Shall we dance?

It is the fourth day into my vacation, and I must say that my highlight had to be Sunday.

I have occasionally visited a place in Japan called Cstle Tintagel http://castletintagel.com/ for dressing up in armor and fighting. This Sunday had more peaceful pursuits.

I participated in a practice of 19th century waltz and and traditional folk dance. The waltz was different from the 1-2-3 that everyone has come to know. It was far easier than anything seen on So You Think You Can Dance? Actually with the country dances, I thought I could dance those rather well. One called the Count de ... was an interesting one which brought me back to my younger years.

When I was in elementary school, in gym class we learned square dancing. Of course, to most boys at the age of 10, they were squeamish. But I relished the fact that I could be dancing with some girls (my interest in the fair gender started in second grade, while most of my peers would dread the notion of contact for fear of getting girl germs from contact, like some form of the plague). We formed our squares and swung around arm in arm and do-see-doed, all to the tunes of some blue grass fiddle.

Well, time repeated itself years (and years) later. It was a British dance, but obviously the style had been incorporated by Americans and made their own. When I was doing the dance, it came natural. My moves fit the beat and tempo, I could remember all of the steps quickly. It was fun. Though I don't understand how some of the people did not get the dance and struggled to remember. Maybe square dancing was not in their DNA.

Another thing that was a bit funny about the experience. Most of the participants were Japanese women, and perhaps etiquette and protocol required them to say how tired they were after a dance. Now, I am not in the best shape, but I was hardly winded and did not crack a sweat after the dancing. I mean, most of the dance was waiting for a minute or two for your turn. It was not like dancing the foxtrot or anything. I could not understand how they could be so tired.

Anyhow, I look forward to the rest of my vacation. I plan to finish up my short story Trouble With T-Rex and get it out. I also plan to see fireworks at a zoo.

Carpe diem.