason Helpxing at a friend's building a fresh water font.

~ The Outsiders.

~ Street party at Paladar Restaurant, Castelo de Vide - May 2010. I don't have a photo of the Xalipa bar night!!! But the Paladar restaurant evening is kind of relevant as it shows us having fun!! Linda was singing (great voice) and Joao & Olivia (Linda's wonderful & delightful daughter) were having a jamming session playing their violins.

** these first posts up to Jan 2011 are being written as I'm actually in the throws of all this taking off like a rocket!! So I'm writing 'catch up' to the present scenario! Hope that makes sense?

Anyone Able to Lead?

Dinner with Richard, Cathy, Joao, & Gary at one of Carol & Alan's Wine & Dine Evenings.

One of my many wonderful & delightful friends Cathy is part of the story of my dancing quest.

We were at a party of Achim's helping him celebrate his birthday. As usual there was plenty of bopping & dancing which was great ..... BUT no partner dancing whatsoever. Cathy - like me - enjoys partner dancing aswell but sadly neither of us had a clue as to how to lead. So the results despite the help of excellent local vinho were not that effective. A thought did cross my mind - "I wish I could lead" but it was rapidly dismissed by - "Not a hope in Hell Yolande. You'll never learn how to do that". My multi tasking skill gene definitely went to someone else!!

I have always admired men who danced as there is so much they need to take on board & I really respected them for doing so. "I'm so glad I'm a woman & do not have the responsibility of leading". Well, that thought has come back to bite me on the bum!! Because my dancing quest not only requires me to be aware of the follower's skill requirements but also .... I have to learn about leading & a whole host of other things. YIKES! Good job I like a challenge & aren't afraid of brain ache.

Previously when dancing it was a case of learning the art of following which personally I think is sooooooo easy compared to what the leaders need to learn to do. I never in a million years thought that I would be able to do what I am doing today after only 2 months. The sense of achievement is incredible & the great thing is it can only get better. More about that another post.

My current challenge is about becoming a 'clear' lead which is gentle but effective as leading has nothing whatsover to do with strength. Also, I need to keep saying the Mantra's .......

'There are never any mistakes - just variations'

'Smile & keep going no matter what'

'Whatever happens never look surprised - you've probably invented another move'

and one of my latest favourites that I heard at Sue Freeman's Lindy Hop class yesterday .......

'Hold your head up high & be PROUD of your mistakes'. Great quote from a great lady - it is always such a pleasure to go to her classes (excellent laughter therapy!) I just LOVE that quote & think I'll become an expert at taking it on board!!!!!

** these first posts up to Jan 2011 are being written as I'm actually in the throws of all this taking off like a rocket!! So I'm writing 'catch up' to the present scenario! Hope that makes sense?

It Is All John Sweeney's Fault!!

I have a lot to thank John for! He is one of the first people who I danced with many years ago when I went to my first Modern Jive class. A great dancer who is enthusiastic, encouraging & who has a wealth of knowledge & experience regards dance (www.modernjive.com). Another wonderful thing is that even if you are a new recruit (because he is SOOOO good in the art of leading) he ensures you look good on the dance floor & you come off feeling like you can REALLY dance. Many thanks for that John & for all the great dances I shared with you whilst in England. Even the ones when I never quite knew what was going to happen next!!

OK - so why is this blog & my current dance quest all John's fault? Well, it may take one or two posts for the full story to unfold ..............................

Photos are of Marvao Village & castle which are a 40 minute walk from my house along a roman road - how cool is that?

Where I live is wonderful & I wouldn't change even the quirkiest 'annoyances'. For 18 months (that flew by at a vast rate of knots) I got into the swing of getting used to living in rural Portugal (my learning curve is going to be a vertical incline for quite a while as I am a city person!!). Yes, I like a challenge!! The only 'BUT' is the serious lack of opportunities to dance & learn a wide variety of dances - the like of which we are fortunate to have in England (there are many things in England I will never take for granted again). Yes, the social life is good in this neck of the woods of Portugal if you want it to be. The people, countryside, flowers, trees, wine, vegetables, cafes, river swimming pool, walks, &, & ...... are great. We have festas galore, live bands and parties for a jig around but it isn't quite the same as attending for example a Modern Jive / Salsa / Lindy Hop freestyle & dance class. These have a very different feel & dynamics. In a nutshell I was missing these dance opportunites like crazy & was getting exasperated at not being able to find anything locally.

I heard a rumour from a hairdresser that a customer of his went to a Salsa bar .......... 1 & 1/2 hours away!!!!! Other than that the nearest Salsa options are in Lisbon (a 2 & 1/2 hour drive away). The situation was getting desperate. I NEEDED more dance.

** Approx August 2010