Dance like there's no one watching

I love to dance. It doesn't mean I'm a good dancer. I'm stiff and awkard at times. I've not been picked during selections. But that doesn't stop me from letting go of myself. If my bath tub were any bigger, I'd dance while showering too! LOL

I've taken lessons before, but never stuck to anything. When I was little, my mom enrolled me for Bharatyanatam classes. My knees hurt from doing the beginner moves in that semi-squat pose over and over again. It lasted all of 2 months I guess - I never went back after the school break started that year. I did take part in a few group dance competitions throughout my years in school, though I still remember not being selected for a couple of them as well (maybe I'm just not cut out for Indian dance forms)

One of the good things about becoming 21 - clubbing I tell you! Yeah the booze and crowds are always great. I go for the music and dancing. Alcohol helps loosen you up, for all good reasons I must add, which is why my friends and I either try to get high real quick once we're there, or better still, get a little buzzed prior to arriving at the club! Unfortunately, I have been living in Bangalore during a period where clubs and dance bars are treated alike by our government, causing so many of them (clubs) to operate on the sly (or with bribes perhaps) and rush everybody out once the cops arrive. Nevertheless, we still partied whenever we could! You don't need to go to a club to dance. We've had dance parties in our pyjamas too! Just dim the lights, get a good set of speakers to wake up the entire household, move the furniture around to create some space, and you're all set to bring the house down! :) Christmas and New Year parties back home in Mangalore are a must do I say. It's such a treat to watch everyone dancing so beautifully - jive, waltz, cha-cha and what not. Kudos to those who've attended Ripvin's ballroom dance lessons! Some of us work friends signed up for Salsa classes a couple of years back. These classes too stopped after a month 'coz somebody or the other started losing interest. Having no company to go with, I discontinued as well. My ex and I then attended a Merengue and Bachata workshop. Fun stuff really! (I wasn't being sarcastic =)

Forward to 2009 - I live in an unknown, isolated city (I prefer to call it a village) in Wisconsin, with no means of entertainment. After spending quite a few dull weekends, I happened to scan an ad in the newspaper on the Shut Up and Dance academy based here. They offered beginner and intermediate lessons in Salsa and Bachata on Friday evenings after work hours. I was on cloud 9!! I did join, and there has been no looking back ever since. I started all over from the beginner's basics and now I've just moved onto the next level. I envy so many of the dancers who are so much more advanced than me. I did however find it oddly funny when the dance troupe from the academy performed a routine to "Chaiyya Chaiyya". I guess Malaika's and Shah Rukh's antics on top of that train are ingrained in my head so deeply, I couldn't relate to these goras' dance steps...hehe... I don't go consistently every Friday, which is not a big deal since the classes are pretty repetetive in nature , and you pay for what you attend only. I also signed up for Hip-Hop lessons last week with a new instructor. I've finished two sessions already. It's an awkard dance form for me 'coz I'm not used to dancing so stiffly on purpose. But I enjoy the one hour workout I get from it! haha! Once I'm a bit more independent and have my own car, I wanna start learning the waltz and tango!

All I want to convey to my (not so many) readers is - let the dancer inside you loose! Don't feel conscious. Don't think too much, and definitely NOT about what others may think of you.

The perfect conclusion to my post, this Japanese proverb - "We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance."