I think it has been established now that we love our Ceroc lesson and freestyle nights. Anybody who isn’t aware of this probably hasn’t been following my blog. We had decided to mix things up a little this week and miss our usual Monday night class, instead opting to try out the Tuesday night venue in North Norfolk, namely North Walsham Community Centre.
We had ventured to this hall for a couple of freestyles previously but have never attended a class night there. Our plans to attend this one on a forecast cooler night in the middle of the heatwave backfired when Tuesday was as warm, if not warmer, than Monday night. The drive was a sticky and humid one (we must ensure we opt for a car with air conditioning included next time!) but the newly-opened Northern Distributor Road was useful, a trip along the A47 onto the NDR, straight to North Walsham, avoiding the inner city roads meant we arrived within forty minutes.
There was a change to the usual staff last night which, I hasten to add is not why we chose to go, as Tracey and Steve were having a well deserved break. Sharon greeted us, and all others, at the door, taking our money with the usual friendly, welcoming smile. Steve C, while teaching as he often does at this venue, was also DJ-ing with Steve F taking a break with Tracey.
As the dancers started to filter through the doors, already hot and fanning themselves to cool down, we were greeted with friendly smiles from those who know us already and questions about where we usually dance and whether we were just visiting, from those who we had never met. Everyone was very friendly, which we have come to expect at any of the Ceroc Fusion venues we attend.
Steve and Sharon chatted to us while the dancers arrived, Steve popping in and out of the hall to ensure his background tunes sounded alright, and Sharon, of course, greeting the new arrivals. At this stage it is worth noting that I was tense on the journey to North Walsham and even tenser when we arrived because, even after ten years, I get extremely nervous when visiting somewhere new with expected new faces. Within twenty minutes and a few chats later, I felt welcome and ready to dance which was a good thing because Steve was already playing some great tracks. We had a few dances, I genuinely cannot call them warm-up dances as we were already so hot, and when the beginners class started, Clive headed off to join in while I sat out, cooling down. If there had been a shortage of female partners I would most definitely have stepped in but the numbers were balanced enough so I felt able to sit out.
The venue, staff and dancers were lovely and we fully intend to return, if for nothing else than to prove to Tracey and Steve that we were not avoiding them! We will definitely go back. We were able to chat to a number of dancers who we only ever see on Facebook or at freestyles where we are all too busy dancing to talk much. With no new beginners last night, the two taxi dancers had a quiet one but were still welcoming and friendly. The dance floor remained full all night, everybody enjoying the variety of music being played.
Not only were we offered coffees towards the end of the evening, but Steve K had bought packs of Fab lollies to share with everyone, Sharon had prepared cooling slices of watermelon and, along with the coffees, Elaine had made some very tasty biscuits.
Steve’s intermediate routine went down well and he decided to name it ‘The Rain Dance’ on the information board. Secretly, we all know he had seen the weather forecast but we indulged him when the droplets started to fall later in the evening. The expected thunderstorm and heavy rain eluded us, with just those few drops falling, so the drive home was still warm, the car reporting temperatures of over 22 degrees at 11:00pm. Some might say we are greedy, having indulged in fresh watermelon, tasty biscuits and Fab lollies but I was so warm, I begged Clive to take me to pick up a Flake McFlurry. Surely its the only way to cool down after an evening of dancing during a heatwave?
Final word – thanks to all of the staff and dancers at North Walsham for making our first class visit a great one. See you all again, soon!
This picture is of a previous class night at this venue:
Writing and Rhythm 