The bane of my existence....
My advice to young players is to start early and often. And make sure you learn dances which are actually useful. Otherwise, you run the risk of looking like a monumental berk the second you "hit the dancefloor". This is NOT a good thing. Trust me. I know.
My first experience of dancing was in primary school, when we were obliged to practice the "heel and toe polka" every week. Being typical 5 and 6 year olds, contact with the opposite gender was a definite "no go", and I remember putting on gloves so that I wouldn't have to touch a boy's hands and get "boy's germs" (no returns).
In high school, we moved from polkas to ballroom dancing. And the awkwardness level moved up a notch (or two....or three....) as we tried to keep out 16 year old infatuations to ourselves when choosing a dance partner. In a bizarre twist of fate, I was asked to dance by not one, not 2, but 3 guys in the first lesson. But I expect this had more to do with the fact that there were twice as many guys as girls in my class, rather than because of my "irresistable sex appeal" (stop laughing, it's not THAT funny!).
Unfortunately, the school syllabus did not include learning how to dance at a bar, club or party. Consequently, whilst I may be able to whip out a mean polka or waltz, these skills have not exactly come in handy when socialising. So next time you see me at a nightclub (ha ha ha!) and I've suddenly "sprained my ankle", you'll know why. But take me to the polka club....and there's no stopping me!
