Patricia and Frixos Antoniou, two of my Tuesday evening class members at Southend Adult Community College (SACC) asked us if we could provide 'a little light entertainment' at one of the regular meetings of the M&S RSA (Retired Staff Association).

We had no problem with that but mentioned that we support a charity called Retinitis Pigmentosa (details) and a donation to that charity in lieu of any appearance fee would be appreciated. The M&S RSA readily agreed and we set up a date for the event of Wednesday, January 16^th, 2002.

The format of the afternoon would take that of a demonstration for 45-50 minutes, and then 'an incredibly smooth and sophisticated transition (who wrote this....?)' into an interactive session to teach the M&S club members a line dance or two.

We canvassed Tulsa Shuffle club members to see if any of them were available and willing to 'perform' for the M&S club (on the day we had, from the left, Jane, Maureen, Brenda, Margaret, Yvonne, Vera, Mick, Wendy, Sheila, Beryl & John) making a grand total for the 'troupe' of 11).

The next thing was to devise a playlist. The fairest way to do this was to circulate a tick sheet enabling everyone to indicate their favourite (and least favourite) dances i.e. those that they would be most comfortable performing as 'an entertainment'. Those chosen would be the ones with the most plus votes overall.

Once the verdict was in, I arranged the dances into what I thought would be a reasonable order and listed the music to be used :

1. Outlaw Waltz		2. Forever And A Day		3. Madalaina Smoothie
4. You're So Naughty		5. Dreamweaver		6. Do Ya
7. Hot Potato		8. Smoky Places		9. Follow Me
10. Shania's Moment		11. Mony Mony

There were two 'reserve' dances in case of 'early finishing' : Como Se Dice and Green Door

Regarding teaching dances, I resolved to 'play it by ear' and primarily had 5 from which to select on the day (plus a few others up my sleeve just in case!!!)

1. Fallin'

2. Krankin'

3. Birchwood Stroll

4. Flyin' Sparx

5. Rita's Waltz

The M&S meeting started at 13:30, but our scheduled 'kick-off' was at 14:30. We arrived nice and early and, while causing as little mayhem as possible, resolved to set up the PA and have a chinwag with a few people.

My maps worked and everyone found the venue with no problem.

We started on time with Margaret saying a few words about RP and distributing some informative literature.

As we performed each dance, I said a few words about the type of dance, music used etc. trying to keep it as light/amusing as possible while still retaining their interest.

I have to say that everyone was brilliant - the 'troupe' danced like a well oiled machine with smiles on their faces, even though for some it was their first performance in front of an audience.

After each dance we all got an appreciative 'ripple' from the audience and I observed that a lot of them were tapping toes to the music and seemed to be enjoying the demo.

Anyway, after we'd finished, the M&S RSA members were invited to join in and learn a dance or two which, after a little bit of persuading, they did. We had a full floor, with our club dancers mixing in to help out.

We did Flyin' Sparx and Birchwood Stroll - two straightforward beginner dances which they took to very well. Most importantly, they enjoyed their participation.

After this, we still had a few minutes to spare, so, as a finale, we danced "Tush Push" for them to the track "I Just Break 'Em" by Eric Heatherley.

We then packed up and 'hit the road' after having had a most enjoyable time and, most importantly, raised some cash for RP. Incidentally, in addition to the agreed 'appearance fee' to go to RP, the M&S RSA were kind enough to donate a rather large bag full of spare change to our cause which Margaret told us later contained almost £14. All cash raised went straight to RP - no admin, no middle men. Brilliant.