My First Hip-Hop Class
So, this past Monday night, I attended my first dance class in almost a decade. Wow. It was quite an experience. Not at all what I thought it would be!
When I was in elementary and middle school, I was an avid dancer. I studied jazz for about 10 years, ballet for 2 years, and tap for 3 years. Gosh, it seems like a lifetime ago, but yeah...once upon a time, dance was my life. I'm not quite sure why I stopped. Probably school... Although I stopped studying dance, I still love to dance. When the music comes on, I start dancing!
In an effort to try to lose weight and not get bored, I decided to try a dance class that was offered at my gym. It was called "Power Dance" and the blurb said "Jazz-style dance moves are choreographed into low- and mixed-impact routines.". Reading this I thought, "that sounds great! I can do jazz!" I excitedly went to the gym.
Well, I got there five minutes early and was the only one there. At first, I thought that I had the wrong day/time/room, but then the instructor appeared. We were chatting and it was then that I learned that this was in fact an "urban hip hop" class. She told me that the website was wrong. Oh...awesome...
So, it was 8:05 (the class started at 8 pm) and there were only 3 of us --- not including the instructor. Wow. A very intimate class. I then learned that the other two participants were legit dancers, like the instructor, and they were all friends.
So, totally nervous and self conscious, the class began. The warm up overwhelmed me with a sense of nostalgia. We were doing to exact things that I did back in the day in my jazz classes! It was nice to see that I remembered everything! Then...the fun began.
As the hip-hop blared, the instructor showed us some really cool choreography. I mean..like..super cool. We had Usher and Pitbull playing and watching her dance, I was convinced that my instructor had been a dancer in the video for this song. She looked so cool. In fact, everyone looked super cool, except me. I looked ridiculous. Here I am, the token white girl, trying to pull off some hip hop moves, but failing miserably. Oh boy.
I just didn't have the fluid edginess required for this choreography. At one point, the instructor said to me, "Girlfriend, you need some attitude (snap on the attitude). You need to work the room like RuPaul!" I was totally speechless.I also found that I was not picking up the choreography quite as quickly as everyone else. To be fair, these people were professional dancers and had seen the choreography. I like to think that despite my novice status, I learned relatively quickly.
Well, I worked my butt off and that hour flew by! We danced the same routine about 20 times, practically back to back, and by the end of the class, my heart was RACING. Whilst my heart raced, my right shin ached. Part of the choreography required us to jump in the air, land in a squat, and then slide forward. I of course, jumped in the air, landed on my leg, and did a bizarre imitation of the slide. It was awful. To make matters worse, the instructor kept making me do it over and over again and because of the nature of the slide, I kept repeatedly hitting the sore spot on my shin. Amazing.
My heart racing, I hobbled out of the class and back to my apartment. The immediate after effects of this hip hop class were not so bad, but I am feeling it now. Two days later, I have a bruise/abrasion on my right shin and my butt/thighs/hamstrings are super sore; moving around hurts so much. Still, though I am in pain, I did really enjoy myself. It was nice participating in a dance class after a decade long hiatus. It is still something that I love and although the class had its awkward moments, I loved every minute.
It was also nice to do cardio, but not be on a machine. After a while, I start staring at the clock and I lose interest in going to the gym, because it gets predictable and boring. This dance class is like my wild card! I get to exercise, get my heart rate up, and burn calories, but most importantly, I get to have fun and relive a childhood passion! Can't wait for next Monday!
When I was in elementary and middle school, I was an avid dancer. I studied jazz for about 10 years, ballet for 2 years, and tap for 3 years. Gosh, it seems like a lifetime ago, but yeah...once upon a time, dance was my life. I'm not quite sure why I stopped. Probably school... Although I stopped studying dance, I still love to dance. When the music comes on, I start dancing!
In an effort to try to lose weight and not get bored, I decided to try a dance class that was offered at my gym. It was called "Power Dance" and the blurb said "Jazz-style dance moves are choreographed into low- and mixed-impact routines.". Reading this I thought, "that sounds great! I can do jazz!" I excitedly went to the gym.
Well, I got there five minutes early and was the only one there. At first, I thought that I had the wrong day/time/room, but then the instructor appeared. We were chatting and it was then that I learned that this was in fact an "urban hip hop" class. She told me that the website was wrong. Oh...awesome...
So, it was 8:05 (the class started at 8 pm) and there were only 3 of us --- not including the instructor. Wow. A very intimate class. I then learned that the other two participants were legit dancers, like the instructor, and they were all friends.
So, totally nervous and self conscious, the class began. The warm up overwhelmed me with a sense of nostalgia. We were doing to exact things that I did back in the day in my jazz classes! It was nice to see that I remembered everything! Then...the fun began.
As the hip-hop blared, the instructor showed us some really cool choreography. I mean..like..super cool. We had Usher and Pitbull playing and watching her dance, I was convinced that my instructor had been a dancer in the video for this song. She looked so cool. In fact, everyone looked super cool, except me. I looked ridiculous. Here I am, the token white girl, trying to pull off some hip hop moves, but failing miserably. Oh boy.
I just didn't have the fluid edginess required for this choreography. At one point, the instructor said to me, "Girlfriend, you need some attitude (snap on the attitude). You need to work the room like RuPaul!" I was totally speechless.I also found that I was not picking up the choreography quite as quickly as everyone else. To be fair, these people were professional dancers and had seen the choreography. I like to think that despite my novice status, I learned relatively quickly.
Well, I worked my butt off and that hour flew by! We danced the same routine about 20 times, practically back to back, and by the end of the class, my heart was RACING. Whilst my heart raced, my right shin ached. Part of the choreography required us to jump in the air, land in a squat, and then slide forward. I of course, jumped in the air, landed on my leg, and did a bizarre imitation of the slide. It was awful. To make matters worse, the instructor kept making me do it over and over again and because of the nature of the slide, I kept repeatedly hitting the sore spot on my shin. Amazing.
My heart racing, I hobbled out of the class and back to my apartment. The immediate after effects of this hip hop class were not so bad, but I am feeling it now. Two days later, I have a bruise/abrasion on my right shin and my butt/thighs/hamstrings are super sore; moving around hurts so much. Still, though I am in pain, I did really enjoy myself. It was nice participating in a dance class after a decade long hiatus. It is still something that I love and although the class had its awkward moments, I loved every minute.
It was also nice to do cardio, but not be on a machine. After a while, I start staring at the clock and I lose interest in going to the gym, because it gets predictable and boring. This dance class is like my wild card! I get to exercise, get my heart rate up, and burn calories, but most importantly, I get to have fun and relive a childhood passion! Can't wait for next Monday!
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