The Knight of Disks
I remember the night he asked me to dance. We were in the hot, steamy ballroom that sat on the second floor of the old building downtown. There was no air conditioning and probably no insulation in the walls, either. You get a hundred plus sweaty bodies in there on a July night and it heats up pretty fast - in more ways than one, I might add. But, that's not what I'm here to talk about.
I had been taking salsa lessons for a year and a half. Lessons once a week and then out dancing to practice twice a week. I'm not a natural dancer. As a child I was nicknamed "Grace" because I had a tendency to trip over my own feet. But with that much regular practice, even a klutz can learn a little something. He walked over to the corner where I was sitting and offered me his hand. I was excited and nervous that he was asking me to dance, because he was one of the best. I had watched him dance many times, admiring his command and his partner's, well, grace! I felt myself trembling a little as I got to my feet and followed him to the dance floor. The music started and as he twirled me for the first time, the walls of the dance hall became a blur. I locked my gaze to his - something I had learned in lessons - to help me follow. It wasn't hard though. My body was responding to his lead, without my brain interfering. He swung me out away from him, and then back again. Around I went in a twirl. I could feel his hips swaying back and forth as mine did the same. A drop of sweat was rolling down my chest as my breath came harder. The tempo was increasing as it always did. Out I spun away from him, and then just as quickly back again. Only this time he stopped and held me close to his body. Our eyes were inches apart. So were our lips. The music played on, but we didn't. I waited - for his hands and body to move us both forward in the dance. My heart was pounding. And then we were moving again, our bodies pumping with the music, swinging out and back again. I started laughing. Dancing is so much fun! And then the music stopped. He thanked me for the dance and walked away. I was breathing heavily - not only from the dancing. The blood was pounding in my ears. My legs felt shaky as I sat down in my seat. Whew! Dancing - the vertical expression of a horizontal desire. But, that's not what this is about. The point of this story is that after a year and a half of effort, I could keep up with one of the best salsa dancers out there! I was reaping the harvest of my hard work. But it wasn't only dancing ability that I harvested. I got a little something extra. The spark of connection and the confidence to dance with the best. The gift of the Knight of Disks!
I remember the night he asked me to dance. We were in the hot, steamy ballroom that sat on the second floor of the old building downtown. There was no air conditioning and probably no insulation in the walls, either. You get a hundred plus sweaty bodies in there on a July night and it heats up pretty fast - in more ways than one, I might add. But, that's not what I'm here to talk about.
I had been taking salsa lessons for a year and a half. Lessons once a week and then out dancing to practice twice a week. I'm not a natural dancer. As a child I was nicknamed "Grace" because I had a tendency to trip over my own feet. But with that much regular practice, even a klutz can learn a little something. He walked over to the corner where I was sitting and offered me his hand. I was excited and nervous that he was asking me to dance, because he was one of the best. I had watched him dance many times, admiring his command and his partner's, well, grace! I felt myself trembling a little as I got to my feet and followed him to the dance floor. The music started and as he twirled me for the first time, the walls of the dance hall became a blur. I locked my gaze to his - something I had learned in lessons - to help me follow. It wasn't hard though. My body was responding to his lead, without my brain interfering. He swung me out away from him, and then back again. Around I went in a twirl. I could feel his hips swaying back and forth as mine did the same. A drop of sweat was rolling down my chest as my breath came harder. The tempo was increasing as it always did. Out I spun away from him, and then just as quickly back again. Only this time he stopped and held me close to his body. Our eyes were inches apart. So were our lips. The music played on, but we didn't. I waited - for his hands and body to move us both forward in the dance. My heart was pounding. And then we were moving again, our bodies pumping with the music, swinging out and back again. I started laughing. Dancing is so much fun! And then the music stopped. He thanked me for the dance and walked away. I was breathing heavily - not only from the dancing. The blood was pounding in my ears. My legs felt shaky as I sat down in my seat. Whew! Dancing - the vertical expression of a horizontal desire. But, that's not what this is about. The point of this story is that after a year and a half of effort, I could keep up with one of the best salsa dancers out there! I was reaping the harvest of my hard work. But it wasn't only dancing ability that I harvested. I got a little something extra. The spark of connection and the confidence to dance with the best. The gift of the Knight of Disks!
posted by Amanda at 10:55 AM
0 comments
