The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7179 p904-936
22-29 December 2001

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Christmas miscellany summary

Freestyle jiving with the principal

For Dr Bryony Dean the best way to end a hard day's work is to go dancing. Dance, to her, is French and modern jive. "It's a real antidote for stress and I enjoy it incredibly. No matter how bad my day has been, I get on the dance floor and the stress disappears."

Bryony puts this anxiolytic effect down to the fact that she can switch off completely and be led by her dancing partner David Franklin. "It's a real contrast to work, where I'm thinking all day and having to concentrate. I can just switch my mind off and go with the flow. It de-stresses you," she says.

But Bryony's hobby is not without its dangers. "We used to practise in the bar at the London School of Pharmacy and one evening we attempted a move called the 'candle stick' — an elbow stand on Dave's shoulders — except I hit the ceiling with my feet!" Since then, Bryony and Dave have moved their practice venue to one of the lecture halls at the school, which, with its high ceiling, is much more accommodating.

Bryony dances for fun but is good enough to have reached the finals of several national competitions. Most are freestyle, with dancers dancing to a piece of music that they have not heard before. "This means you can't have choreographed the dance and it tests how well you interpret a piece of music." In freestyle competitions dancers either enter with their regular dance partner or dance with someone drawn at the competition, which is known as "dance with a stranger" or "lucky dip".

Less common are competitions in which dancers perform a choreographed piece, in which they can do more impressive moves. For Bryony and David, however, one such move turned out not to be quite so impressive when David pulled a muscle lifting Bryony over his head.

French jive grew in popularity following the film "Dirty Dancing", which portrayed what might be described as an "extreme subset" of this form of dance. Although generally not performed in such a raunchy fashion, French and modern jive can have their moments. The costumes, too, can be a little daring, held up with toupee tape and strategic safety pins.

Bryony's talent has also brought her close to mixing with the stars of Hollywood. But, alas, her commitment to pharmacy meant that she had to decline a dancing part in the film "Spy Game" starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt.

Bryony's interest in dance began as a child in Wales where she held the title of South Wales under-eights ballroom dancing champion. However, she did not take up French jive and modern jive until she was 23 years old, after seeing it being done at a party. "It is very different from ballroom," she explained.

"Ballroom dancing is choreographed and gener-ally done with one partner who you practice with. Part of the appeal of French jive and modern jive is that it is freestyle."

Now Bryony dances, on average, twice a week and teaches once a fortnight. For those new to French and modern jive, the best way to learn is to dance with someone who can already do it. In the past it was often the case that the better dancers did not want to dance with beginners. To remedy this the companies that put on dance events started to employ "taxi dancers". Now Bryony is employed by Ceroc, one such company, and is available to share her expertise with any beginner who deems to ask for her hand.

Bryony likens the system in which French jive operates to the way in which medicines are marketed. There is the generic version — French jive — and then lots of different companies that market their own brand.

Bryony works at the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust as principal pharmacist and director of the academic pharmacy unit. Her role involves developing clinical services and co-ordinating pharmacy practice research. She studied pharmacy at Bath University and did her basic grade training at St George's Hospital, London.