Sway With Me
Anne and I turned up at the performing arts centre with no clue what to expect. We knew we were going to be moving our bodies about, that was pretty much it. We were the first people there. Eager beavers eh? lol If I was going to have a go at this, there seemed no point in being late. Yep, gonna do this? I'm gettin' in there, boots an' all.
Tango first. And yes...*rolls eyes* I had to be a man. Come on, on sight it's more than obvious I'm female...but for the purposes of the evening I relented and was occasionally male. And you know what? I think I'm a better man than woman in this respect. I said in this respect...make sure you read that part.
Any time I was dancing with a man I found myself pushing/pulling against him...seems I like being the leader, go figure. But it WAS easier dancing with a man, and I think that was all to do with length of leg stuff. I need to learn to take smaller steps.
Not bad for a first attempt really. Ok, I lied. Was tricky trying to remember all the correct combinations...certainly easier ad-libbing, which I did plenty of if my partner allowed me. In other words, when I was being the man and could push my female counter-part about, haha.
Salsa next. Well, well, well. How interestingly, um, what's the word I'm looking for here?...uh...intimate? hot? sexy?...err..."difficult" comes to mind lol. Hip-isolation appears to be what it's all about...that, I can do...afterall I AM polynesian...this should give me a natural hip movement in the hula-stakes. Well, you'd think so anyway wouldn't you?? Be a darn sight easier if they'd just let me do it my way, ya know? But no, I was there to learn. Besides, I don't think they have a name for whatever dance I wanted to be doing.
One thing I can say for certain....if you're going to be learning the salsa, it would definitely be more pleasant dancing with someone you've been horizontal with. I mean, as you'd know, it's a very close, kinda touchy-feely dance....I wasn't comfortable getting THAT up close and personal with other people, especially the men. I WILL say that one particular chap I danced with, who was well over 6'4" and built like a brick shit-house...was great with me...apparently he'd been dancing the salsa for 7 years (great...I waited for the frustration to etch itself across his features).
So, he helped me through a few things. The part I enjoyed the most was when he eventually gave up trying to dance against me...held me out, holding my hands and instructed..."Do this, now this, see? That's good, you're doing great...Keep going." I'm thinking "Yeah ok, cool, I can do this...haha, I CAN do this. Go me!" He pulls me back in...I immediately tense up..."Keep going Lisa, you're doing fine, relaaaax"...back and forth, side to side, forever swinging hips, start off with right foot....blah blah blah.
"Great...now look at me." I stop trying to see my feet...my eyes move to his chest..."My face...look at my face". Apart the fact he was so tall, I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact when the rest of my body was that close to him physically. Last time I was THAT close to a man, and my eyeballs were having constant contact with his...well, I just couldn't have given a rat's arse about foot-placement.
So yeah, I couldn't do it....I started staring at the roof instead...like, straight past his right ear lol. Eventually the music stopped...we were instructed to swap partners...I thanked him for his help...and rushed to Anne. Taking her in my arms, I actually felt safe and happy morphing back into the male gender for a short time again.
Of the two styles, salsa is the one I preferred. I enjoyed the relaxed, sexy but upbeat style of it. I think you can improvise more with your partner...if you had a regular one anyway. With the tango, I had to count more, think more about combinations and I stood on more toes (poor buggers lol). I will go back though...it was fun and I had a lot of laughs. I would love to be able to dance with some sort of finesse.
If only I could convince one of my boys to come with me...I don't have a problem looking either of them in the eye AND I reckon I could still manage to push them around despite being the girly. lol
Tango first. And yes...*rolls eyes* I had to be a man. Come on, on sight it's more than obvious I'm female...but for the purposes of the evening I relented and was occasionally male. And you know what? I think I'm a better man than woman in this respect. I said in this respect...make sure you read that part.
Any time I was dancing with a man I found myself pushing/pulling against him...seems I like being the leader, go figure. But it WAS easier dancing with a man, and I think that was all to do with length of leg stuff. I need to learn to take smaller steps.
Not bad for a first attempt really. Ok, I lied. Was tricky trying to remember all the correct combinations...certainly easier ad-libbing, which I did plenty of if my partner allowed me. In other words, when I was being the man and could push my female counter-part about, haha.
Salsa next. Well, well, well. How interestingly, um, what's the word I'm looking for here?...uh...intimate? hot? sexy?...err..."difficult" comes to mind lol. Hip-isolation appears to be what it's all about...that, I can do...afterall I AM polynesian...this should give me a natural hip movement in the hula-stakes. Well, you'd think so anyway wouldn't you?? Be a darn sight easier if they'd just let me do it my way, ya know? But no, I was there to learn. Besides, I don't think they have a name for whatever dance I wanted to be doing.
One thing I can say for certain....if you're going to be learning the salsa, it would definitely be more pleasant dancing with someone you've been horizontal with. I mean, as you'd know, it's a very close, kinda touchy-feely dance....I wasn't comfortable getting THAT up close and personal with other people, especially the men. I WILL say that one particular chap I danced with, who was well over 6'4" and built like a brick shit-house...was great with me...apparently he'd been dancing the salsa for 7 years (great...I waited for the frustration to etch itself across his features).
So, he helped me through a few things. The part I enjoyed the most was when he eventually gave up trying to dance against me...held me out, holding my hands and instructed..."Do this, now this, see? That's good, you're doing great...Keep going." I'm thinking "Yeah ok, cool, I can do this...haha, I CAN do this. Go me!" He pulls me back in...I immediately tense up..."Keep going Lisa, you're doing fine, relaaaax"...back and forth, side to side, forever swinging hips, start off with right foot....blah blah blah.
"Great...now look at me." I stop trying to see my feet...my eyes move to his chest..."My face...look at my face". Apart the fact he was so tall, I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact when the rest of my body was that close to him physically. Last time I was THAT close to a man, and my eyeballs were having constant contact with his...well, I just couldn't have given a rat's arse about foot-placement.
So yeah, I couldn't do it....I started staring at the roof instead...like, straight past his right ear lol. Eventually the music stopped...we were instructed to swap partners...I thanked him for his help...and rushed to Anne. Taking her in my arms, I actually felt safe and happy morphing back into the male gender for a short time again.
Of the two styles, salsa is the one I preferred. I enjoyed the relaxed, sexy but upbeat style of it. I think you can improvise more with your partner...if you had a regular one anyway. With the tango, I had to count more, think more about combinations and I stood on more toes (poor buggers lol). I will go back though...it was fun and I had a lot of laughs. I would love to be able to dance with some sort of finesse.
If only I could convince one of my boys to come with me...I don't have a problem looking either of them in the eye AND I reckon I could still manage to push them around despite being the girly. lol
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