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Dancing, Manners and Life


What contribution do you make to a wedding?

Is your part a passive one that involves simply showing off new clothes, enjoying a free feed and enduring some tedious speeches?

If so you are an example of the worst kinds of rudeness around.

You might be under the misapprehension that you are at a wedding to enjoy yourself. That's simply not the case. Your job as a wedding guest is to make sure that the Bride and Groom have a good time.

If you can't do that why the hell did you accept the invitation?

Playing at as many weddings as I do and being the certain age that I am it always annoys me when people simply will not dance. Dancing at a wedding is good manners. It is a way of thanking the Bride and Groom for their hospitality and wishing them well.

Not dancing at a wedding (without a valid excuse) is the height of rudeness. I have witnessed Brides pleading with their guests to get on the floor. I have watched these same guests simply blank the bride and groom when given a direct invitation to dance. Your job as a wedding guest is to try to do something to make the happy couple's day a happy and memorable one.

Believe me, dancing is the easiest way!

For some people the excuse for not dancing is that their egos are so overweening that they could not possibly be seen enjoying such a common as muck pursuit as country dancing at a wedding.

Other people appear to have so little self esteem that they prefer to sit on their arse rather than face the ignominy of “getting it wrong”.

I’ve got some news for you all!

Dancing at a wedding is FUN. Generally the only way you know you’re doing it right is if there is a smile on your face. Or on your partner’s face. It’s a bit like sex in that respect.

Just like sex, the more seriously you take your performance, the more likely you are to fail. So do yourselves a favour and relax! Enjoy yourself. Be a participant, don’t just watch!

Stop being a passive consumer of spectacles. Get out there and make a spectacle of yourself! That’s a recipe for a happy life, not just a happy dancing experience.

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