19 September: My Second Dance Class

When I arrived at the dance studio today, all of the students were seated on the floor along the wall outside the door, chatting away. I didn’t have anyone to socialize with so I went in and put down my bag and water bottle in the back of the room, then sat down to stretch. I realized after the fact that I may have committed a major faux pas in dance school etiquette by walking into the studio before the teacher arrived. But heck, I need to stretch before class and I’m not going to sit out in the hall to do it. I just can’t get over the movie-set feeling around here. (If you’ve seen the good-girl-meets-bad-boy movie “Step Up,” you’ll have some idea of what I’m talking about. And just to be clear, I saw that movie on an airplane.) The halls are full of giggling girls and gossiping women (and a few boys and men) all kissing, hugging, stretching, laughing, and apparently competing for the prize of grungiest dance outfit.

I really enjoyed my second class. I do love Marilena’s warm-up – this time she got into some funky moves and really got our heart rates up. I’m very glad that I am in good cardio condition from running, although my abs need some work. I still screwed up the floor work but so did half the class. I got some smiles from other students and two times a girl who I thought looked a little stuck-up actually gestured for me to go in front of her. (This is dance class code for “I don’t know what I’m doing and I think you are better than me so please, go first.”) We also did a new combination so I guess Marilena choreographs something new every week, which really keeps it interesting!