Well, we’re home after a busy weekend in Dawlish. Whilst slightly quieter than usual, and with a few familiar faces missing, our FineSteppers made the most of the weekend.
Friday
The majority of our guests arrived on Friday afternoon, although some were keen to grab an extra lesson with Ms FineSteps so travelled down in the early hours of Friday morning, now that’s dedication!
In the evening we all gathered in the Washington Lounge for welcome drinks and then settled down for a buffet dinner. The spread put together by the Langstone Cliff Hotel was truly scrumptious, especially the wide variety of puddings! Before getting up on the dance floor a toast was given to a wonderful weekend in Dawlish and a surprise birthday celebration to one of our guests.
It has become a tradition to start off the evening by getting everyone on the dance floor together. This time with an old favourite, the Barn Dance Jive. After a fantastic evening of dance we said goodnight, but not before giving our new favourite dance, the Jerusalema, its first social outing. It was a wonderful evening and the best way to kick start the weekend.
Saturday
We were up bright and early on Saturday, getting ready for a morning of workshops, but not before one of the highlights of every Dawlish weekend, the Langstone Cliff breakfast of course! With Fruit, cereal, yoghurt, pastries, and full English – the perfect way to start the day, and maybe cure a few hangovers!
In the beginner’s workshop, we learnt a new section of Quickstep and a fancy bit of Cha Cha Cha. In the advanced workshop, we covered a lovely section of Waltz and a bit of Jive that definitely makes the brain think. After a busy morning of learning the FineSteppers headed out into Dawlish for the afternoon, whilst Team FineSteps set up the Ballroom for the Spring Pastels Gala Ball.
The gang sure know how to dress to impress, returning to the Ballroom suited and booted in Spring Pastels. Before dinner, Ms FineSteps was presented with a bouquet of flowers as a thank you for making the weekend so wonderful, we then took our seats ready for our 3-course meal. We have to say the staff at the Langstone Cliff were amazing, preparing and delivering our food quickly and efficiently so we could get on the dance floor.
After a quick Cowboy Charleston, we got to it, dancing Ballroom, Latin and Sequence with a few SoloSteps dances in the mix too. The raffle was drawn, and some great prizes were won. A big thank you to all our FineSteppers who bought raffle tickets or donated prizes. With your help, we were able to raise £205 for Sue Rider. However, the night wasn’t over yet. Of course, we had to pull out the Cheeseburger, it wouldn’t be a Dawlish weekend without it! At 12 am we danced the last Waltz and headed off to bed. Well, some did, others stayed in the bar for a ‘night cap’.
Sunday
On Sunday morning the tiredness started to set in. Breakfast was a little quieter and workshops a bit more leisurely. As always a few of our FineSteppers had to head home early. So, after a few goodbyes, we got back to dancing. The workshops on Sunday had a larger focus on technique, particularly in the advanced workshop. Charlie nearly killed us off with basic jive technique! Overall, we were really impressed with the standard of dancing across both workshops and can’t wait to bring our new pieces into class.
Finally, it was time to pack away and head home. It’s always sad saying goodbye to Dawlish, but there’s not long to wait until we’ll be back again in full force.
A big thank you to all the staff at the Langstone Cliff Hotel for looking after us! Thank you to all our FineSteppers for a lovely weekend. We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did, and we look forward to another FineTrip in November. Only 199 days to go!
Click here to view the Photo Highlights of the weekend.
More information about FineTrips, including the dates for 2022/23 can be found here.