30 before 30: Learn to dance - ballroom, ballet or hip hop?

When I deciding I want to learn to dance I didn't anticipate that it would be so difficult, so expensive and quite so embarrassing!

In theory, I wanted to emerge from my twenty-something cocoon like a cross between Ballet Beauty Darcey Bussell and Strictly Come Dancing's lush Latina Flavia Cacace whilst still being able to do a pretty good "Thriller" should the opportunity present itself. It seems I may have set the bar (barre) too high in wanting to learn to dance and I'm heading for a Napoleon Dynamite tribute act.

See example 1:

And even he made it look good in the end!!

I feel I may have missed the boat and if I leave it any longer I may do more damage than good - physically and socially! At 27 can I honestly join a hip hop class or sign up for the ballet class I left when I was 6?

The point of the 30 before 30 list was to do the things I've missed out on them whilst I can get away with it so the selfish, twenty-something me is going to bloody well learn to dance.

Now that Strictly Come Dancing is back on the TV I'll again start moaning to the Boyfriend that I want to dance like they did during wartime. Swtiching from Waltz to Foxtrot with a cheeky Swing Dance and then a Quick step. Like they would never see each other again; gazing into each others eyes in a tornado of sequins, kiss curls and sweetheart romance. Whilst we've tried to strut our stuff at weddings there's only so much shuffling you can do before you're found out as a fraud.

Another option is to go back to mirrors and tights and bleeding toes just with the added pressure of cellulite by taking up an adult Ballet class. (Do they actually exist?) I'm not delusional thinking that my Prima Ballerina  Dreams are within reach but something like this from "Centre Stage" would be an achievement:

Finally, and this is probably what I'm secretly hoping to do is the type of dancing that anyone who knows me would not ever think me capable of doing is Hip Hop or Commercial Dance. Even typing it makes me cringe a little as I'm about as "street" as Mary Berry and have never owned joggers or listened to NWA. The attraction is simply the fact that it is so far from what I would normally do. So in tribute to my 30 before 30 list maybe that's exactly why this is the perfect choice:

So there are the options; I don't know whether to try all three and see how I go but I know it's going to be one thing ticked off of the list. To say I tried it, I smiled and I danced like no one was watching.

Hobbies, Extra Curricular, fill your time: A 20-something's take

It's Monday and I'm doing my normal weekly review of my 30 before 30 list and gasping in horror at how, apart from the Wine tasting, the camping (sort of) and the "all nighter" I've not made much of a dent in the list. and I've only got 2.5years to do it all!

It's made me think why I felt like there were things I was missing out on before 30 that I might not experience unless I gave myself a challenge. When you're young it's generally your parents that dictate what you do with your free time, what will set you up in the future, what will educate you and provide a good foundation and range of experiences that you may continue when you're older. 

Well if you're anything like I was as a child I changed my mind every 5 mins about what I wanted to do as a hobby! Below are some examples; please don't judge!!

• Piano lessons
• Guitar lessons
• Clarinet lessons
• French
• Flower pressing
• Rainbows, Brownies, Scouts! (Guides were had the boring trips away!)

Guten tag!

Due to injury a VERY short Ballet career

I still ride a little but not at 6am!

Quilling - straight out of Downton

We used to skate to pass the time

It may be that as you get older and you have more responsibilities you have less time for hobbies or new adventures but isn't it a shame to not try new things in case you don't get another chance?

So it's back to my 30 before 30 list because I don't want it to be too late to get away with skinny dipping!! ;)

Watch the Top 50 movies of all time - Named by IMDB

So, next on the list and probably the cheapest and laziest of them all: 

Watch the Top 50 movies of all time.

Leon

 I have a Brother and best friend who are movie buffs (read geeks) and constantly highlight my peasant knowledge of classic films and directors but, no more! I shall be conquering the Top 50 films and dropping into conversation things like, "Coppola certainly did start on the path of success in her role in the Godfather - oh you didn't know that? No, not many people do"... and other haughty lines.



I'm pretty pleased with my score so far (I've seen the ones in purple); so only the westerns and a few "dodgy" films left and I'll have seen them all!

How did you do? And is there a better list than IMDB I should be looking at? Click below for the link to the live IMDB list.

Top 250 movies as voted by our users (IMDB)

For this top 250, only votes from regular voters are considered.

Rank	Rating	Title	Votes
1.	9.2	The Shawshank Redemption (1994)	773,460
2.	9.2	The Godfather (1972)	574,581
3.	9.0	The Godfather: Part II (1974)	364,037
4.	8.9	Pulp Fiction (1994)	608,483
5.	8.9	The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)	240,243
6.	8.9	12 Angry Men (1957)	190,326
7.	8.9	Schindler's List (1993)	406,053
8.	8.8	The Dark Knight (2008)	713,015
9.	8.8	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King(2003)	546,691
10.	8.8	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)	327,840
11.	8.8	Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back(1980)	393,318
12.	8.8	Fight Club (1999)	589,189
13.	8.8	Seven Samurai (1954)	130,112
14.	8.8	Inception (2010)	565,904
15.	8.8	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)	569,333
16.	8.7	Goodfellas (1990)	344,367
17.	8.7	Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)	442,116
18.	8.7	City of God (2002)	256,098
19.	8.7	Casablanca (1942)	222,201
20.	8.7	The Matrix (1999)	566,328
21.	8.7	Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)	109,976
22.	8.7	Rear Window (1954)	165,473
23.	8.7	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)	489,852
24.	8.7	The Silence of the Lambs (1991)	376,094
25.	8.6	Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)	339,216
26.	8.6	Forrest Gump (1994)	494,603
27.	8.6	The Usual Suspects (1995)	372,504
28.	8.6	Se7en (1995)	446,323
29.	8.6	Psycho (1960)	203,653
30.	8.6	It's a Wonderful Life (1946)	141,203
31.	8.6	Leon (1994)	325,069
32.	8.6	Sunset Boulevard (1950)	75,623
33.	8.6	Memento (2000)	411,187
34.	8.5	Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)	202,382
35.	8.5	Apocalypse Now (1979)	238,928
36.	8.5	American History X (1998)	355,154
37.	8.5	Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)	357,999
38.	8.5	North by Northwest (1959)	123,339
39.	8.5	Saving Private Ryan (1998)	402,866
40.	8.5	Citizen Kane (1941)	177,805
41.	8.5	Alien (1979)	264,417
42.	8.5	Avengers Assemble (2012)	244,563
43.	8.5	City Lights (1931)	45,228
44.	8.5	Spirited Away (2001)	168,780
45.	8.5	American Beauty (1999)	420,686
46.	8.5	Toy Story 3 (2010)	216,738
47.	8.5	Taxi Driver (1976)	239,631
48.	8.5	The Shining (1980)	273,076
49.	8.5	M (1931)	54,826
50.	8.5	Vertigo (1958)	124,753

Spirited Away

I think that there are some more foreign films missing but that because I'm a sucker for the French and I think Amelie should be at #1! Saving Private Ryan is far too high up (in my humble opinion) and Spirited Away is not high enough. 

I am sure GeekandSpell will have plenty to say on this matter so I will await the expert opinion Or you could visit the site where they know much more about films and have reviews galore!