On Friday I
attended my last dance class. Belén, our
dance teacher, decided we were going to do something different. Instead of the usual dancing, some of us
stood in the middle of the room waving batons around our heads while some of us
beat time on African drums. I felt
foolish swinging the baton around and so I was more than happy to swap and sit
down with the drum and bang out a few choice beats. Belén explained that if we could beat out a
rhythm with our hands then we should be able to transfer the same ability to
our feet. To be honest I did find it
easier to keep rhythm with my hands. I
suppose that is because of my experience with playing guitar and piano. Many times in class I have been frustrated. Although I understood what was being asked of
me in a certain dance step I had great difficulty in actually doing it. I knew what I was supposed to do but my legs
wouldn’t follow; my brain and legs were not connected.
Thankfully
now after four months of dance lessons I have a better sense of rhythm in my
feet. This became apparent to me one
evening in the flat when I was cooking.
I had the radio on and Chris Rea was playing. It was his song ‘On the beach’ and as I stood
there stirring the onions and mushrooms I was tapping out the beat on the
kitchen floor. After I while I realised
that the beat was a cha cha cha.
Instinctively I stepped back with my left foot, first count uno, second
count on right foot, dos, left leg back to centre, count cha cha cha. Slight push through the woman’s left hand,
right foot forward, uno dos, cha cha cha.
I left the spoon in the pot and practiced my twists and turns in the
kitchen with an imaginary partner; move the hips a bit, not too much, un dos
cha cha cha. Chris sang and I
danced. I returned to my mushrooms with
a large smile on my face.
As an
exercise in explaining how a man must lead when dancing I had to dance with
another guy in class. We took turns at
being the lady. When I was the lady I
had to close my eyes and simply follow what the man was dictating. I realised then, with my eyes closed, the
importance of the man’s role. While he
was turning to the left I was still stepping forward and disaster would
ensue. This was because he was not
leading me properly. It is funny how
doing something with your eyes closed can be a real eye-opener. Most of the information is dictated through
the hands and arms. When a couple dances
there must be some tension in their arms.
While they embrace each other, the slightest push or pull by the man
indicates to the woman the direction of the next step. When there is the correct amount of tension
this signal will be communicated by the merest of muscle flexion by the
man. It may simply be the slight
squeezing of one hand or the gentlest of pushes felt through the arm or in the
case of the tango the man can use the palm of this hand on the woman’s back to
indicate she must swivel to one side and then the pressure from his wrist tells
her to swivel the other way. All very
ingenious, practical and logical.
After class
some of my fellow dance students were happy to pose for photos and some were
not so inclined. All of them were happy
enough to go for a drink afterwards in the bar around the corner. We spent an hour or so together chatting and
then everyone had to leave. There were
hugs and kisses all round as they wished each other well and promised to come
to classes again in July or August. They
all wished me well with my studies and hoped that if I were ever back in Oviedo
that I would pop into the class to say hello.
That was
Friday. The following day I hopped on a
plane to Valencia to see my brother. I
felt I needed a change of scenery and to be honest the constant rain in Oviedo
was getting me down. I have three weeks
before my next exam and I have a hell of a lot of reading to do. I think it would be better to do it while
sitting in the sun and enjoying the warmth of the Mediterranean breeze. Therefore I plan to stay with Gary over the
next three weeks, with a possible sortie to Tarragona to say hello to Emma
again. As I write it is just gone
midnight and I am sitting out on the balcony looking down at the swimming pool
surrounded by palm trees. It is warm and
the air is still and I can feel my body starting to relax. I anticipate a good night sleep tonight.
If you are
ever in Oviedo for a length of time you should think about taking up a few
dance classes with Belén. She teaches a
wide variety of dance styles including belly dancing, African dancing and of
course Ballroom Dancing. Here is a link
to her website which gives all the information you could possibly need.