Gary House

I  was infected with a love of jazz, big band, and swing music by my high school music teacher. So my first experience of swing dancing was not as a dancer but as a musician. We were performing to an almost empty bar on the ferry between Tasmania and Victoria. To keep us from running amok and annoying the other passengers our band leader had arranged for us to play in the bar. It was almost empty except for one elderly couple. We resigned ourselves to treating the gig as a rehearsal and we kicked off with something gentle, probably 'In the Mood,' not the most exciting second trumpet part. But, when we started playing the couple got up from the bar came over and started to dance. The energy that was created between them the music and us was unforgettable. It was our smallest ever audience but my most memorable musical experience.

 

Unfortunately, I only started to learn to dance myself much later. Over the years I have been fortunate to have been taught by some wonderful people (who can also dance). I am still learning something new every week, often something that I forgot from the week before. I enjoy dancing Lindy Hop, Charleston, and Blues but reserve my passion for Balboa (and my wife).

 

If you are a follow, if I don't ask you first, please ask me for a dance. If you are a lead hopefully I can steal some of your moves. (And if you're leading Balboa then I may even ask to follow...) I hope to meet you on a dance floor, somewhere, sometime.