Birthdays and beginners

Birthday dances - where the lucky victim gets to dance with everyone of the opposite sex - used to be really good in Cardiff, with people queuing up for their turn in the spotlight. I can remember when you were lucky to get more than half a minute before someone else muscled in. But there were two on Monday - John's and Rhian's - and hardly any takers: I danced with Rhian twice because it didn't seem fair to leave her stuck with one bloke for too long.

Having completely arsed up a birthday dance in front of a large audience a couple of years ago I can understand people who don't join in because of lack of confidence. But there were plenty of experienced dancers there on Monday who could have joined in but didn't. Let's hope there's a bit more enthusiasm next time (particularly when it's my birthday - fortunately this year it doesn't fall on a salsa night).

Otherwise, there was a touch of the skating rink about Monday, though not quite as bad as the Wharf a few months ago. I danced bachata with Debbie and was pleased to find that it finally seems to be getting more natural - no more 'dog against a lamp-post', to use Abby's inimitable phrase.

Real bonus was Deborah turning up, remarkably having not danced for five months becaus of pressure of work. If I'd taken that long off it would be like starting from scratch, but she's still a lovely smooth and graceful dancer. (I've just realised I wrote almost exactly the same thing about her the last time she turned up). I ended up teaching one of her colleagues the basics - she picked them up remarkably quickly and definitely has potential.

Being nice to beginners pays off: several women who I danced with when they were inexperienced a few months ago are developing into really good dancers now. And they're more likely to dance with me now than with the prat who pounces on attractive newcomers, stops to explain some rubbish move to them, and then abandons them halfway through a dance if they can't follow him. Someone I regularly dance with told me that one of her friends was put off salsa completely by this character.

I'm out of action tonight, unfortunately, so I won't have a chance to check out Que Pasa: the lunchtime swim that was supposed to liven me up for a night's dancing sparked off a migraine. And that's after I deliberately got an early night last night rather than going to Fiesta Havana.

Andy's amended the class times at Que Pasa, so it's a cut-price beginners class 8-8.30 and then improvers and intermediates in parallel 8.30-10. That makes sense to me as the previous plan - improvers II being able to join in the Intermediate class - can't have done much for keeping up the level. From what I've heard I'm not sure how long Que Pasa will be sustainable as a venue: apparently the only wooden dancefloor left is the section in front of the bar, where sensible dancers used to escape to when the main dance floor got too manic.