TheBanyanTree: dance du jour

[Sachet]

I have danced more in the past year than I have in my entire life. It's 
part of my goal of actually trying anything that interests me. So far 
it's working out very nicely. In April I began Raqs Sharqi* lessons and 
fell in love with it. After two months I was moving into the 
intermediate class and contemplating whether or not I wanted to join the 
intermediate performance troupe as my instructor suggested. Dunno about 
that. Although I love the dance aspect and being in a class of 15-20 
other women is fine, performing in public just doesn't feel like 
something I would enjoy as much. But that new and fascinating interest 
was put on hold for the surgery and recovery, to be taken up again in 
January. I finally feel like I can handle the rigors of that style of 
dance now. I'll start once again with the beginning class to rebuild 
endurance and to refresh my memory. It's probably one of my most 
favorite things that I've every tried and one of the most physically 
demanding. The class atmosphere is very affirming and such feminine fun. 
The instructor ensures that every single woman there knows that she is 
beautiful and unique and I love her attitude. The ripple effect from the 
tone that the instructor sets takes place and everyone ends up being so 
encouraging to each other.

In the interim, while I am waiting for the holidays to pass, I was 
invited to a night of contra dancing**. I almost chickened out, thinking 
that everyone would be much younger than me, or that it would be too 
strenuous or whatever other excuse I could come up with. <g> Turns out 
almost everyone else from work almost chickened out too, but we are all 
so very glad that we gave it a try. Wow! What incredible fun! I danced 
for two hours straight with only one break. Waltzing during the 
intermission was fun to try, but way too slow for me. I discovered that 
I am now addicted to being swirled. The faster the better. I haven't 
quite mastered the knack of not getting dizzy, even with the helpful tip 
of maintaining eye contact with my partners while swirling around. But 
that should come with time and practice and God knows (and anyone else 
who knows me at all well<g>) will not be in the least bit surprised to 
hear me say that I am determined to figure it out asap. <g>

Gypsy, promenade, dos-à-do, allemande, figure 8, ....so many new dance 
terms to learn. But once again I was delighted to discover that the 
atmosphere is so supportive and the people are wonderfully encouraging. 
I was one of the last to leave from the group from work. My boss and I 
lasted longer than all the women younger than us, including my own 
daughter. We were quite proud. <g> I was surprised to see that it was 
10pm already and time to go home. Time just flew by.

I think I have my brother convinced to join us next time. That will be 
so much fun! I can't wait!

...Sachet


*http://www.raqsdance.demon.co.uk/raqsinfo.html
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belly_dance#Raqs_Sharqi

***http://tinyurl.com/43532*