Jiving at Scarborough (17 - 20 Nov 2006)

Scarborough greeted us with rain but provided two days of glorious sunshine and blue skies so we could see the resort at its best. Organisation was provided by Jive Addiction (www.jiveaddiction.com) and it all worked like clockwork. Most of us were in hotels at the top of the cliff with dancing in the spa complex at sea level. I managed the journeys up and down without using the lift. Not bad going on a Saturday night after a 10.30am start and 2am finish! Two days of lessons were provided from 10.30 in the morning until 5pm. 5 lessons in each of two locations with breaks for resting - no, most people danced then as well! Those as unwise as me attended all lessons and suffered overload of moves and remember very little, other than the enjoyment of being there, and admiration for the teachers.
Evening freestyles were excellent affairs. The culture of modern jive is such that, male or female, you can have as many dances as your body can stand. There were so many good dancers that it lifted one’s own standard and despite good attendance (maybe 400) there was room on the wonderful Ocean Ballroom floor to dance with freedom.
Saturday night involved a demo with a tango influence from about 30 couples who worked hard through 2 lessons with overtime! From my view dancing at the back of this group I thought it was pretty good!
Highlights for me were a Dirty Dancing routine - nothing I could incorporate into my freestyle dancing but such fun to learn - thanks Adam and Tonia. Also bringing tango into jive, not a fusion process, but a block of tango introduced into jive - thanks Ian and Mandy.
Nottingham desperately needs some Argentine Tango lessons!
So a weekend not to be missed and there will be more in the future, thanks to Jive Addiction.