Dancin Out!

Some times are..... hard. 
Times where marinating in my tears only makes it worse. 
I need to get up off this floor. 
I gotta move. 
I need to feel the splinters pierce my feet as I slide across the floor. 
I am gonna lace up my tap shoes and add new indents to the wood. 
I am going to leap, lunge, turn, kick, switch, reverse and all that jazz. 
And bruise my knees til my stockings bleed and then get up and do it again. 
Not even stopping for a water break cause my sweat will cool me off the natural way. 
I am gonna push myself till my sugar is high and my throat is pumping cause my adrenaline is rushing. 
Turn without spotting till I am dizzy. 
Doing splits in first, second, and fourth position standing up against the wall until my legs are numb. 
Like a lyrical genius, I am going to choreograph with out even thinking. 
Making orange colored skies visible. 
And I will feel the heat with the bar like I am dancing with somebody.
I am not gonna stop dancing until i can hit at least 5 turns in a row right and left. 
I am going to hit my leaps in first, second, turning and switching. 
I wont stop moving until I am bruised, swollen, beaten, and bleeding. 
And I will do it all to myself. 
With nobodies help. 
I will dance till the pain brings tears to my eyes. 
Tears to cover up the real reason why i cry. 
See Natalie Cole would laugh it out of her life. 
Laugh so hard til she cried.
But me, I am going to Dance it out in the most traumatizing, abusive way i know how. 
Releasing all my anger until my body hurts and I can do nothing but fall back on to the floor and cry it out.


This is a poem that I wrote years ago... or maybe I won't call it a poem. Rather, an expression of words that I had to get out of my head and onto paper. There is nothing like the passion of dance. Everything around us moves...everything dances. Dance is a visual expression of music and lyrics, or the lack there of. It has the ability to reach all your senses to deliver it's message. And, in China, dance is a big deal.... 


I had no idea, but I was totally excited when I saw it... Groups of people line dancing at the supermarket! Every evening, no matter the weather, the locals come together. They put a song on the loud speakers, and they dance. They seem to know which line dance goes to which song. I do not know how they practice. Maybe, they just do it so often, that they just get into the swing of it. It is really interesting to see. No matter what supermarket you go to. They are there right after sun down. A section of the grounds are marked off; and lines of people come together for this evening ritual. In the same fashion, in the morning, many of the older people will get together to do flow yoga. Maybe after the children have been dropped of to school. The sun is up and the air is cool. This is the time for the people who may not be able to keep up with line dances, or going to the gym. And, like most outside events, it is free. Hatha flow yoga is said to be easy for beginners and older adults. It seems to be soothing and great exercise all at the same time. I have even thought about joining them, but I am usually on my way to work when I see them. But, they are interesting to see. I have also rode by locals dressed up in costume performing routines in small groups.   There are probably a few different groups taking turns dancing with others beating drums or shaking something behind them. Again, I was on the bus. I could not get in any pictures. It was fascinating to see. I am not sure the reason behind it, but it was very cultural. It reminded me of going to the community center and partaking in the African dance with the ladies in the traditional costumes. So needless to say, the locals like to be OUT DANCING!


My most favorite event that they do is ballroom dancing in the park. Me and some of my foreign associates were spending time in the local park. As we were leaving, we could hear the music with the reggaeton flavor. My friend from the Philippians and I immediately got excited. We walked up on a group of people doing the salsa. She and I jumped right in! I think the locals were surprised to see us join in on the dance. We danced our way all the way through the crowd. And at the end of the song, we took a bow! lol. That was so much, we have been back twice since. We can not understand the teacher, but we made do by watching their body language. Even in just walking past the park, I can hear the music playing. It has a way off putting a smile on your face. 


Now, for the younger adults.... they love to dance. They will pop and lock all day. They may not even be sure of what the song is saying, or they will spend the time to decipher the words. They love to freestyle, and most are current with the latest dance move. I had a group who was too excited to show me the dougie. I had to give them a few pointers on their flow, but they were some great dancers. Their society is very encouraging to them about promoting their craft. Groups display their talents on stage of local events or at night clubs. There is a battle coming up later on this month. Where different groups will compete to see who is the best. I hope I get to make it to see that. They put so much effort and care into their craft, it was inspiring. So I decided to find a place where I can dance. After asking around, I found a dance studio not far from where I work. They offer jazz and hip hop. And from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm the classrooms are open for personal use. I met the instructors, I observed the class, and I took a free class. I was sold! So, this was my first week of class. I thought it was going to be weird, but I fell right into it. And for the most part, my classmates don't mind me unless they want my help. I really enjoyed the classes. I was so amped after they were over. I am really sore though! Like, I really worked hard, and I got to show off a bit too lol!. 


The class is actually helping give my life routine. It is really good exercise, and the people are nice. I can honestly say that I had not felt this way about dance in years. It is good to find what I enjoy here where so many things are unfamiliar. It seems to be that dance is a big part of the culture here. It brings people together. It is a work out. For me, it helps tear down that great divide that makes us so different. So, whenever I am feeling restless, or stressed out...the studio is just a bus ride away.......or my nearest supermarket lol.


A few pics of the Rt mart dancing group...lol!


Until next time....