cha cha cha!

tonight, katie and i went to our first ballroom dance lesson. it was incredible! who knew?! i have not taken a dance class since i was probably four. we learned some basic steps of the cha cha cha from a fabulous instructor named rosa at emotions in motion. i met rosa when she came to the under 21 group where i’m a facilitator, to show the kids how to dance the merengue. i was petrified before we went tonight… and for at least the first fifteen minutes, blushing and jittery. i felt like a teenager on stage at a talent show, but without a talent… so shy, and a bit of a joker. there were two other couples there, on this ladies’ only night. one clearly lesbian couple, and two older women named harriett and lucille, who i think were straight. so we were the youngest couple there by probably 30 years. we all wore traffic cone orange nametags. being completely sober and dancing in a brightly-lit room, in front of a mirror (and other people) is certainly different for me! wow.

it was my idea to start going to these dance lessons. i am not a dancer; i’m an athlete. katie b. is the dancer, yet i didn’t want to go for her, but for me. for both of us really, but it wasn’t some sacrifice i was making for her. i knew i would love it, and lately, i’ve been seeking activities that are far outside of my comfort zone. interactive, creative, different things that make me feel better, and make me a better person.

i’ll tell you the best part, though: that i am the leader. so katie is the better dancer, the one who has actually taken dance classes before, and i am the one leading her. i bring her body toward mine or away, lead her into a turn and bring her back. i use my strength to keep us tight, keep us going in the right direction. it felt so good! to be in control, to be in charge, to lead in a way that makes it easy to follow, which means, in part, not to have spaghetti arms, as katie pointed out.

i never thought i would actually go to a dance class, nor did i ever imagine i would love it so much. incredible! i'm a little in shock, and i wish kb felt better so we could be cha-cha-ing around the living room right now! i assumed it would just be something to laugh about because i would be terrible, stepping on katie’s feet, losing the beat. but i wasn’t, somehow! i got it, and we weren’t stumbling or fumbling. we got it. of course, it was basic and it was slow (that’s what rosa said, but it seemed wicked fast to me!). i felt so confident and physically good after we got out. i am excited that this is going to be a part of my life, and my relationship… and as cheesy as it might sound, i really think that the physical decision-making, the kinetic learning and the dynamic interaction that happens while we’re dancing can’t help but spill over into the rest of my (and our) life!

now I’ll probably dream in one-two-cha-cha-chas…!