For the Melbourne Swing Festival it was Travis and he’s a really good example :-)). I was very lucky to meet him and need to thank Karryn for that. We had some time to chat during my first door shift and when I mentioned my blog she knew straight away who to recommend.
The next day he was one of the dancers that showed up for a class at the 'Dance Factory' and not only did Karryn point him out, but she also introduced us straight away while I was still finishing the last bit of my sandwich :-).
I could have probably guessed who he was as
there was only one guy who carried a big guitar case with him. Travis always
takes his guitar. We had a quick chat and I explained what this is all about
and he said he was happy to chat later or over the next few days.
While he was in class I had time to come up
with some questions for him. All I knew from Karryn was that he was travelling
and trying to build in as many festivals as possible. Nice one :)!
However it didn’t work out that I was able to
have a proper chat with him that day but we exchanged details and have since been
in touch.
After the amazing night at the Forum and half
way into the after party I was sitting on a chair watching the dance floor when
I saw this couple dancing who looked amazing! Very smooth and elegant. He was
wearing a smart suit and she a lovely dress.
After the song he sat down for a bit but
jumped up straight away again as the next song was a good one. I could see the
smile on his face and the excitement about the song and the need to dance to
it... and then he looked at me! Aaah!
He came over and asked me to dance and of
course I was up for that. I had to do this thing when I tell myself to relax
and just go with the music and the lead and try not to think about how good
they are. That way I'll get a really good dance and hopefully be a nice
follower for them too, so they might come back some time and ask me for a
second dance :).
At the end of the song I thanked him and he said:
"Sorry it didn't work out to chat earlier, shall we sit together
tomorrow?" Oh?!?! It was rather dark at the after party and the outfit was
much different. Trevis?? ;-)
It was the Monday night in the cosy venue in
Brighton (the one here in Melbourne :-)!) when we finally got to talk:
Travis is from Adelaide (I'm not sure about
the accent there but I couldn't even tell he was from Australia ;-)). He has
been dancing for 4 years and went travelling to Europe for 2 months (July and
August 2014).
It was kind of right that he wanted to go to as
many festivals as possible. Let's say the right amount without wearing himself out
but a good variety of different styles. Of course a few of his stops weren’t for
dancing but for a bit of a holiday instead (everyone who has been to a festival
will know what that means).
Amsterdam was on the list for a bit of a
holiday :-), then Sweden as a big dance destination next. Travis took part in
the Herrang Dance Camp, the
world’s largest and longest summer-long Vernacular Jazz, Swing Dance festival.
A lot of variety was offered here such as Lindy Hop and authentic jazz.
After that, Switzerland was a non dancing
destination before he moved on to the South of France to the Mountain Top BluesCamp (MTBC) for
one week.
That was followed by one day outdoor dancing
in Paris. I picture that as being quite romantic, no idea why ;-).
Iceland was next. The Arctic Lindy Exchange Festival was definitely one of the highlights.
Looks great!!
Then Venis, in beautiful Italy which was the
right place for a rest before Trevis moved on to Southern Italy for the 'Policoroin swing festival' for one week. This one was
not only about dancing, it included sailing and kite surfing
as well!
When
I asked him to tell me about a special moment he gave me the this wonderful answer:
"I had many special moments on my travels. Impromtu jams in Folkus Hut at Herrang comes to mind, yet the antics that ensued durring the never ending 'Hey Jude' kareoke at the Beatle Mania party was unexpectingly fun and humorous.
Every day I met wonderful people in and out of dance festivals and they helped create many special moments. Many of these moments were unexpected and that is part of the adventure that makes travelling incredible.
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| Photo from the a'capella |
Wow! What a magic moment! Travis has been playing guitar
"for a long time" he told me with a smile.
Rome
was the last stop without an actual dancing festival but that didn’t mean no
dancing. He was picked up from the bus depot and taken straight for a dance :-).
What
a great trip with endless stories to be told I’m sure. I think Trevis should
probably write a book ... or a blog ;-)!
It
was great meeting and dancing with you Travis :-)! It definitely gave me some ideas for my time back in Europe and who
knows, we might meet on the dance floor again …
… oh and if we do, I want to hear you play your guitar
too :-)!
too :-)!
Julia
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