These Hips Don't Lie

Had such an amazing time last night. A friend of mine, Justine, had invited me a couple of days ago to go take Latin dance lessons. I was debating it for days, thinking if these white boy hips would really fancy taking on Latin movement. I usually stick to the unstructured, hop around type of dancing, and have had no formal training in any styles. I decided why not give it a try. Am I ever glad that I did. It was to start at 6PM, and I showed up on the dot, to nearly hear the sound of crickets chirping....haha the place was empty, and the class consisted of the cutest 75 year old dance instructor (he used to compete Internationally in Latin dance competitions) and 3 other students. In the crowd of employees at this bowling alley (and for some reason there were plenty), I stuck out like a sore thumb, trying to get my hips to move to some cha cha. Before I knew it, more and more people piled in, and sure enough we had a group of 15-20 people all giving it their all. My inhibitions dropped, and I found myself liberated on the dance floor, sweating buckets, and letting out tons of laughs and smiles. Was partnered up with Prosy, a lady with quite a charm and nack for Latin dancing. She taught me all she knew and before we knew it, we were creating our own little spotlight, taking huge strides all around the dancefloor, bumping into other couples, over exaggerating the Latin flare, flipping of the head, over extension of the legs, stiff upright posture, I felt Latino. Aai Yaai Yaai!!! We learned the Cha Cha, the Waltz, the Jive and finished up with some Salsa. Before I knew it I was mixing styles, and acting like a goof, again, onlookers cracking up that a Mzungu was strutting his stuff.

Movement is a wonderment, and now that my hips have been initiated, they crave for next Wednesday to roll around, so I can let lose once again. It is taking these chances, stepping outside of what we normally conform to in our regular life activities, and embracing something new that really livens the soul. I love it!