Saturday was the first workshop on seduction and flirtation put on by Sips & Giggles at the Adelaide Fringe. Our teacher Arnaud, who is a real French teacher by day, opens by telling us that his mother would be ashamed if she knew that he was teaching flirtation!
We were about 20 in the hidden room at La Buvette. We’re told that it was once a bank vault.
This workshop is really like a little class complete with a PowerPoint presentation. Arnaud gives us the background on the word “flirter” – I didn’t know that it came from the word “fleureter”. He amuses us with his stories about his flirting friends and neighbours in Paris. You don’t need to be the most handsome or the most beautiful to be successful in your flirtation, Arnaud assures us. And he gives us his tip of always saying thank you and smiling even if your flirting led nowhere. This is a lesson that people should learn. No one likes a sore loser.
His advice on mobile phones is not only pertinent – there’s nothing more impolite than someone who spends the night looking at his or her phone – but also a bit cheeky. You’ll need to attend the event to find out just why.
Yes, there is the dreaded audience participation but this is not with the aim of making a mockery of you but rather to ensure the correct pronunciation of the phrases just learned. Or that we have also learned other lessons – maintaining visual contact for example. There was a couple at the So French So Naughty that I attended who did all of the things Arnaud suggested quite naturally – his hand on hers, eye contact, etc. But this isn’t a class just for people who are already in a couple or who want to go out on the town and “go flirting” as Arnaud puts it. It’s a workshop for everybody. And as I mentioned above in regards to his advice on mobile phones – sometimes we are not really “learning” but being gently reminded instead.
Being a flirting workshop, it was more so about how to act and some French polite phrases. There were no bad pick-up lines here, even if they may have been hilarious. Perhaps they could incorporate some into the “what not to do” section of the show.
And the event finished with a good old singalong to a French song from the 70s called “Un flirt avec toi” while the cheesy film clip played. The perfect ending for an amusing night. Sips & Giggles has as its aim to present light-hearted events that allow you to escape the world for a while. Everyone laughed during this event and by the smiles on people’s faces as they left, I’d say they’ve achieved that goal!
The So French So Naughty workshops continue during Adelaide Fringe. There are only two flirtation sessions left though (Saturdays 2 and 16 March).
Don’t forget that you can also take part in the French swearing event. This is held every Wednesday night of the Adelaide Fringe (that is 20 and 27 February and 6 and 13 March).
Tickets cost $35 and include a drink from La Buvette where So French So Naughty is taking place.
You can purchase your tickets here.
4.5 CROISSANTS
Matilda Marseillaise was a guest of Adelaide Fringe.
You can also read about the 22 must-see Adelaide Fringe shows here.
Are you a flirt?
