Rueda 101 - for dummies and uncos (uncoordinated people)..

One thing you must never do in Rueda is to go on holidays in the middle of term. I missed weeks five and six thinking that I could catch up in week seven. It could not be that difficult to catch up, after all, I skipped lectures all the time at university and managed to cram the following week. So, on Saturday I rocked up to Rueda class after having done 5 minutes cram with Ian and Carolyn after my Wednesday night variety class. I had not quite got the moves straight in my head but I thought I might be able to wing it when the music started. I WAS DELUEDED.

The first three calls were familiar and but the fourth call was "La Familia". As my brain tried desperately to recall the steps that accompany the Spanish term (meaning wave to the family or something) my feet kept marking time. At this point I should point out that my brain is a little unusual (this will not come as a surprise to most people who know me). If I do not recall something in the first two seconds, it means it has been locked in a special part of my brain. Memories in this part of the brain are only recalled when I am sitting on the toilet. As I wondered if I could dash to the loo and be back in time for the one count something amazing happened. My partner, whom I am supposed to lead, started leading me around. I completed the step, although it was not pretty.

Unfortunately not all of the partners are good at leading the guys. Most of the time they expect the guy to do all the leading. As a result I stuffed up many calls and got heaps of funny looks from my partners. It got to the point where I did not want to make eye contact. I resolved to go to the dance party that night and engage in as many Rueda circles as possible. The party proved even more amusing. I managed to pick up about half of the moves, the easy ones like "Hombres El Centro" and "Rosa". I struggled with "La Familia" and the "Con Hermana" variations of "Prima" and "Adios". The cramming was proving more difficult than I had imagined. At one point in the evening I tripped while stepping and took out my partner in rugby style tackle. And so I resolved to go to the practice on Sunday night.

All Day Sunday I practiced the Spanish calls, writing them down on pieces of paper over and over again. To the amusement of the cat and my housemate, I danced around the room with imaginary partners muttering phrases in Spanish. I bought forward dinner so I could get to class early to spend some time with Ian going over the moves I was unsure of. Practice went OK - if it was an exam I might have just passed. Still not entirely happy with my effort as I struggled when it was my turn to call. That night I lay awake until 3am going over calls in my head. I should not drink coffee before going to bed!

The calls I crammed into this week were -

Prima, Prima con hermana, Ni para ti-ni para me, Abrazame, La Familar, Hombres el centro, Rosa, Candado, Candado doble, Con los manos, Una pa'tra, Dos tarito.

Steve - many thanks to "the family" for helping me cram