While some people at this time of year might be looking forward to the arrival of the Easter Bunny, or unpacking a fresh box of matzah for Passover, I’m eagerly anticipating the return of a particular breed of bird. Not robins or sparrows, but Blue Jays—the start of the baseball season is at hand!
To me, there is something elegant in the complexity of Major League Baseball. There are so many possibilities available with each pitch. The game can change in an instant. And, the seemingly improbable can happen at any moment. It’s a game that demands presence, yet stretches languidly, it seems, over an entire afternoon or evening.
So too is it with partner dancing. With every new partner and each new song, there are myriad possibilities available among how one partner might lead and the other might follow, and the first responding to the response of the second. The complexion of the dance can change in an instant at any point within any given count of eight. Partner dancing demands both attention and presence—to execute it well, each partner must be fully in-the-moment with the other, even if their engagement lasts beyond one or two songs.
A good dancer can recognize a familiar and favourite song within the first bar or two, just like a great hitter can recognize a hanging fastball, and the results are equally spectacular on the dance floor as they are on the baseball diamond.
There’s one more reason I eagerly await Opening Day: It means we are a mere 8 weeks (give or take) from the start of our 13th season of Sidewalk Salsa! This year, we intend to return to our familiar location once the evening temperature goes above 15C. And, we’ve scouted an auxiliary covered, outdoor location for evenings when Mother Nature (who herself never rains on Sidewalk Salsa) takes the night off and leaves an apprentice in charge of the clouds. Stay tuned for more news in the coming months. In the meantime, “Play Ball!”… I mean,
See you on the dance floor!
Mark