Feels so great to be Dancy McDancerson again!

To me, there's nothing better than the overwhelming stinging sensation in the days following a good workout. It reminds me that I'm alive and that I'm getting stronger, and has the added bonus of giving me an excuse to complain. 'Cause we all love to complain, don't we?

I've been fortunate to have been welcomed back with open arms into the swing dance family I left behind when I moved to London. For a multitude of reasons, I don't get to dance a lot in my new home, so getting the opportunity to social dance, teach, and take part in team practices a few times a week has been a real treat. Not to mention the social benefits!

Yesterday was particularly great. I woke up feeling tired and lazy after the social dance the night before, but was able to remind myself how much I love exercising and how soon I won't have this opportunity anymore, so I dragged myself to the All Teams practice (Swing Dynamite runs a number of performance teams, and every once in a while, they like to bring them all together).

Now let me start by saying that I'm nowhere close to the shape I used to be in when I took part in these practices regularly. The warm-ups are intense, designed not only to warm people up, but to increase their physical fitness so they can do cool stuff more easily. So during the few times I've taken part since I got here, I've visibly struggled a lot more than everyone else in the room. But what does that make me want to do? Do them even more until I'm able to keep up again!

After the warm-up, we worked on the very first team routine we ever did--Shout and Feel It.



I think it's awesome that 4 years and many generations of team members later, we all still have this routine in common.

After practice, we all headed out the 4th Annual Swing Dynamite BBQ, which is always a great time. It was pouring rain so we didn't get to do any of this...





(All photos taken at last year's BBQ)

... But it did give me a chance to hang out with old friends and get to know many of the new faces who've become a part of the family since last year.

Tonight, I'm heading to Bar 56 to listen (and hopefully dance a bit) to Renée Yoxon's incredible voice, and possibly try to sneak in on another team warm-up beforehand. If you're in Ottawa, I hope you'll join me. And also (shameless plug) please join me at these classes that I'll be teaching:

- Social Lindy Hop Moves & Technique: 3 week series, starting Tuesday, August 10th, 7:00-8:30 pm
- Intro to Blues: Free drop-in lesson prior to the dance at Bar 56, Monday, August 16th, 9:15 pm
- The Art of the Diva Drop-in Series: 2 weeks (come to one or both), starting Wednesday, August 18th, 7:00-8:00 pm -- ladies only for the first class, gentlemen welcome to join for free for the second class
- Charleston Drop-in: 1 class only, Thursday, August 19th, 6:30-7:30 pm
- Blues Dancing Drop-in Series: 2 weeks (come to one or both), starting Thursday, August 19th, 7:30-8:30 pm

For more info, see the Swing Dynamite website.