Bollywood Dance

For a while now I've been wanting to learn Bollywood dance. When I got back from Hawaii in January, I got in touch with a local woman who does dance instruction on evenings and weekends and set something up. Today my friend Lauren and I went to our very first lesson, which took place in her home studio. We had a total blast. For an hour we learned basic moves, which require more coordination than I imagined, and then put it together in a set of four moves.

One interesting thing I learned is Bollywood dance moves are descriptive of the lyrics, so if the song says something about women, there are specific feminine moves that illustrate that word. It's sort of like sign language with a beat.

The thing I love the most? It's all about the hips.

I was so inspired by the dance session today that I came home this afternoon, turned Pandora to the Contemporary Bollywood station (sorry, Andrew - you are a wonderful man for letting me explore my passions), and made a delicious Indian-inspired dinner: chick peas in a spicy fragrant tomato gravy served with yogurt and naan. It was unbelievable. All my vegetarian friends need to know about this dish. I'll post the recipe in a few days.

Anyone else have any experience with Bollywood dance? Do you love it as much as I do??

Tell Me Somethin' Good

image source: Time Life

I have had a rough week so far, and it stems from my inability to say no.  My weekend was nonstop and my evenings have been scheduled to the point where I'm trying to get daily chores in before I head to work, arriving late to the irritation of my boss, and still falling behind on everything I need to do to keep life running smoothly.  When my days are 7am to 10pm and the laundry hours in my building are 8am to 9pm, it's no wonder I've got a laundry crisis of overwhelming proportions happening in my bedroom this very moment.  I've been raiding the freezer for a week and baking "quick" breads in the morning because I haven't been to the store.  

It really stresses me out, and while I'm militantly protecting my workout time like a bulldog at a junkyard, I still feel out of control of the rest of my daily life.  This puts a giant weight on my chest, as though the breath is being squeezed out of me.  I don't like having this negative attitude, and in my role at work where I am constantly interfacing with vendors, clients, consultants, and staff, it is imperative that I suppress my desire to grumble at everyone who seems to get in my way and instead put on a happy face. So I'm coping.

For this, I turn to music.  I learned as a choirgirl that even when I was in a terrible mood and stressed about this, that, and the other thing, going to choir practice and just singing made me feel a whole lot better.  I can't be in a bad mood when I sing - it's physically impossible for me.  However, singing isn't necessarily appropriate when, say, I'm at the gym, or sitting at my desk in our very resonant office.  Because of this, I have a similar outlet: dance - also not office appropriate.  Even when I can't dance, though, I imagine dancing and this seems to work.

I learned this coping technique when I was on the treadmill, believe it or not.  It was mile 5 of a 7-mile run and even though I had my ipod cranked, it was grueling.  Then a song came on, and I found myself envisioning choreographing a dance to the song.  I became so engrossed in this imagined dance, I stopped paying attention to how tired I was and the way my shoe was rubbing on my arch.  I tried this with the next song that came on.  It was like magic!

Today, I'm employing the "fantasy choreography" method to my day.  My co-worker Carol lent me her We Got The Funk cd for the day, and I am currently imagining a spirited dance to "Let It Whip."  It's helping.  Rather than grumbling through the afternoon, I am grooving and shaking to the lyrics: Whip it baby; whip it right; whip it baby; whip it all night!  You should see the dance I've dreamed up.  On second thought, I'll keep it to myself.

A+ for Enthusiasm

image via cnet news

I don't think people really believe it until they see it:  I am a shameless dancer.  I don't mean, after a few drinks at a wedding, when "Louie Louie" comes on at a Mariner's game, or only in front of my closest friends; I mean anywhere, any time.  Grocery store is playing my jam?  I'm be-boppin' down the aisles picking out my cereal.  No joke.  If you're an insecure person, don't go anywhere with me that might be playing hits from the 80s or 90s; you will, guaranteed, be mortified.

That being said, there's a brand new game out that's perfect for a gal like me: Xbox Kinect's Dance Central.  While I don't personally have this game (yet), our good friends got one over the holidays and invited us over to play the other night.  It is so awesome.  Included in the song list are classic hits of my era, such as "Poison," by Bel Biv Devoe.  When it came to my turn, I chose that song and danced the hell out of it.  I may not have hit every move, but I definitely earned points among the group for putting forth unabashed effort.