The Traumas of Dance Class

I'm taking this lovely little thing called Jazz I. How hard is it to spin in a circle? Watch any dancer and it looks as easy as breathing. Then watch me. Now you realize that spinning in a circle isn't just hard, it's impossible.

 

First of all, I love to dance. Second of all, the minute I walk into the classroom all sense of right and left, down and up, and any other type of skill that might just be necessary in a dance class LEAVES ME COMPLETELY. Who knew one could struggle so much with, "Start with your right leg and swing the opposite arm and walk across the floor." (In case you didn't know, this is how you naturally walk. A loving friend so kindly pointed that out to me.) I never start walking on time because I'm too busy trying to figure out which leg is my right which leads me to be on the wrong leg anyway because I started a beat late which now means I am in danger of being stepped on by the perfect dancer girl behind me which means I get the disappointed and halfway puzzled dance instructor looking at me with the, "Ah, poor white girl," face. (Too bad she doesn't know I'm related to Thomas Jefferson.). All this from a dumb walk across the floor. And I haven't even gotten to spinning ("pirouetting" if you'd like me to be technical).

 

So, here's the deal. To all you people out there that cannot dance, or would like to think you can until you stick a wall with mirrors plastering it in front of you and fifteen other dancers who were born with their toes pointed and you realize you may not be as good as you are in your Michael Jackson sing-a-longs, it's okay. I have good news.

 

Public humiliation gets easier to take. Ha ha, just kidding. The good news is that I'm comically awful at jazz class, but I still love to dance. So what am I doing? Dancing. So, if you love something, go ahead and do it! Don't look at the person to your right who seems to be doing whatever it is perfectly, don't worry about the person on your heels that's there to let you know you're falling behind. Just give it your best shot :) Mark Twain once said,“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”