Posted by Pete Millington
on September 22, 2009, 5:33 pm, in reply to "Gerry McLeod Killed"
128.243.220.22
Like Jim it saddened me to hear of Gerry's tragic death.
Gerry was one of the people who was responsible for wakening my interest in Cajun and Zydeco, when I saw her dancing with Martin, and Terry with Richie, at a memorable Bearcats gig at the Old Vic, Nottingham. This was the first time I encountered the irresistible funkiness of live Cajun music and dancing. I particularly remember seeing them dancing and thinking 'I want to do that'.
Perhaps even more memorable was a heaving R.Cajun dance at Long Eaton Leisure Centre about a year later. It was so packed there no scope for doing anything decent on the dance floor. However, Gerry and Martin found themselves a separate space near the bar, and danced a jitterbug that was like Torville and Dean without the ice, gathering an appreciative audience of their own.
When I went on to dance Cajun myself, Gerry taught me most of the jitterbug moves I know, plus some that I've since forgotten. She always insisted that the man should lead, but I was never sure this was the case when I danced with her. I'd feel I was doing well, only to find that she'd woven me into some new figure without me knowing how we'd got there (or how we were going to get out). It was both disconcerting and yet at the same great fun.
I think Gerry would have admitted herself that she could be a bit of a rough diamond, but she was a diamond nonetheless, and I for one am glad I knew her. As Jim noted, she had dropped out of the Cajun scene in recent years, and I am sorry that we won't now be seeing her again.
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