January 16, 2018

African Dance Workout Edition

As a new staff member I’ve spent the last six months watching dance, writing about dance, talking about dance, but never actually doing any dance. This year though, I decided to take advantage of the class timetable that happens literally outside the office door every week day. So I’ve made the resolution to try a different dance class every week.

The first class I decided to try was African Dance Workout with Lola. Having always been intrigued in this style, I wanted to learn more. I felt surprisingly nervous in the hours leading up to the class. Questions such as will it be too hard? or will I embarrass myself? went swirling through my mind.

I got changed into my jazziest workout outfit, took a deep breath and I walked into the studio. I was greeted by the smiles of people already waiting, and as the room filled, an exciting buzz permeated the studio.

We began with an upbeat warm up, which  introduced to some of steps I had missed from the previous week.  We then built upon this, and by the middle of the class I had ‘caught up’ with the rest of the participants. The remainder of the class comprised of learning new steps. The style used African dance forms in a contemporary way, which made for a very enjoyable hour.

Overall, the class was challenging as a beginner, but Lola was very helpful in giving different options to different abilities, meaning that everyone felt involved. Gone were the fears of me embarrassing myself! It was physically challenging, but the uplifting music pushed me through the sweat and lack of breath (it is a workout after all!)

The class put me through my paces but I left feeling energised, uplifted and I walked home with a smile on my face.

Next week I’ll be trying Street Dance Beginners, read about it online, or better still, join me in class!