rivka

...well, no, I couldn't have. But I wanted to. What a lovely evening.

The dance was held at Adelphi Mill, a genuine grist mill built in the 1790s and still equipped with millstones. It's a two-story building - they served dinner (and broke for dessert) downstairs and had the second floor clear for dancing. There were about 60-70 people there, many of them folks we knew from our weekly Monday night dances. Of course my earlier fears about being partnerless were just nerves. Misha seemed to constantly have partners, and I only had to sit out two dances involuntarily.

I was surprised that I knew most of the dances. Lili Burlero, the Duke of Kent's Waltz, the Bishop, Jack's Maggot, Childgrove... I'm really feeling now that I have an internal understanding of the dances, how they come together, how to remember them and dance them gracefully. This is not to say that I don't mess them up on occasion -particularly when someone tripped me during a vigorous version of Trip to Paris. But I feel as though I've made the translation from translating into a foreign language to thinking in it. And that was a great way to feel tonight.

We had a champagne toast at midnight, sang Auld Lang Syne, wandered around wishing everyone a Happy New Year. And I wish the same to all of you. 2001 has been a hard year for most of us, I think. May 2002 find us all prosperously employed, healthy, and happy.