Last Sunday, this is what I was doing - English Country Dancing. No one was in costume (unfortunately). However, I was one of the few women who wore pants. I'm a rebel that way.
It all started with Johnso, as most random things in my life do. Someone at her church plays the recorder in a band that happens to play for English Country Dancing at the FermiLab in Illinois. What is the FermiLab you may ask? Well, according to their website, "Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory advances the understanding of the fundamental nature of matter and energy by providing leadership and resources for qualified researchers to conduct basic research at the frontiers of high energy physics and related disciplines. " Particle Physics for short. They have the 2nd largest particle collider on site. And a barn for folk dancing. Science is odd like that.
So Johnso asks if I'd like to go to the dance with her. Now, how can you turn down an offer like that? Antiquated dancing with complete strangers on a base that looks like it came right out of the Dharma Initiative? Sign me up!
"Hello, I am Dr. Mark Wickmund and this is the orientation film for Station 10 of The DHARMA Initiative. Station 10 or "the Disco Ball" is a monitoring station where the participants in DHARMA Initiative projects can cut loose."English Country Dancing, I learned, is a slower type of folk dancing, most notably portrayed at the Netherfield Ball in any Pride and Prejudice movie. You typically dance in a set of four.
And now a sampling of my partners:
Jim - He was the first person I danced with. He was very helpful in telling me about some of the more common steps. He has been coming with his wife for a few years. He was telling me that people really get into dressing in period clothing, especially at the balls that are held around the state. When I asked if he dressed up at all he exclaimed, "Never! It's my one hold-out. I refuse to wear those frilly shirts."
Roger - He had to be in his early 70's. The poor man had a pin in his ankle, so he tottered around the dance floor. There were a couple of times where we had to spin together and I was terrified that I would somehow trip him or cause him to fall.
Various Ladies - As in Pride and Prejudice "gentlemen were scarce," however this didn't stop us ladies from dancing. A few times I danced as the man and I know I got the hand holding stuff wrong, since I'm so used to having my hand be held in dances, not initiating the hold, if that makes sense. And there were some complicated arm twisting/hand holding that I could not pick up which just let to awkward moments where I unintentionally rammed my hands into other ladies chests. Pure dignity and grace!
