I just got back yesterday from an amazing weekend. The bulk of my time was spent at a swing dance workshop called Classic City Swing 7 in Athens, Georgia. This is only the second weekend workshop I’ve been to so far and it was a blast. Before and after the weekend, I also spent some time in Atlanta visiting friends, which was also wonderful.
The event started on Friday but I drove up to Atlanta on Thursday to see some friends; I rarely get to see them, so I took advantage of the time I had. We spent most of Thursday and Friday catching up, talking about upcoming plans for the weekend (my dance event and a kids’ birthday party they were throwing), and enjoying the antics of their kids. Additionally, staying up there gave me a much shorter drive the next day to Athens than if I had come up from Jacksonville, Florida that day. When I got back to their place on Sunday night, we briefly touched base before heading to bed and spent a lot of time Monday sharing stories from both our experiences and visiting some more before I left for home late that afternoon.
While Classic City is called a workshop, it had plenty of non-instructional dances. Friday and Saturday both had a main dance in the evening and a late dance around midnight, and Sunday had a farewell dance in the afternoon (with potluck food for those interested). The main dances featured an incredible live band and an amazing dance floor, which always makes dancing more fun.
When it came to the lessons, there were four different levels, also called “tracks”, so everyone had a place to call home: beginner, intermediate, intermediate/advanced, and advanced. Those who skipped the optional level placement auditions could pick either beginner or intermediate, while those who went to the auditions had a shot at being placed in intermediate/advanced or advanced; which one depends on how the instructors evaluated their dancing. I went to the auditions and ended up getting intermediate/advanced, which I quite enjoyed. The instructors I had were Peter Strom and Naomi Uyama, Jon Tigert and Jenna Applegarth, and Peter Kertz and Elze Visnevskyte. They taught a lot of stuff I had never done before and some things I kinda know but could use some work. There were optional electives after lunch on Sunday and I decided to take Musicality and How to Practice Alone (taught by Naomi and Jenna, respectively). With all the instructors and all the classes, I enjoyed learning, dancing, and having fun with everyone.
I stayed at my first ever Airbnb during Classic City, which was another adventure in itself. Some involve staying with whoever normally lives there but we had this one all to ourselves for the weekend; I did get to see and briefly talk to the owners right before I left, but other than that they stayed away. It was a nice, cozy house with plenty of room for everyone to have fun and rest up (plus we somehow made it work with nine people and only one shower). We spent a lot of time visiting and joking around after the late dances and even threw a surprise birthday party for two friends before the main dance on Saturday evening. I enjoyed the sense of home it offered and, given the chance to stay there again, I would in a heartbeat.
I’m at a point in my life where I’d rather have a heart full of memories than a shelf full of trinkets, and this weekend gave me plenty of wonderful memories I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. I never would have seen myself doing something like this a year ago, but I’m so glad I did. Swing dancing has given me so much and what I enjoy the most about it are the opportunities it offers to spend time with dear friends, both new and old. If you don’t have something like this in your life, I highly encourage you to find something that gives you endless hours of joy and connection with loved ones. That’s exactly what swing dancing does for me and I’m so glad I found it.