I usually go to Bangkok every Winter for about a month or so, mainly to get away from the cold for awhile, also because I have many friends there and it is just a short flight away from here (4 hrs). It was in January of 2008 that I was in Bangkok and I realized that all I did every year in Bkk was shop, eat, watch movies and go out clubbing sometimes with my friends. I was bored and wanted to do something new....learn something new. Maybe it was because I was older and you know how it is when you get older, you suddenly want to do something that seemed boring to you when you were younger. Youth really is wasted on the young! :P I was also stressed about some personal matters and needed to do something to get my mind off things but I wanted to do something that would also be constructive. So I decided to sign up for a baking course, I found a two day baking course in English at a place called Macaron with Chef Eric Perez who was a very nice gentleman married to a very nice Thai lady. I enjoyed the class...but honestly, I never even attempted to make the delicious croissants, sour dough bread etc... (I've forgotten what else) ever again. :P
After my dreams of baking wonderful cakes and pastries died, I was considering taking a class in Ikebana because I had taken a few classes here in Bhutan with a Japanese lady. As I was going to the mall (again) I saw a sign about a dance school and it was a 5 min walk from where I was staying so I walked in and asked about classes. They had many styles of dance from Salsa (on 2) ie- New York style salsa, belly dancing, hip hop and even pole dancing. I would just like to say that there is a big misconception about pole dancing as most people link it with strippers or whatever. It is in fact an art and I know this because I have some friends that take pole dancing ( not here in Bhutan of course) as a hobby and a few who are instructors and it takes great discipline, strength, endurance and flexibility. So, for people who think of only naked women going around a pole when we say pole dancing...I think it's time to broaden your mind and also get yourself more educated.
Coming back to the topic, I signed up for the ladies beginner solo class ( no partners) and the beginner class with partners. My teacher was a man named Luis from Mexico who sometimes called us senorita. He was nice. There were about 5 or 6 women in the solo class and only one other couple and me in the other class. I was told to wear something comfortable for both classes. So, I went for my first salsa class oblivious of how much that decision will change my life. We did warm up exercises and learned the basics. After class, I walked back to my apartment with a skip in my step and that was when I realized that during that one hour of class, my mind was completely empty of other thoughts! The only thing I was concentrating on were learning the steps and trying to do them right. It was almost like a sort of meditation! But it wasn't as difficult as actual meditation and it was fun! I think that's pretty much the exact time I was hooked. It was around the 3rd or 4th class that this Japanese lady who was in the class with me from the very beginning started talking to me because she noticed that we both had the same watch and she liked my leopard print sweatshirt (she still loves anything leopard print). Her name is Chika and you will be reading alot about her in the following posts because she is now not only a very dear friend of mine but completely crazy (in a good way) and interesting and I have a feeling that somehow everything dance related in my life will in some way involve her. I will dedicate my next post to her....with her permission of course. (She doesn't know about this blog yet).
That is, in a nutshell, how I discovered dancing. :)
After my dreams of baking wonderful cakes and pastries died, I was considering taking a class in Ikebana because I had taken a few classes here in Bhutan with a Japanese lady. As I was going to the mall (again) I saw a sign about a dance school and it was a 5 min walk from where I was staying so I walked in and asked about classes. They had many styles of dance from Salsa (on 2) ie- New York style salsa, belly dancing, hip hop and even pole dancing. I would just like to say that there is a big misconception about pole dancing as most people link it with strippers or whatever. It is in fact an art and I know this because I have some friends that take pole dancing ( not here in Bhutan of course) as a hobby and a few who are instructors and it takes great discipline, strength, endurance and flexibility. So, for people who think of only naked women going around a pole when we say pole dancing...I think it's time to broaden your mind and also get yourself more educated.
Coming back to the topic, I signed up for the ladies beginner solo class ( no partners) and the beginner class with partners. My teacher was a man named Luis from Mexico who sometimes called us senorita. He was nice. There were about 5 or 6 women in the solo class and only one other couple and me in the other class. I was told to wear something comfortable for both classes. So, I went for my first salsa class oblivious of how much that decision will change my life. We did warm up exercises and learned the basics. After class, I walked back to my apartment with a skip in my step and that was when I realized that during that one hour of class, my mind was completely empty of other thoughts! The only thing I was concentrating on were learning the steps and trying to do them right. It was almost like a sort of meditation! But it wasn't as difficult as actual meditation and it was fun! I think that's pretty much the exact time I was hooked. It was around the 3rd or 4th class that this Japanese lady who was in the class with me from the very beginning started talking to me because she noticed that we both had the same watch and she liked my leopard print sweatshirt (she still loves anything leopard print). Her name is Chika and you will be reading alot about her in the following posts because she is now not only a very dear friend of mine but completely crazy (in a good way) and interesting and I have a feeling that somehow everything dance related in my life will in some way involve her. I will dedicate my next post to her....with her permission of course. (She doesn't know about this blog yet).
That is, in a nutshell, how I discovered dancing. :)
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| Dancing is freedom! :) I like the part from 3:11. |
