Really?

You know what it feels like when you ask someone for a dance and they have that "is it over yet?" look on their face. Or when the person you're dancing with is scanning the room for their next partner as you're trying to make eye contact.

Phoenix was such a blast this year. I had the time of my life. I enjoyed the music, the people and danced until 4:00 in the morning every night. I decided that I was going to step out of my comfort zone and dance with people I did not usually dance with because of geographics, age or ability. I saw someone I wanted to dance with that I had seen at other conventions. He was young, a good dancer and looked like fun. When I asked him for a dance, he hesitantly moved towards the floor. After the first eight beats, I knew it was going to be the longest three minutes of the weekend. He led simple patterns and never made eye contact with me nor did he smile.

Gee, do you think you can spare three minutes? Is that too much to ask? Who knows, it could have been a really fun dance. We might have even tried some funky patterns that no one else thought of doing. But that was an opportunity missed since we really didn't dance together. I would have preferred line dancing.

As luck would have it, two songs later, a different young man approached me for a dance. Without hesitation, we headed towards the floor. It was one of those dances that just "clicked." He was an advanced dancer and led some pretty fun moves. He was all smiles and so was I. It was truly a wonderful experience. Not because he led anything so extraordinary, but because we made eye contact and we took turns responding to different pieces of the music. We danced together.

They say that life is a dance, take it slow.

West Coast Swing dancers come in all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities. If you're going to give three minutes of yourself, make it the most enjoyable time you can for your partner.

Michele Geerhart