Dancing

It seems they have started a ballroom and latin dance class on Saturday nights at the youth center where I volunteer. I was strongly opposed to participating when I arrived, but - as typically proves to be the case with dancing - I was dragged into it kicking and screaming and then had so much fun that I was disappointed when it ended. The nice thing about ballroom and latin dancing is that, like square and contra dancing, the vocabulary of body motions is pretty well defined. That means you don't have to go out there and come up with something spontaneously, which I find terribly uncomfortable and off-putting. Anyway, I got into the dancing quite quickly, and after a few minutes people were making impressed comments about all of the hip action. Go me. (That was during the latin dances, as ballroom dance posture is rather rigid.) I had trouble with being a good follower at first, especially with the ballroom dances, as I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to my body. Once I grew accustomed to being led, however, I simply closed my eyes and let my partner guide us in circuits around the room.Now, I have had some exposure to dancing in the past. In addition to learning a bit peripherally through being married to a modern dancer, there was a period of time during which I went contra dancing regularly. I always enjoyed it immensely, and the end of the night always came far too quickly. However, dancing never affected me quite as powerfully as the class last night did... a difference I ascribe to the cumulative effect of hormones. I was feeling terribly romantic and more than a little "frisky" by the time the class ended, and would love to start taking real classes. In fact, I think I just might do that...