From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!floyd!trb Newsgroups: net.singles Title: Re: Dating Options Article-I.D.: floyd.1150 Posted: Wed Feb 2 15:26:31 1983 Received: Thu Feb 3 07:12:58 1983 References: watarts.1641 Re: Anyone know of a bar where no one smokes? Yea, go to a ballet school, every studio has a bar, and you're not allowed to smoke in the studio. I started ballet dancing three and a half years ago (at the advanced age of twenty). When people asked me why I did it, my immediate answer was that I wanted to learn how to pick up girls. Actually, being a guy (often the only guy) in a class full of young women is an interesting experience (even before you talk about the actual dancing). When some guys hear that you take ballet class, they immediately imagine that you're a fag. If they would think for a moment, they would realize that the place for a gay male would be among other guys, not in a class full of women. Some people think that I might just be in there to revel among the fair young maidens (like a peeping Tom...). This might be true, but I certainly can't spend my time class ogling because ballet takes a large amount of concentration and if I daydream I end up getting confused and making an ass of myself (even more than when I stay alert). You might think it's a good way to meet women, and I guess that might be true, but it hasn't lead to any extra-curricular relationships for me. The classes are in the evening, and everyone is pretty worn out afterwards, we don't go out drinking like you would after a game of softball or bocce or horseshoes. You might be wondering why I do it then, if I don't get to take any of these women to bed or even have relationships with them outside the studio. I am a mediocre dancer at best, as a matter of fact, any skilled teenage ballerina could dance rings around me (literally). My progress is slow, painful, and tedious. I go because I enjoy the class and I enjoy the company. After suffering through days in the company of engineer and hacker types it's refreshing to suffer through class with a pleasant bunch of women working hard. I get a perspective that I don't think I'd get outside of a dance school. Andy Tannenbaum Bell Labs Whippany, NJ (201) 386-6491