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Monday 18 March 2013

Twister? Me? Moi?


15/16 Going on 17
Maybe more.
Some kind of a slow start
you may suppose. But time
to meet the girls.

Best zoot suit with the wide lapels --
The killer-diller coat with the fedora hat.
(Said Malcom X.)
Slow mooch to The Majestic Mitcham, then
I sign on for a dance sensation/education/something of the sort.

First dance, first session, must have been
a reject from the first experiments
with what they came to call The Twist much later on.

If so, good name. As I recall,
the only things got twisted
were us punters and our feet.
The dancers didn't move, nor did their hips
(unlike the The Twist itself
the leg wrench soon to conquer Christendom.)
At any rate I, Moi, did not take part,
instead consumed a knickerbocker glory by myself.

Next up: The Twelfth Street Rag.
Anathema to me. (Nothing personal. the honky
tonk of Winny Atwel was a favourite --
but dance? Nay, sorry Sis!) I leave...
some things rate more than hormones, I believe.

11 comments:

Brian Miller said...

ha. makes me think of my first dance classes with my wife...all feet...and there were days i thought i would never get it...

Dave King said...

Thanks for saying -- makes me feel I should have persevered!

kaykuala said...

Just like golf, the ball doesn't move. It should be easy said the Pro. So also the twist. The feet don't move, only the body gyrates. So it should be easy. The dance can be performed immediately. Nicely Dave!

Hank

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I really want to take ballroom dance classes myself.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Looks as though Knickbocker Glories rate more highly for a start, Dave.

anthonynorth said...

Enjoyed that, though I suppose it was easier for me. My teens saw me in a local rock band. It drew them.

Cloudia said...

Always a pleasure knowing more about you through your nourishing work.



ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
~ > < } } ( ° > <3

A Cuban In London said...

Brilliant! You reminded me of the first time I went to a party (aged 13) and stood on a corner until I felt brave enough to take a girl out to the dancefloor. From that moment on I became the soul of the parties in my neck of the woods in Havana.

Many thanks.

Greetings from London.

Mary said...

I didn't learn to dance until college. Thus I was always a bit behind in that department.

Elephant's Child said...

We were taught 'barn dances'. Remember them, back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth? Of no use in attracting members of the opposite sex. None, nada, zip. And somehow I never learned more acceptable/useful dancing. A mistake.
Another brilliant testament to youth. Thanks Dave.

Dave King said...

Hank
Though this was a precursor of the Twist - in my mind at any rate! - in which nothing moved save the foot.

Optimistic Existentialist
Mmmm, I wish I had -- not now, though!

The Weaver of Grass
Infinitely more so! Definitely.

anthonynorth
I never did get to learn to dance, though during my teaching years I taught Country Dancing (from recorded BBC lessons!) and before that formed an Anglo Saxon skiffle group (!!!) which occasioned a lot of dancing.

Cloudia
Thanks as always - you do say the nicest things!

A Cuban in London
Ah, but you made your move at 13! I was still in my fox-hole then!

Mary
You win hands down -- I never did learn.

The Elephant's Child
Oh, my, isn't the road back there just littered with disasters? And yes, I do remember Barn Dancing. There was a conspiracy to rope me into one on a family holiday, I recall. Not a chance in hell!