Archive for September, 2008

For giving’s sake

26 September 2008 at 3:25 pm · Filed under General, Uncategorized ·Tagged ,

“…give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.” – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet.

I volunteer fairly regularly with a charity that I also used to work for. Last night was a pre-event meet-the-crew do at their South Melbourne office, with about 50 volunteers, mostly musos, choreographers and giggly interns from the PR company hired to promote the upcoming gala ball.

Then there were people like myself, there to make sure that the CEOs, socialites and celebrities attending give more than they’re already paying, and perhaps feel as though they’re getting their money’s worth.

I already help with web-related things where possible and may have volunteered myself to redo their email newsletter, but these gala events provide an unusual night of observational entertainment for volunteers. The $20 glasses of champagne look cheaper to guests as the night goes on, and bids on the silent auction increase almost exponentially. As do the chances of catching the rich and famous at their very worst while dressed in their very best.

So there’s something in it for everyone. Those of you who’ve read Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene (or are just plain cynical) will argue that there’s no such thing as an unselfish act of charity anyway. This was strikingly clear from a few men I talked to, who were blatant about their reasons for volunteering. Chicks, booze and free food.

Even when they spoke to the CEO of the charity, they toned down their language but couldn’t hide their disinterest in what the charity does, and had honestly done it because it was compulsory for them to (company policy), and it looked like the least stressful volunteering opportunity with maximum perve opportunity.

They have no idea what they’re in for. Especially they chose to trust little ‘ole me on which roles on the night were “the lightest”. I pretended to give it some thought and pointed at something on the list going round. They didn’t even question me and ticked the box.

I winked at the charity CEO as they signed up and she smiled back benevolently, returning a wink over their backs. For the roles they’ve ticked, not only will they be working hard carrying things around, they’ll be the first to arrive and last to leave. Plenty of time to perve. Such charitable fellows.

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Convincing a non-dancing partner

15 September 2008 at 2:09 pm · Filed under General, Social dancing

It’s great that we don’t need a regular partner to learn dance with and the people in class are awesome, but sometimes its just nice to have that special someone with you. Especially for the close and quiet stuff like blues. Cue guilt-trip in Loz’s direction!

I conned him into a blues class once. Showed him some videos on YouTube, played lots of blues music on the stereo until he finally warmed to it and agreed to attend one class with me. In my hasty excitement, I even bought him a dance class discount card but Oh NO, the folly!

That one class we did was a mistake on so many levels. The guest teachers spent more time talking about blues than teaching it, so it didn’t appeal to his short attention span. It was a full hour of learning to sway and pulse from side to side in one spot. Not even the chance to hold so many lovely lasses was enough to turn him into a repeat customer.

So I shall have to dance on without the pleasure of the Mr’s company. There’s not much I can do to convince him. He thinks Lindy and Charleston are daggy, balboa is boring, ballroom is too stuffy, salsa’s beyond his hip rotation abilities and hip hop’s for wankers. Blues has JUST enough introverted coolness and this-is-me-and-my-woman machismo to look like he’s not trying too hard.

Plus I try not to push  him. Leisure is meant to be just that, not a pressure or a chore. He knows how important it is to me and how delighted I am when he comes along (I wonder what gives that away, the manic squealing, perhaps?) but it’d be pretty unfair to inspire any guilt. Guilt-trips are so easy to lapse in to, learned that only too well from my family, heh.

If only he’d come along last night, anyway.  It must be about 2 months since I last did blues and I remember why I love it so much. The world disappeared for a good 2 hours in a series of mini-conversations with each new partner. And we did a lot more than just bob from side to side like manic semi-lit penguins.

I also forget how tiring it gets as well, mentally taxing. I concentrate more during blues than other dances and invest a lot more of myself than I realise, emotionally. I come out of a blues night feeling lost, yet found. The real world around me is suspended in agar jelly while my thoughts roll on to a quiet 12-bar murmur.

On a side note, I’d love to go to Adelaide for Church City Blues next month, but it won’t fit into the budget, I don’t think. Maybe next year.

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