Wednesday night out at any bar is normally dead and uneventful, well that wasn't the case this wednesday at the Wild West Saloon in the north east side of Edmonton. As I arrived the parking lot was full and I had to park near the back of the building. When I got into the bar, at around 8:00 pm, it wasn't jam packed but there were quite a few people already there settling in and buying drinks from the very friendly & pretty bartender Lanaya. Even though she appeared to be really busy she had time for a warm greeting between pouring all the drinks that were being ordered.
Every wednesday at the Wild West there are country & western dance lessons hosted Wanda Spicer and Dwayne (sorry I didn't catch your last name). When I've been out to other dance lessons here in Edmonton I'd normally expect to find 6 to 12 couples out on the dance floor. This evening I was quite surprised where there were at least 25 couples and enough single dancers to equal 30 or so total couples. Thankfully the new dance floor at the Wild West has enough room to accomodate all the people. On this evening Wanda was teaching basic 2-step. I've know how to dance basic 2-step myself but it's been a long long time. Thankfully Wanda and Dwayne did a great job to help me and everyone else feel really comfortable. We started with basic dance frame and eventually progressed through 4 different spin moves and positions through the entire lesson which lasted about an hour and a half. Through each step of the way there was plenty of time to practice and ask Wanda or Dwayne any questions about what we were doing. By the time the lesson was over it looked like everyone had a good time and I think everyone learned a few new dance steps.
After the main dance lesson was over the dj played a couple tunes for all in attendance to practice what they just learned. Before the night continued though Wanda and her other dance partner Ken Tomkins came back out onto the floor to teach everyone a line dance. Tonight was a really fun dance called the "Barn Dance". I wont go into details but it's a very fun dance to try out. After they finished their line dance lesson the dj played a couple other line dances for everyone to try.
As I was leaving for the night this weeks band Appaloosa came on stage performing some very upbeat and familiar country tunes. If I didn't have to head home I would have stayed much longer as it appeared that more people had shown up and everyone was having lots of fun. Definitly a great way to enjoy a wednesday night, I'll be looking forward to making it out there for more lessons. |
