You know that feeling when you're falling in love? The butterflies in the belly, the can't stop thinking about the object of your affections, the listening to songs that remind you of them? That's me right now. Except, it's for dance. Yeah, that's right, I'm falling for salsa and bachata. Like seriously though, that's the closest way I can explain this feeling.
So, on Halloween, me and husband went to see our actor friend's show in Ebisu. It was all in Japanese and covered some difficult topics, such as racism, fast fashion and wastefulness, etc. After the show, I wasn't sure how much of it I really understood. We met up with our friend in the show for drinks after and talked about it in English, and I apparently really did get the meaning! Like, some of the small conversational details and jokes I missed, but I actually understood the most important parts of the story! This is the second fully in-Japanese theatre performance I've witnessed. The other was of another amazing actor friend, and it was more comedy and slightly easier to follow.
I was already planning to meet my best friend who made me try salsa after this. He taught me some of the basics so he could practice with me, and the first event I went to, he performed at. His salsa people were having their weekly lesson and biweekly social dance on Halloween. Husband isn't into dance like me, so he was on the fence about going, but we got a free trial lesson, as it was our first time, so he ended up trying it out. Our actor friend also gave it a try!
They learned the basics, and then as soon as the social dance part came around, I was ready to dance all night! They both left to grab drinks, and I hit the dance floor. About 3 dances in, they came back, and they were like...already itching to leave. Luckily our actor friend had to meet up with his cast for drinks too, because this was their last performance, and husband wanted to get to know them too, so he made his escape and tagged along! Meanwhile, I danced with some amazing dancers, some of whom I'd already met and danced with a bit at the other event I went to and it was SO FUN! So, both me and my husband ended up partying and missing our last train together in Ebisu, while Shibuya Halloween insanity happened one train stop away.
At around 11:25, after some kind of cuban salsa dance circle thingy that confused both me and my friend, the dancers started talking about their last trains, which I had completely ignored. I grabbed my phone (also ignored) right when husband called, and told him I'd been dancing and wanted to continue, and he said he was having fun and also wanted to continue XD Buuuut then the dancing stared to fizzle, and so did husband's group, so we met up (I got to meet the actors, and it was cool seeing what they were really like as people), and walked as far as we could which was a little beyond Yoyogi park before giving up and ¥5000 taxi-ing it home.
Now, I am constantly thinking and talking about dancing, listening to bachata music, and plotting and planning the next event I can go to. I tried west coast swing recently which seems to be kind of like the bachata of the swing dance world, but while I loooooove bachata, I just can't figure out west coast swing, and I'm not entirely sure yet if I want to... Everyone I met at the 2 west coast swing events I tried was SUPER nice and welcoming and a lot knew pretty good English too.
My favorite dances in order, right now are maybe bachata, salsa, then Lindy hop/east coast swing. I looked up a bit of background info about salsa and bachata, because I knew that they are Latin dances, but not much beyond that. I was pleasantly surprised to find that bachata is originally Dominican. I am half-Dominican, but never really had a chance to connect with that half of me since I was a child. Divorce, moving from New York to West Virginia, I forgot the little I did know.
This Sunday after my play rehearsal, there is an event with the west coast swing people that has a west coast swing lesson AND bachata lesson, and social dance, so I'm thinking to give west coast swing another (3rd) chance, and if I still don't get it, at least I can bachata!
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