Janhavi was awarded a Scholarship from the Jean Milligan Memorial fund, this fund allowed her to attend Spring Fling with friends and develop her dancing skills. If you would be interested in finding out more about our funding and scholarship options contact *Do we want to put a link in here*
My journey to the Spring Fling got off to a slightly adventurous start. I was taking a train from Aix-en-Provence to Lyon but ended up on a train to Lille instead! It was quite the experience trying to communicate with the train operator using hand gestures and the five French words I know! But I somehow made it to the beautiful city of Lyon. At the Airbnb, I was welcomed by my two lovely hosts and their adorable little cat. After a quick nap and change, I was on my way to the Jean Macé train station for the Friday evening dance. There I met all my friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in a long time. The Friday night dance, the first event of the Spring Fling, was so bright and lively, with some of my favourite dances in the programme!
The next day, I was up early for the first class of the event. The teacher for the intermediate class I attended was Laure. I really liked the focus of the class on the presentation of the steps, especially emphasising the points and ensuring that we don’t rush our jetés. The class really helped me think about the aesthetics of my steps, which was very helpful. After that, I had a quick lunch at an artisan boulangerie and sneaked in a nap at my Airbnb before going to the next class taught by Antoine. This class was honestly a joy! We did a lot of unique dances (the names of which I can’t recall). We learned how to do the Highland Schottische Poussette, which I loved. At the end of the class, we performed a piece called Trafalgar, which felt so theatrical and was such an interesting depiction of the Battle of Trafalgar. After the class, I went back to my Airbnb to get ready for the final ball.
This was a grand event, and I was so impressed by the spread of food, especially the pastries! The dances that night were ones I had never seen before, all choreographed by women. I was so happy to be introduced to so many new and fun dances and to add them to my repertoire. Having managed to survive Fast and Furious, and after embracing the chaos of the Schehallion reels in Champollion and Love, I was once again reminded of why I love Scottish dancing so much!
The final workshop on Sunday was the perfect end to the event, as we embraced the theme of the Spring Fling – Cinema! The best part of the workshop was definitely the chaos that ensued in my set while trying to come up with a dance for the Pirates of the Caribbean battle. I also loved the fact that we could use our newfound knowledge of Trafalgar in our dance. By the time the three days ended, I was tired but full of happiness after spending such a great time with my friends, meeting new people, learning so many new things, and working on my dancing skills. I look forward to attending next year in Oxford!
