The other week, something very cool happened at the family business: one of our regulars brought his art class to a dance! Andrew, an art teacher at the U of A, sought to give his students a fun and unique opportunity to study humans in motion.
First he made them take our drop-in dance lesson. They seemed pretty nervous at first, but after a while I heard lots of laughter in the ballroom. So I don’t think the experience was too harrowing! And dance-wise, they did great. Actually, after a while I noticed that a lot of these classmates were meeting each other for the first time during the dance lesson — even though they’d had a few classes together by now!
Andrew is the gentleman in overalls, by the window. Watching. Judging. (just kidding!)
After the dance lesson they settled in to do some drawing. But a few of the braver students did some social dancing for a few songs. And when some of them were asked to dance by our regulars, they graciously accepted. Some were more comfortable in behind a sketch pad, though. I get it — dancing socially is an acquired taste for some!
And thus went the night. It really was wonderful to have a bunch of artists in the room capturing swing dance. Attending a big University can make you feel lost in the shuffle, so I love how the dance caused these students to meet and actually connect with each other. And man, I’d count myself lucky to have their art teacher! We all remember that one teacher who went the extra mile to create an unforgettable learning experience; Andrew is that kind of teacher. So glad he introduced these students to swing dance — hope some of them keep on dancing!
