Cha-Cha and the “Isle of Capri”

​I share a range of music with my students - from current pop hits, strict tempo and all the way back to the great golden oldies. Do you find that music will often stir up a memory of a certain event or experience? Here is one of mine from way back!

Somewhere at the end of the fifties when I was about eight, we had a family weekend away. This was quite an event. The hotel we were staying at was promoting a dance band and their mix would include the new rage dance - the Cha-Cha! Not only that but a dance instructor would be on hand to lead the guests through the paces. 

On the night, with all the children tucked safely in bed, the adults descended the terrace in their finery for their night of dance. Of course, I wanted to be part of this, so after swearing me to secrecy my older brother and I crept along the corridors and onto a vantage point. There we listened to the musicians and their rendition of the “Isle of Capri” while the dance teacher led the crowd in the gorgeously cheeky Cha-Cha!

Still thrilled and filled with this experience, I hummed the song and danced the Cha-Cha the next morning, oblivious to my surprised parents and utterly dismayed brother. Knowing what was coming his way,  I'm sure he would have happily shipped me off to the "Isle of Capri"!

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