I will admit I have become a huge fan of Jason and Sylvia,
they are the dancing couple I mentioned in a blogspot earlier, remember?? Jason explains: Dance brought us and kept us happy together for 10 whole years before I figured out that dance isn’t a form, it’s a way of life and so I proposed and we got married……and Sylvia, not to be outdone says: I accepted because I knew that I would have the upper hand since I can do everything Jason does, only backward and in high heels!
Truth be told when I watch this couple dance together, I don’t see their technique, I see their passion. They don’t dance with their feet so much as they dance together with their hearts.
As for me I grew up in boarding school with 40 other boys in the same dorm. That’s how I first discovered the dance – waiting for the bathroom. Then in my early teens, with my hormones effervescing, decided that if I got started dancing that would be one way to meet girls. After all there are only two places where indiscriminate hugging is tolerated, the wedding boudoir and the ballroom and since I wasn’t anywhere near being married…. well, you can see where I was going with this thought……
Unfortunately the powers that be made me rethink my strategy and I gave up dancing because; even though my twisted teenage mind harkened to none other than the great George Bernard Shaw who wrote that “ Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire” I discovered that actually “Dancing is an art of getting your feet out of the way faster than your partner can step on them” I also figured, given my experience with my dance partners that “Life is too short to dance with ugly girls.”
And with time dance lessons got further and further away from me because:
a) I had to work to earn a living.
b) The girls I knew couldn’t dance either, those who did,for some reason wouldn’t teach me.
c) I did not have the spare cash for the lessons on my minimum wage.
d) I started raising a family.
Finally here I am in my twilight years, still able to walk, with some extra pocket change, trying to shed a few extra kilos, trying to express what is too deep for words, trying to communicate between body and soul, - learning to dance.
But it’s hard work. It takes a whole lot more effort and determination. Truth be told: you don’t just put your feet in the air and move them around. Dancing is a sweat job. If it were any easier I'm sure it would be called football. After your routine, when you wake up in the morning and nothing hurts you better check your pulse, you must be dead.
So after almost 6 weeks of pushing myself to stay with the dance programmes that Jason and Sylvia designed and unstintingly tutored us lesser mortals, I discovered new insights to dance in general and dancers in particular.Namely ( and I'm pretty sure Jason and Sylvia will agree with me here) :-
..."Practice makes Perfect," is not a saying, it's a way of life.
…Dance is your life, and the rest is just spare time.
...the first impression people have of you is: YOU DANCE.
...your hairline is receding from tying your hair tightly back into a ponytail.
...every wooden floor is a place for practicing.
...watching TV is not a time to relax, it's a time to stretch.
...you hear music and you NEED to dance.
...a new leotard makes a girl’s whole day.
...you walk with your feet pointed outwards.
...you look for new moves in dance movies.
… you cringe at mistakes Rakhee Sawant makes in the “Boogie Woogie” TV show.
...everything you get for birthdays, anniversaries, and festive occasions is dance related, even the alcohol.
...you have more pairs of dance shoes than street shoes.
...you start stretching whenever sitting on the floor.
...you prefer a conversation on music and dance than on politics or finance.
...you point your toes even during sit-ups.
...you use empty hallways to practice grand pirouettes.
...you do arm movements and move your feet around while waiting in a line, and people move away warily.
...everything you do has something to do with dance.
...you cancel dates because of dance classes.
...you promise to never stop dancing.
Had I learned the few “moves” that I now know back then. Here are some lines I may have used to pick up girls(who knows they may even still work for me now, winkety wink!). Then again, maybe not.
Me: “Honey, I’ll give you 10 reasons to date me and not that football player.”
She: “Hah! I’d like to see you try”
Me: : “Ok here goes….”
1.I've mastered 5 positions professionally
2. I have perfect technique, good rhythm and great hip rotation
3. I’m used to having bruises on my knees
4. No matter how long it takes or how hard it gets ... I do it with a smile
5. I’m not afraid to perform in front of audiences
6. I have a lot of rhythm 'n style
7. After a quick intermission I’m ready to go at it again
8. I don't mind getting hot and sweaty
9. I’m not as delicate and fragile as I look
10. And of course Flexibility...the possibilities. Huh? Huh?
Then I hear Jason whisper in my ear, “Just shut up and dance!”
