Wow, what a weekend I've had!
Ceera is becoming a regular 'social butterfly'. I've been getting out en-femme two or three times a week lately.
A while back I went to a primarily lesbian dance party, and while I was there, one of the ladies saw how much I love to dance and how at ease I was dancing in moderate (2" or so wedgies) high heels that she commented I should really try dancing the Tango. She invited me to a "Queer Tango" class that she and her partner teach, as a way to get more same-sex couples interested in dancing together.
So Saturday found me at 3 in the afternoon driving to one end of the downtown 'Party District' - 6th street in downtown Austin, TX. This is a street that at night they largely block off into a pedestrian mall, allowing only musicians to drive in to drop off or pick up their gear at the numerous nightclubs and bars that line the street. But at 3 in the afternoon it's not very busy. Maybe 15 or 20 pedestrians in sight as I walked three blocks from where I could park to the bar the class was to be held at, and 4 or so customers in the bar itself. I'm wearing a red blouse and a red skirt that comes to just below the knee, and red 4" high heels. A bit dressy for that early in the day, but perfect for dancing.
I'm an hour early, because I was uncertain of what traffic or parking would be like. So I order a margarita and relax, waiting for others to show.The instructor arrived, and I helped her move tables to the edges of the dancing area. We ended up with the two female instructors and about 11 other girls. I'm the tallest one there, though one GG was close to my height. As far as I can tell the others are all GG's. They all treat me like another GG, which makes me happy.
Had a great time for the next hour and a half, learning a style of dance I could not recall ever having done before. Maybe I'd had an introduction to it back in grade school, but I'm certain I'd never danced the tango since then. We only covered the basic steps, but it was fun! Several girls complemented me on my dress, and one particularly complemented my red high heeled shoes. I chatted with just about everyone, and chose to take the 'follower' role for this class. (I danced lead all the time as a male, so I try to follow as Ceera.)
Stayed and chatted with one of the instructors after class. She was sorry to hear I planned to move soon. She said she really liked having me in the class.
I left at a little after 6 PM. The lot I was in only had free parking until 7, and my feet were sore, and I didn't want to stay downtown and peruse the clubs without anyone else with me. I've been pretty brave about going anywhere I like lately, but strolling through an area with a high concentration of straight bars and nightclubs and dance clubs seemed unwise to do alone, en-femme.
The one bad thing was that just as I got into my car, a homeless guy hustled up to plead for a handout. At least I hope that was all he wanted! He was kinda scary looking and I locked my car doors and just shook my head to indicate I had nothing for him. He turned and left me alone. Looking around, there were probably a dozen other obviously homeless people loitering in that area, under the freeway. But they all kept to themselves. (Another good reason not to stay in that area alone, at night, and en-femme, though.)
Had dinner at home, switched to more comfy shoes, and then went to Bout Time II, my preferred nightclub, hoping to dance. I got there about 8 PM. It was a really slow night, and no one was on the dance floor. I did meet one of our forum members from San Antonio, but she didn't stay for very long. As I sat by myself near the dance floor, nursing a drink, a rather Butch lesbian lady strode up to me and asked if she could buy me a drink. I thanked her and joined her at the bar. We chatted quite happily for the next hour or two, but the place remained pretty quiet, with no one dancing. When I said I wished more people wanted to dance, but that I didn't want to be the only one out on the dance floor, she admitted that she only knew how to dance Country style, and that she didn't know how to dance to the rock and pop tunes the DJ was playing. She was interested in the tango class I had been to, and maybe she will come to the next one, in two weeks.
Just before I left, one guy did start getting friendly, and seemed to want to chat me up. But by then, between the two margaritas I had enjoyed during the tango class and the three drinks I had consumed in the nightclub, I was finishing my fifth drink. So I excused myself politely and headed for home.
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The next day I had another daytime outing. There is a pub on the south end of town that has been a very popular live music venue for over 25 years. They host 4 shows a day, 7 days a week, mostly featuring local performers, and occasionally big name stars from all over the world. Some people are planning to do a documentary about the pub's history, and they were holding a big party with 4 hours of live music, to raise awareness about the movie project and encourage people to donate money to fund making the film. The party itself was free. The fund raising is being done as a Kickstarter campaign, and they are trying to raise $45,000 USD. By the start of the party they were halfway to that goal, but had only two and a half days before the campaign ends, and if they don't make their goal, everyone who promised a donation keeps their money, and the would-be film producers get nothing.
Got there at 2 PM, en-femme and dressed in jeans, a blue blouse, and boots with 4" high heels. Suitable blending attire for the venue. Met with the producer and director of the planned movie, and helped them set up. They already knew who I was, as I had already promised a modest donation to the cause. I was early enough to get a front row table, right next to the stage, with a good clear view for taking pictures. I had a decent digital camera in my purse, and over the next 4 hours took over 90 photos and 4 video clips of the performances.
As I always do at that place, I had a blast and everyone treated me like any other female patron. A few lady friends that I know showed up, but they had four other friends with them and there was no room for all 6 of them at my 4-person table. They offered that I could join them, but I really wanted to stay in front to take pictures. About a third of the way through the show a married couple asked of they could join me, and I welcomed them to sit with me. Seats were getting scarce, especially good ones close to the stage.
The performance consisted of 4 full bands, a duo that is fairly famous (the guy in the duo co-wrote some songs with Eric Clapton!), plus three solo performers, and a few 'special guests' who joined other performers for a song or two. They had a raffle for a guitar signed by 40 famous performers who had done shows at that pub, and auctioned off a second similar guitar (and it went for $1,700 USD!).
One neat thing was that shortly after one of the handsome male solo performers finished his act, he ended up sitting for a while at an unused seat at my table! It turned out that his wife was at the corner of the table next to mine, but there was no room at that table for him too. The chair at my table put him right next to her, and I was happy to have him sit there.
I left after the show and went home for dinner with my daughter, quite happy with my weekend's outings.
Originally Posted by Ceera
