Happy 3rd Friday...

This evening was my favorite dance of almost any I go to: Perdue's, the 3rd Friday English dance.

As far as dances go, this one is an anomaly. The crowd is not gigantic, but is quite regular. It's not that there are no beginners, or less-familiars, but the crowd is generally knowlegable, and mostly quite advanced. The repertoire doesn't change much. There's not always live music (loving those old Disney and London Symphony recordings...). And the dance is special and magical in so many ways, has been happening for over 50 years, and these days on a typical Friday, attracts people from 3-4 neighboring states. And what's more, at this talk-through-and-go event, the caller doesn't expect that most people are even listening to the talk-through.

And we just dance. Sometimes the dance is silly. Okay, there are often wonderfully silly moments and alternate choreographies, but still great attention to interactions and intersections. And there's such joy in dancing with people who's movements you can anticipate almost to the moment. And when you're out at the bottom of the line, watching the clear pattern of the dance, and a whole line of people moving together emerge out of the chaos, you know exactly why this is home.

So much of my English dance knowledge comes from Perdue's. This is where I learned much of our local repertoire. This is why I can hear the opening bars of Miss DeJersey's and just go. This is a dance to write in on your calendar as soon as you get a new one for the year. This is a dance to rearrange your travel schedule around.

I have many clear Perdue's memories, from moving endless numbers of chairs to a rotating Fandango, but one memory in particular sums up my love of the dance in a nutshell. Many years ago now, I had a 3rd Friday evening work committment which, when I finally escaped, got me to the dance after 10pm, and in time to only do three dances. But it only took one, it was King of Poland, to relax me, to rid me of the craziness of the day, and to realign my brain from work life to real life - dancing.

You can just guess where I'll be every 3rd Friday I'm anywhere near Philadelphia...