Dance India Dance, Zara Nachke Dikha, So you think you can dance, Dancing with the stars... There are so many dance shows, and yet, each time someone says the word dance, my facial expressions change – I turn pale, freeze in my seat and blatantly refuse to go onto the floor.
‘Dance’ – a single word that brought a complete change in my behaviour. I freely admit I was born with two left feet, a wooden doll with rigid movements and an awkward stance on the floor. At any function, I never went anywhere near the floor, since I’d inevitably be dragged onto it. “Stay away from the floor” was my motto for those 3 hours. If, by some cruel twist of fate, I did land on the floor, I was usually distinguishable from miles away – the tall block of wood who was just moving, not really dancing. The fact that there probably were thousands of eyes on me definitely didn’t help matters, increasing my nervousness tenfold and making my movements more woodenish.
I decided to do something about it, and signed up for dance lessons. I joined the class along with a few other friends of mine. The first class and they ask us to pair up. I look around the room, realizing with rising trepidation that I’m the tallest one around, not just among the girls but among the guys as well! I pair up with a friend of mine, who’s almost my height. Pretty soon we realize this isn’t working. He’s literally standing on his toes to even attempt to twirl me. And as for leading me on the dance floor... let’s just say my body follows its own commands. :D Quoting my friend “You lead yourself, forgetting that the GUY is supposed to lead you!”
So what do you do when you don’t just think, you know you can’t dance? You have two options - you either choose to refuse to dance ever, or you learn the bare minimum to make it appear like you’re dancing. J The first isn’t really an option, considering I have friends who drag me from the chair on to the floor (and I don’t mean the dance floor! I’ve been dragged and when I resisted, I was tugged until the chair slipped and before I knew it, I was on the floor!). But over time, I’ve realized I can shake a leg, when I know no one’s watching or if I don’t know anyone in particular in the audience. And the feeling is simply exhilarating. I’m still reluctant to get on the floor, but I don’t run away from it either today.
When asked recently to join a hip hop class with a few of my Toastmasters friends, my programmed instant reply was “No way! I can’t dance!” Yet as they convinced me to join, the fact that it was a special class just for us made me think “Why not? It’s a form of dance that although tough, doesn’t require me to have a partner, something I can learn and even if I never use it again, I’m sure I’ll enjoy myself”. Two months down the line, we’re now gearing up to perform at Reverberations 2011, at the end of this month. And as nervous as I am, I’m really excited about it as well!
Here’s hoping our performance is a rocking success! J
