Last night, I got back from Floor Divided 2019 in Tallahassee, Florida. This was a weekend swing dance workshop with a camp theme: there were 4 teams (red, yellow, blue, and green), a lot of games, and plain goofy fun. We had all of this in addition to the usual dances and lessons, making for an incredibly fun and memorable weekend. Here is my take on this event.
I got to the main dance on Friday shortly before it started and chose to join the green team, as did most of the others from Jacksonville. We all danced and had fun for a good while before the camp activities started. Each team gathered together and came up with a cheer before the Mockingbird competition, which was a ton of fun to watch and involved competitors dancing in sync to a video they had found. After that, the green team got up and did the Cupid Shuffle; I still don’t know exactly why, but I enjoyed doing it. Later, we found out the winners of the Mockingbird and continued dancing until the time came for the late night dance.
When I got to late night, I hung out with some other folks and had a snack while talking about dance and watching a few videos as the organizers finished setting up. In addition to dancing once late night began, we played a fun camp game called Ships and Sailors. It was basically Simon Says but with a few very specific actions we had to do when called out. Ships and Sailors and the Mockingbird were my favorite activities of the day and showed me just how fun and goofy Floor Divided can be. After Ships and Sailors, I watched a bit of solo dancing until late night ended around 2:30 in the morning. This was the first late night dance I “survived” until the end, so I was quite pleased with myself. Then I headed to the house I was staying in for the weekend, got ready for bed while talking with some of my other housemates, and turned in for the night.
I woke up around 9 after getting very little sleep due to being really wired just like I was at Lollies and Lemonade. Still, I managed to take a shower, get ready to go, grab some food, and still make it to class on time. In the first class of the day, we stretched, covered a lot of the history of dance, did the first half of the Big Apple, and had opportunities to earn points for our teams. During the lunch break, we had a lot of time to rest, visit with each other, and have a quick game of Frisbee before the afternoon class. Instructor Dee Daniels Lock took us through a warmup to some hip hop music, encouraging us to not be afraid to move our bodies differently than we might normally and telling us that overcoming that fear and trying out different dances will make us better dancers. We then worked on a lot of partner dancing stuff, including some points about swingouts. After the class ended, I left to do a few other things and get ready for the main dance that night.
The band started playing around 8:15 or so, which is about when I started dancing. When the time came, everyone who made it into the Trail Mix couple’s competition got up and danced as best as they could to modern pop songs rather than traditional swing dance music, again fitting in with the goofy camp theme. In addition to finding out the winners of the competition, we did a few jam circles, including one for those with April birthdays and another one for the folks who organized Floor Divided. After that, we headed out to the hallway for some pictures of each team and dance scene. When the dance ended, I went with a few others to Whataburger before heading over to the late night dance. I brought in my juggling equipment and juggled some glow balls with a few other dancers in one of the rooms. Then we passed clubs in the front room and showed the other dancers how they can walk through the pattern without getting hit, in addition to showing off a bit with some other tricks. After we finished with that, I watched a bit of the silly solo competition before heading home. Then, just as last night, we got ready for bed and passed out.
I think I slept easier that night since I was already exhausted and deprived from the previous night. Either way, I got ready and went to the morning class. Dee reviewed the first half of the Big Apple and showed us a few variations to several of the moves before working with us on the latter portion of the dance. I had a lot of fun going through it again since, by that time, I was familiar with many of the moves and felt more comfortable with them than I had the first time around. Following the lunch break, we had a class that primarily focused on swingouts and swingout variations, mostly things related to changing the timing but also some points about our form. I had fun with this one, though my legs were super sore and tired before it ended. Once we returned from a short break, we spent the remainder of our time together covering some moves that aren’t done as much as they used to be, including the reverse swingout and the frog jump. I had never tried either and was pleasantly surprised to find them easier and more fun than I had anticipated. Dee finished up by answering some questions and then we thanked her before resetting the room, finding out that the yellow team won again this year (the green team came in second by just 2 points!), and heading out. The farewell dance was cancelled due to bad weather, so some folks went out for ice cream and games instead. I, being quite sore and having a long drive ahead of me, decided to head home after saying goodbye and grabbing the last of my stuff from the house. A few hours later, I had made it back to Jacksonville, gotten some food, and started relaxing at home while typing this blog post.
At this point, I’ve been to 4 weekend dance workshops, and each one holds a special place in my heart for different reasons. Floor Divided came at just the right time for me as I’m going through some major life changes and needed a nice weekend to just relax, dance, and have fun with cool people. Unlike a lot of other people my age, I’ve never been to camp, so I enjoyed the team spirit and friendly rivalries at this event. Lastly, the goofiness of the camp theme, incredibly good (and fun) lessons, and general reminders I got from a variety of places to do my best in everything I do left me with a great feeling that I’m sure will remain with me for a long time to come. I loved Floor Divided 2019 and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next one has in store.