One of my New Year’s resolutions was to take to the floor and have a go at Charleston dancing.

So last week I donned my dancing shoes and headed down to the Central Methodist Hall on Oldham Street aka vintage dance headquarters.

On the second Wednesday of every month Anthony and Stephanie host a Charleston dance class during which a series of routines are taught and practiced to classic old-school Charleston tunes.

TOE-TAPPING FUN: Charleston dance class

By the end of the class we’d all managed to master the basics of The Charleston Stomp (solo) and were having a go at the crazy knees, scarecrow and the Great Gatsby.

One thing’s for certain, you’ve got to have a lot of stamina to keep this dance going for the length of a piece of music and not look like a drunk person flailing around.

But after half an hour of practicing we were all getting the hang of it, and even though it may not be up to showcase standards just yet, we all looked like we were having a good time!

I was one of the few people who hadn’t dragged someone along with me (alas the other half was working), so when it came to partner dancing I paired-up with fellow Charleston enthusiast Catherine.

She was decked-out in a fabulous flapper dress and, having been to a couple of sessions before, talked me through the partner routine.

I only managed to step on her foot a handful of times… Sorry Catherine!

I enjoyed the session so much I went to the weekly Charlestonercise class the following night.

I don’t know about you, but I get so much more enjoyment out of dancing to great music compared to pounding a treadmill in a gym surrounded by sweaty people.

Hopefully this way I can have a great time and get my fitness levels back up following a few Christmas indulgences.

If you’re in the Manchester area and would like to try something new, why not pop down and say hello? (I’ll be the one at the back puffing and panting, but with a big grin on my face!)

This dance class has also reignited a love of the BBC series House of Eliott (full episodes are available on YouTube if you’re interested.)

ROARING TWENTIES: House of Eliott

In terms of other New Year’s resolutions I’ve had a mammoth clear-out session (pictures to follow) and donated a heap of clothes to the charity shop, so that’s the ‘de-clutter’ item ticked off my list.

So that leaves planning more (thrown off kilter by my weekend of cleaning and dancing like a loon), procraftinating more (see previous reason) and becoming more tech savvy (something of a pipe dream…)

How are your New Year’s resolutions coming along?