Cajun dance

I'm travelling in the Seattle area, and had the chance to go to a Cajun dance last night. It's not a style I've done often, but I have done it a little, and it's simlar to other two-step styles (like country/western) so it was easy to get into. The friend I'm visiting hadn't done it at all, and was trying (unsuccessfully) to relate it to salsa dancing for a while.

It was a crowded floor, which made for lots of bumping into other dancers and difficulty in doing many twirls (I should say, difficulty in having the lady do many twirls — it is, after all, she who gets to show off the most in that style of dance). But we managed, and twirled and travelled more as the evening went on. It wasn't, though, for the claustrophobic!

The band was good, but used a different mix of tunes than I'm used to at these things. The normal mix is a few two-step or swing tunes, and then a waltz, coming out to maybe a three-to-one ratio. Last night's band pretty much alternated, one for one. And after the break they actually started the second set with a waltz, very unusual. The two-steps, of course, are more aerobic and such, though with more floor space one can do good things with a waltz too.

What a fun evening!