I am typing this, sat on a train in the sunshine, watching the countryside fly by, feeling tired and relaxed with my body feeling used. I feel a bit like a grubby well-loved old teddy bear!
Mr BBB and I have been to Camber Sands in Kent for the weekend, and a lovely weekend we have had, too! We have been to Pontins for a Ceroc dance weekend. We arrived on Friday and left this morning (Monday).
The train journey was relatively painless- delays and cancellations on the Peterborough to London line, but once we got onto a train it was quite easy and fairly quick.
The journey back has been good so far – there’s a group of young guys having a great time, but they are too far away to be able to eavesdrop, unfortunately!
The weekend was fantastic- so much fun! We started dancing about 3 years ago, and love it! Ceroc hosts weekends at Pontins Parks (and one or two at other places) all around the UK, all year round. They also run one abroad, Medfest and a cruise. I love the idea of the cruise… one day!
We arrived on Friday and joined in with an icebreaker workshop, with a great teacher called Tim, who often dances barefoot (I would stick to the floor if it were me) and a Tango Taster.
I have never really danced the Tango – it is a very different style and I was straight back to being a beginner. It looks amazing, very sexy and sultry. But not when I did it- a drunken toddler might be a more apt description! In the evenings there was a choice of 4 dancefloors each with different styles of music; standard Ceroc style, a slower bluesy soul room, a tango/blues room and a varied room which could have anything! In the 4th room, they have plenty of Sack the DJ sessions where dancers can have a go at flying the decks. One day, when I’m brave enough, I’ll try to get people dancing to some rock- Bon Jovi and Guns N Roses would work, but Iron Maiden might be a bit fast- don’t want to injure anyone! The ladies might spin so fast they drill holes in the floor!
In the past, Mr BBB and I have stuck to the standard Ceroc music, fairly fast tempo with a very definite beat- slower breaks which allow for some expression, but generally quite fast and with a heavy beat. And we looked at any other styles with envy. The standard Ceroc music allows the dancers to perform some awesome moves, with as much style as they wish, but not have too much time to add in any extra finesse. This weekend we have honed our sultry sensual moves! Mr BBB has an amazing wiggle and a sexy sway! We have been to workshops to help- the amazing Tim with bare feet taught us to move on from just dancing moves and to feel the music and move with it, an awesome 22-year-old teacher called Ashley (he must have been dancing since he was 2 to be a teacher so young) taught us that our dances can be a communication. The man (or leader) starts a move but the way it happens is down to both partners.
And to smile. So easy to concentrate on what you are doing and forget that you have a partner, let alone smiling at them! It’s no fun dancing with someone who seems oblivious that you’re there and looks like they’re having a poo!
We also had a couple of workshops with Marc and Rachel, who are the sexiest dancers I know – they move like one person. They taught us some brilliant blues moves. A very different style of leading and following, but it linked in nicely with the lessons from Tim and Ashley- make sure you connect with your partner and have fun! Ceroc is supposed to be fun! And we did. We managed to dance in the main room, the slower room and the blues room (apart from the Tango time- I am not ready to show my drunken toddler to the world just yet). We danced together and with other people and we had a blast! So much fun!
When we weren’t dancing we were at the beach, which is stunning. I’m a bit sad – I am always impressed by beaches. Sand as far as you can see, shingle, stones… as long as there is sea – I’m impressed. This was a beautiful cloudless weekend, a beach with sand for miles and a turquoise sea, It looked like a poster for a Caribbean holiday.
Some Cerocers danced all night- they took a ‘survivors photo’ for those who are still dancing at 6.30 am! But not me. I can’t stay up beyond 2, and I can’t do that very often! When we stopped dancing and went back to our chalet we were so tired it didn’t matter that the Pontins beds are a little… uneven- we would’ve slept soundly balanced on the roof of a moving train!
Today, we had to check out at 10am. Mr BBB had the day off work, so we have been appreciating some of the local areas. 
We have appreciated a cafe for breakfast, a lovely ice cream cafe in Rye, and a pub for a sneaky lunchtime half. We also had another look at the beach. It still looks awesome.
The first part of our journey (Camber- Rye) was by bus and we decided that it was daft to be stuck on a bus for the 3 and a half mile journey, there was a good foot and cycle path so we should walk (with a rucksack and 3 wheeled cases- we must have made quite a sight)!
My right thigh may never be the same after the leans and drops class. My legs, in general, feel like they have been walking nonstop for a month.
I am grubby from the beach and the dust, and sticky from the train’s heat- but I am very happy and will do it all over again in a heartbeat!
*for all the AC/DC lovers out there…