Those who are in love with Rock n Roll dance will miss out on 14th February, as the RSL hall is being used for a Valentine's Day dance by a Country Rock group. Instead, our regulars will have to be content with a cuddly evening in the company of someone special, and if they make the right moves, who knows what might happen........

We will, of course, return on the 21st Feb. and the good news is that we have had some newcomers join us in recent weeks. We hope to see all our regulars back in full force.

Our classes got off to an unusual start in 2012 as we found ourselves doing a new dance - the Lockout Rock.

We found out what it would be like to be a Qantas employee, as a misfired communication resulted in the RSL management not anticipating our return on the 3rd January. Consequently, the joint was closed and we were all revved up with nowhere to go.

That didn't stop Don and Chez, who decided to dance anyway. I understand the move being demonstrated here is called the 'carpark'. It seems you just can't stop committed Rock 'n' Rollers from strutting their stuff. Class will definitely be held on the 10th January.

Our last class for 2011 saw some die-hard dancers come along for a Christmas drink or two. A small matter such as Chrismas shopping and preparations can't negate the urge to bust loose on the floor and jive in those who have really caught the bug.

Paul and Ingrid (left) got into the spirit of things. Kathy and Max (right) enjoyed the evening and provided some good photography.










Linda and Peter (left) also enjoyed a dance or two to get into the Christmas spirit.For Gareth and Natasha (below right) it was an easy night with not much demonstrating to do.

Yes, Christmas is here again. On Tuesday 13th December we will hold our christmas get-together at the Kilkenny RSL. It will be great if everyone can attend to help us gain some Christmas cheer. Bring a few cakes, lollies or whatever and wear your Christmas-style clothing. There will be no class on Tuesday 20th December, but we will be back on 27th December.

The Greeks of Egypt And Middle East have learned to Rock n Roll! Regular attendees Ev and Anastasia are long term members of this society. They arranged for us to atend their '50s theme night where willing participants were given some instruction on how to dance our style. Well known Adelaide DJ Steve McNally provided music and the night was a blast.

Unfortunately, there is no class on Tuesday 8th November due to the hall being used for another function. Hope to see everyone there next week as usual.

Plenty of people in Adelaide dance along to the Royal Show, a week long day/night carnival on a grand scale. Many groups struggle for numbers while it's on, but we didn't fare too badly. While the young ones were busy spinning and twirling on mind-blowing sky rides, we had a good group of dancers twirling and spinning on the dance floor. The exercise may not have been mind-blowing, but everyone present seemed to be enjoying themselves. Tony and Anastasia (pictured) were among them.

We are looking forward to a great summer with lots of dancers in attendance. Hope to see everyone back now that the warmer weather is peeping over the horizon.

Another good crowd of attendees kept us very busy on Tuesday, 23rd August. We had quite a few newcomers, some experienced dancers and others brand new to our delightful pastime. Most of the newbies picked it up very quickly. That makes my job much easier.

Among those who joined us were John and Sandra (pictured) who were impressed with how much they learned in a single night.

Our classes have held up well over winter, placing us in a strong position for a spring 'blossoming'. On 16th August around twenty people attended.
That was good considering that it was the sort of cold and rainy evening when Adelaidians are strongly inclined to stay at home. Long time rocker James Mostaki came along to teach us a few different moves. His help is greatly appreciated. Pictured on the night are Max and kathy (left), Linda and Peter (right).

Yes, we are a rock 'n' roll dance group, but some of our members are experienced ballroom dancers who like to Cha-cha. That inevitably results in demands for some music they can Cha-cha to, which inevitably results in some 'cross pollenation' whereby our rock 'n' roll students learn some of that style.

That's a great thing which I encourage, as it makes them better dancers all around. In fact, in our warm up session, I lead the class through some basic latin-type steps. In the picture shown, Keith leads Natasha in a Cha-cha 'chase'.

A lot of music is suitable for either a breezy rock 'n' roll, or a Cha-cha. With a bit of practice, you can mix the two styles together.

Attendance the last few weeks has been good with around thirty turning up each Tuesday. The heated hall has been warm and cosy, so wintry weather hasn't dampened enthusiasm. Chez and Don (pictured) were among those who made good use of our fabulous venue, putting in some solid practice.

We have a continual stream of newcomers helping to keep the numbers up. A lot of our regular dancers came along initially as friends of existing dancers. I'd like to remind and strongly encourage our members to bring along others whenever possible.

Chez is among the ladies who are learning the lead role in addition to the traditional ladies' 'follow' role. That's not just a great help when additional leads are required, but broadens the skills enormously.

Those who have been absent in recent times have missed out on some great social activity in addition to dance practice. I hope to see you all in attendance again, soon.

Trevor and Deb joined us a while ago. They are now very regular attendees. They have progressed enormously with their dancing and clearly, they love it! I asked them to share with us how they came to join us and what their exeperience has been.

Deb's reply:

"We do love coming to your dance classes. It was something that we wanted to do for a long time, but as usual it got put off over and again. Trev decided for my birthday last year that he would give me as a birthday present a 10-week course of Rock "n" Roll classes. That's when he first got in touch with you.

We turned up and were absolutely delighted with the place. The people (and you, of course) who were there made us feel so welcome. We had a ball that night and have been having a ball ever since.

I'm not sure when we started exactly, but we would surely have gone past our original 10 weeks. We are loving it.

We have met some really good people and the confidence that it has given Trevor on the dance floor is amazing. The poor thing didn't move at all well on the dance floor before, but now, whilst still a little hesitant, he is really starting to relax.

I just have to learn not to be so 'flourishy' with my dance movements".

The temperature was down to 6 deg. Celsius in Adelaide last night. That's cold for our part of the world. But, things got a bit hotter at our dance class, with some returning old-comers and more new ones. About thirty attended to set the joint in a spin. With some heavy recruitment happening, we should be getting fairly packed over the next few weeks.

I relented on the extra $2 last night, as not everyone knew about the change, but it will definitely occur as from next week. A few jokes flew, of course. Some suggested that they wouldn't be able to eat for a week because of it. Other are thinking of taking out a bank loan. in reality, though, no-one complained.

Hopefully, our regulars won't get too hot under the collar at news that our price is changing. It will increase from $5 to $7 as from Tuesday 31st May 2011. This is the first price change at my classes in six years, so it's well overdue. The additional $2 shouldn't require a visit to the bank loans consultant.

Dance like a devil! Some hot rock 'n' roll dancing is a great way to chase away the winter blues.

The sudden cold snap in Adelaide has kept some of our regulars at home in front of the fire, but hasn't deterred some newcomers from trying out the warming effect of jiving as an alternative.

Each year at this time we experience a bit of a lull in attendance, but the really enthusiastic rock 'n' rollers who brave the elements to join our classes know the truth of it - dancing doesn't leave you cold.

If you need a jump start, you can get some wonderful warming fuel at the bar.