I was full of excitement when I read my friend Helena's ritual for me. She asked me to go and participate in a dance class that I have never done before. I have always wanted to get into Arican Dance. It is one of the most joyful, beautiful, carefree, active dances I have ever seen. I explored online and was struggling to find a class that I would feel comfortable in coming in as a beginner as I was. Then my exploration brought me to Heartbeat House, http://www.heartbeathouse.com and I fell in love with this place before I even went! Its hard especially in LA with all the professional dancers to find a dance center that offers classes that do not have a competitive feel and are geared for adults. Heartbeat House is it! Its in Atwater Village right off Los Feliz. The studio is pretty small, just two rooms. One as the waiting room and one dance room with a full length mirror on one side and a hard wood floor. I watched the previous class finish, which was Burlesque Ballet. Ballet with a sexy twist. They did a beautiful routine that was really sassy and I ached to join in, maybe next week. When I signed in they told me that for all new students there is a special where you can do $5/class for your first week! This is amazing..I can actually take 5 classes for the price of 1.
Our teacher was Doris and damn did she give us all a workout. I was sweating bullets and my heart was pounding out of my chest. We did a wonderful workout and then we started to build a routine. I soo miss having a routine to dance to. I have been doing some Contact improv dance which has also been amazing but I miss some structure. We broke into groups and performed taking turns. I felt exhilarated and couldn't help by having this big stupid grin plastered on my face. You can't help express yourself when you are dancing African.
I have felt this void inside my chest that only dance can fill. Its one of my major modes of expression and didn't realize that I had missed it so much. Thank you Helena for giving me this opportunity to rediscover dance and reintegrate it into my life.
I am soo sore today. I love that feeling. How could I want to sit in a gym, sitting stationary lifting weights that are clunky and painful versus engaging in full body bliss dancing my heart out? I feel sore from top to bottom. I don't think I have ever danced before where my actual shoulders, back, arms, stomach, and legs are all sore and feel so good.
YAY!
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