Hip Hop

Sorry there has been so long in between blogs but I have a couple in my pocket. First I want to share my experience of my first step into the adult hip-hop world. It all started when I was watching the Real World (yes, I still watch the Real World) on a Wednesday night. One of their cast members is really into hip hop and was taking a few classes. I thought to myself... gosh I like to really bust a move on the dance floor in clubs, I think this looks like an awesome time. So low and behold at work the next day I google my city and hip hop. I stumble across a dance studio that had an adult beginner hip-hop class starting in two days that was only a few minutes from my house! I was PUMPED! I couldn't stop thinking about it and even jammed to rap at my desk for the next two days to really get into the mood. I even expressed to my husband that I hope that there weren't going to be a lot of people screwing off because I really wanted to jam not just have a social hour....although I had no one to socialize with since I couldn't convince any of my friends to join me.

Anyway first night of class I show up to find various dance studios with numbers on their doors which all opened up into a big open space for the parents to sit and watch their kids dance on the monitors. The place was crawling with kids. Little ballerinas running about... little tap shoes whizzing by me... complete and utter mayhem. Needless to say I felt a little out of place seeing I was 15+ years older than their oldest dancer there. I almost felt like I was back in middle school waiting to be ridiculed by one of these young whipper snappers wondering who the old lady in the corner was. Luckily more uncomfortable girls filed in the door with no kids at their side.

After 15 minutes of feeling completely out of place we were told we could enter our dance studio. It felt as if they had booked the class to twice the capacity of the room size because we were basically jammed in there like sardines. The instructor took roll call and off we went. She turned on some catchy jingle and proceeded with her 'warm up.' Before I knew it she was bopping side to side, twisting her neck, doing some pelvic thrusts... it was moving pretty fast. But.. I rolled with it moving along as best I could and thought, well this is just warm up.. she'll break down the moves when we come to the dance portion. She introduced our first song to us and I was pretty much in awe. She chose a song that has one of the fastest beats I have ever heard. For any of you rap/hip-hop fans it was Universal Mind Control by Common. So she demonstrated our first set of steps at a break neck speed and looks back at us and says "ok?" We all look at each other like "WTF lady!" And this is how the class proceeds. We try the set of steps a few times flailing about and she looks back at us and says "OK? Let's move on." At this point I am feeling pretty low. I am not turning out to be the dancing prodigy I thought I was destine to become. Rather I am a girl caught in a shoulder lock between the most uncoordinated girl in the class and a guy who can't do any moves wrong. Then there is me. The tall lady who is trying to get the steps but whose feet just don't move that fast and as a result I am often times a couple steps behind which can make a real mess when there is no room to move. I went home that first night feeling a little bit dejected. My husband thought it was hilarious that I was so bad when I thought I would be so good. My only option was to practice. Over the next week I practiced in the mirror when no one was looking. I practiced holding my daughter since she wouldn't tell. I practiced with the dog in the room which would get him all fired up.

I went back to class the next week all fired up that I pretty much knew the steps and I would definitely be one of the best dancers now! Well I did not anticipate that she expected everyone to have learned the steps the class before and again we began building on the routine at a break neck speed. I soon started to bond with a couple of other hooligans in the class. As the weeks progressed I became one of those slackers at the back of class that was laughing, talking, and just trying to have a good time in spite of the fact that my dancing skills lacked. At one point one of my new found friends came to the class drunk. She thought it would help her loosen up. I thought it wasn't a bad idea until I noticed she was not doing much dancing at all but really just hanging out at the side of the room laughing most of the class.

All in all we learned 3 dances... all with ridiculously fast beats and equally as fast movements. The instructor did make a comment at one point that she really wasn't teaching this as a beginners class but more intermediate. Ridiculous. As the weeks passed on and she would turn around after watching herself doing it perfect in the mirror and ask "Ok? Can we move on?" Often times I would respond with "No, not OK!" and other members of the class would look over at me grateful for speaking up. One time I even piped up to ask when the freestyle portion of the class would take place. She said deadpan that there was no freestyle portion. Geesh!

At our last class the instructor handed out a certificate of completion to everyone and mentioned that since this class was an obvious hit they would be having another one next session. Yeah, no. That night I went home and did a little demonstration of my new found dance skills to my husband. He watched in pure joy as I flailed, spun, and jumped my way around the family room. When I was done he was practically doubled over in hysterics. Apparently all I had learned at hip-hop dance was how to make people laugh. I huffed off and proudly hung my certificate on the frig. Bring it on Beyonce.