Dance, Dance Revolution

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  San Isidro, Nicaragua
Friday, February 16, 2007

Meringue, Samba, Salsa, Regatón, and Cumbia are all types of Latin dances that Nicaraguans know and promise to teach me, but when it comes to actually setting a date in which to learn they always baulk. I learned when I tried to teach twirling to Nicaraguan girls that they don't learn dance moves by way of counts. They simply move their bodies or rather, mostly their hips to the music. There is no choreography and definitely no dance instruction. For them, dancing is taught before they can walk and encouraged in almost any social setting. And in the case of twirling, the baton is used more as a prop to assist with their dance moves than as the showcase presentation.
 
Conversely, Latinas teaching me how to do the meringue or any other dance has failed miserably. Their instruction involves putting on loud music and rotating those hips to where your mouth drops with envy and then stopping and saying, "Now it's your turn." At which point, I blush, give the finger wag and sit down. There is no way I could ever follow that up...
 
This past year, a good friend of mine, Karla and I struck a deal by which I would continue to give her English instruction and she would teach me how to dance. The English continued, with no dancing in return. However, Karla and another friend of ours, Marta did start walking in the mornings. We now walk an hour and half, speaking sometimes in English, but mostly they just chatter it up in Spanish. All this exercise and talk of improving their health has gotten back my other students in the English class and has recently pulled another into improving her health. Christina (my friend who gave me her earrings) and I were complaining that we didn't know how to dance, yet this was the only form of exercise she liked to do. The following week she came into class exclaiming to me that she had been working out to this dance video. I was ecstatic. I envisioned an 80's, Jan Fonda-sic, VHS masterpiece complete with leg warmers and neon unitards. After she sang its praises, she invited me to do it with her the following day.
 
Oh man, it's hilarious...the DVD is actually well made and the instruction is pretty good. We are learning some basic moves to all of the dances I mentioned, but it's pretty much glorified aerobics with dance instruction. There are now four of us cramped into a tiny living room step-ball-changing and arm pumping our way to becoming Dance Sensations. We meet daily and get our grove-on for 2 hours before having to call it quits. These women are mad about dancing and can't stop until they are soaked in sweat. I'm not sure my "dancing" has improved very much but it is a lot of fun to do it with them, and at some points I just have to stop, look around, and let out a loud laugh at myself.  
 
So watch out kids back home, I've put in my order for my very own pirated copy...so soon you'll be sweating to some salsa, and starting your own dance, dance revolution!

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