Shall we dance...

In November 2003, when Wolf finished his first dance course at the dance school Family Bothe, the parents of the children taking part in the course were invited to take part in a one-off dance lesson to prepare them for the prom night which was to be held in the Kuppel Saal in Hannover. Neither Albert nor I had ever learned to dance and thought we would just go for fun. Unexpectedly, it was so much fun that we decided to start to learn to dance properly ourselves. We both enjoy the challenge of learning something new, especially when it's something we can do together.

We have now had over a year and a half of fantastic fun, learning all the main dances: Jive, Disco-Fox, Cha-Cha, Rumba, Tango, Foxtrot, Slow Waltz, Vienna Waltz and Samba. We have also learned the basics of a few Latin American dances, like the Salsa, Bachata and Merengue. Of all these dances the Salsa is our favourite.

It wasn't all that easy at first: Albert, having played in a band when he was younger, has a good sense of rhythm, but I am practically tone deaf and not only that - I wasn't used to being told what to do! There were also times when we had to rush to the lesson after a busy day and our feet just would not do what they were supposed to.

Catastrophe

Our first Ball was a catastrophe as far as dancing was concerned - it's a lot easier when someone is standing there counting the steps out loud for you, and there were so many other people on the dance floor - but the simple fact that we were there, in the Kuppel Saal, in full evening dress was just so special... and I adore Albert in smoking.

In the meantime our dance skills have improved considerably and it now looks more like dancing than two robots fighting one another. We have been to many dance parties and balls (see our photo galleries), and each event has added something to our lives - and my collection of evening dresses has grown, to say the very least! It's also yet another area of compatibility; learning together, enjoyment together and, as Albert is much taller than I am, we both like the fact that even when wearing high-heeled shoes I fit comfortably in his arms.

Feeling welcome

The dance teachers at Bothe have certainly added to the fun of it all. Olli and Christiane, both great teachers who made our dance evening an event to look forward to each week, taught our first courses, with occasional help from Jasper for some lessons, and we've now danced right through to gold. I have to say here that the entire staff at the dance school Family Bothe have always made us both feel very welcome and we thoroughly enjoy going there. That may sound like an advertisement, but they certainly deserve it!

Learning to dance together has not only been terrific fun and special, we have also gained in other instances because of it. Dancing the Slow Waltz to "our" song, "You Light up my Life", sung by Leann Rimes, is always a pleasure, and last year, while on holiday in Egypt, we danced the Jive barefoot in the sand, in the hotel's open-air discotheque – and were applauded afterwards! Occasionally, in the evening, we put on some music and practise the odd dance in the middle of our lounge. It's a lot better than watching television.

Now and the future

We finished our gold course in January this year and at the moment, while we are deciding which club course to join, Bothe is allowing us to "gatecrash" on other courses, enabling us to continue practising and, in the summer, we will be taking part in an advanced Salsa course.

Dancing is something we both had neither thought about nor wanted to do before but, although the original idea was only to try out something new, we have found that we have gained so much from the experience, and will most certainly continue to do so in our future together.