Much has happened since my last update two weeks ago. The following is the fourth of a six-part series.
This is Part 4: Dancing the Stress Away
I have been listening to a lot of music...but not Korean music. It's been interesting how you sometimes gain an appreciation for the things that you had when you become distant from those things.
I have a large collection of music, and as I listen to the songs I inevitably run into songs that evoke memories of my dancing days; mainly salsa and swing. And for the past two weeks, I had been DYING to get back into social dancing (it is an incredibly small niche in Korea; most everyone has never done social dancing).
So I asked around among my ETA friends, and lo-and-behold we have dancers. Good ones. Many know swing and salsa so we decided to make something happen.
The first night, five people showed up and we hosted lessons on the basics. Two nights ago (Sunday) we had a group of maybe 20, 6 of who were the language teachers (and who ended up being the most unfamiliar with and consequently most enthusiastic learners). Tonight I missed the third lesson to catch up here online (we're reviewing basics).
The extent to which I felt rejuvenated and alive after salsa-dancing with another ETA for just three songs and swing-dancing for just two songs astounded me. Dance--much less social dance--is a small niche even in America but which has gained prominence with the rise of popular TV shows. Here, dance is incredibly popular but the idea of social dancing is unheard of, especially in light of the social conservatism still upheld with respect to dating and the gender divide. It exists, but I think it is a tiny --but lively, as all groups of dancers tend to be--community in Korea. I look forward to finding opportunities that will help me recall my dancing shoes.
No comments:
Post a Comment