It was obvious from a young age that I was never going to be a dancer. What I gather from childhood stories is that “she’s just very tall for her age,” was a kind way of my dance teachers saying that I was not particularly light-footed or graceful! Ballet, nor any other type of dance, was ever going to be my strong point. I’ll admit that I tend to be clumsier than elegant and despite having a relatively musical ear, I cannot move my (quite big) feet in time to the beat.
So it was with some apprehension that I said yes to ballroom dancing lessons with my roommate. It did not bode well when my partner joked “Tu es grande, ca fait mal aux épaules” (You're tall, it hurts my shoulders)… Thanks Antoine. I would like to add that I am not abnormally tall (5ft 10) and neither do I have giant feet (size 8) but I am not the dainty ballerina type. Antoine, however, has his own problems and together we fumbled through the steps of the first two lessons much to the amusement of our teacher. I thought it couldn’t get much more entertaining until the teacher decided to take me as an example, unaware that I was not French and was struggling to understand the instructions. It was slightly awkward when I held his hand instead of putting it on his shoulder – don’t judge my French, I was nervous!!
Four classes in and despite not being a natural I have improved a lot and I love it. Hands down the best part of my week and I would recommend anyone to give it a go.
Have you ever tried ballroom dancing?
