how's that for a snappy intro? are you hooked yet? too tired to be witty so i'm just gonna tell you like it is tonight.
went to a chinese dance workshop after work today. saw it advertised and thought it would come in handy for a show i am putting together next month. have i mentioned how much i love this city? where else would you have the chance to develop a mean fan technique on a tuesday night on a whim?
So i arrive late. had to take transit and the bus was late then i went to the wrong location and had to ask a group of kids for directions. would've asked a passerby but it was a bit of a dodgy neighbourhood and my bright red jacket wasn't doing much to help me blend in with the locals. When i walk in,the class was in full swing. a sprightly, skinny man with a corny sense of humour is encouraging a roomful of sweaty women that he's going to make them earn their water. it's been awhile since i've had to learn a routine and i'm a bit leary but find a spot in the back and do my best to fake it.
luckily i enter at a point where the move they're doing is a derivative of something i am familiar with. i did musical theatre for a number of years and have attended a number of rehearsals of modern dance companies where i've been able to pick up on some key physical 'vocabulary' , if you will. as pathetic as it is i find myself getting into the challenge of seeing how quickly i can pick it up. i am no dancer and have never been the least bit athletic but i do have a bit of a diva in me when it comes to performing. my back gets straight, i up my sorry excuse for form by moving my head with my hands and pointing my toes to focus a step-details i'm sure are impressing no one but me.
i amuse myself as i can literally feel a "look at me, i'm a performer" jekyll emerging from my day job hyde. i have an odd desire to separate myself from my yoga panted peers and prove that "yes, it's true, i've danced before." Hilarious! now if i was actualy a trained dancer and didn't jiggle as i jumped, a trained professional might be able to find a sensible root source to my delusions but alas there are none. all i know is that i love pretending do be a dancer almost as much as i love to dance.
as we went through the dragon, the butterfly, did some cool turns and ran around in a circle holding our scarves above our heads like kids with kites on a windy afternoon, i found myself content and smiling. all around me others too were grinning, pushing themselves on and working the moves like they meant them.
we were playing and we were loving every minute of it.
it's a good tired, this. hope to feel it again sometime soon.
