Happy are those who can laugh at themselves because they'll never cease to be amused ;)

Okay so I need to write about today’s adventure cause I’m still chuckling about it and I think it will amuse horse people, dance people, and particularly the intersection of both ;).   And anyone else who enjoys physical comedy ;-P

What happens when you take a very confused beginner dancer with a lifetime of riding exp (particularly jumping - it’s relevant here), and try to incl a “booty roll” into the choreography?  

TLDR: a ridiculous mess that with the aid of that nasty little gremlin Hindsight, makes perfect sense.

Long version:

So - this class is definitely beyond my current capabilities.  And, those of you who’ve been here more than a heartbeat, will have guessed that I’m loving it ;).   Hey - at least in this activity, I’m unlikely to die from trying something beyond my abilities!  We’re gonna call that an adulting win and move on.

The first one part I was confuzled about (squirrel: you wouldn’t believe how hard I had to fight w autocorrect in TWO languages to allow me to make up my own word there - but it’s the perfect one so it’s worth the fight).  Anyways - the first one was a half turn.  I love turns, and usually not a problem, but what I hadn’t realized was this was a lazy turn.  😂.  The right foot had to stay in place and the left did all the moving.  I kept trying to move both and, suffice to say, that had me off by a beat every timel.   But once I learned to “leave the right foot behind” I never missed that one again.   Win.   That, to me, is a normal dance learning curve.  Maybe not?!?!  😂 I don’t have enough exp to judge that.  But it logically makes sense and the instructions for how to fix it were very clear and problem solved quickly.  All good.

So after that half turn, we logically need another half turn to be facing back where we started (in some worlds, this would be facing our partner - but this is a women-only styling class so my lack of dance partner isn’t such an issue ;).   Okay so half turn w lazy right leg cha-cha our way over a bit (that part’s easy and logical from the rest of the dance to this point), but then the next half turn is a booty roll?!?!

😂 I’m not sure I’ve ever even heard of that and was absolutely sure I had no idea how to do it.  While some people make it look graceful and/or sexy, I was (and still am) pretty convinced my version would look somewhat like an intoxicated robot.

I feel like this might actually be
*better* than my version

Fortunately - while pretty much everyone in the class has more dance exp than I do (and, plausibly, more natural talent), there wasn’t a lot of confidence w this one, so our fearless instructor broke it down.   And, conveniently, the woman next to me has belly dancing exp and suffice to say, nailed it on the first try.   Which gave me an example to work from ;)

So the standing still version I could do.  I mean - it felt awkward af, and I’m pretty sure when I try it later in the bathroom mirror, it’ll look just as awkward as I imagine.  But conceptually- my booty went out behind me and the rest of my body stayed pretty much where it should be.  (In related news - this requires the back to arch.  Today was the first workout since hurting myself a few weeks ago.  My back flexibility is currently in negative numbers.  Ow.)

Okay but then when we tried it w the turn?!?!  I did NOT fall.  For the record.  Cause a lifetime of balancing.  😂 But wow.  Upper body was forward, booty was NOT rolling anywhere, and there seemed no way to make it move and turn at the same time.

“Keep your shoulders up - you shouldn’t be leaning forward” 😂 yup thanks.  Got it - but WHY am I leaning forward.  What on earth triggered in my brain that when my hips go back, my shoulders go forward?   And why would that *stop* them from moving sideways?  Anybody??? ;-P

Ladies and gentlemen (and any other interested parties), might I introduce you to the 2-pt position.   Where survival is based on your ability to absorb a lot of motion by folding your hips.  And generally keeping a straight line is important if one wants to keep the horse between oneself and the ground.  And the shoulders come forward just enough to counterbalance the hips - so if the horse were photoshopped out, the rider should land, in balance, on the ground.

Those who know me know why it pains me to use this photo;
however, erase the horse and it's a great example of the position I ended up in on the dance floor ;)
PC: Horse Journals

Huh.  So, now we know why those two pieces are connected, but why could I do it correctly standing still and not moving?   I figured it out watching my classmate who excelled at it (and huge thanks to her for her patience!   She’s new too, so couldn’t slow it down, but could do it naturally and allowed me to stare at her multiple times while I figured it out.  She may be on the other side of the studio next week ;-P).   Anyways -  lightbulb moment: she had her legs straight - almost locked.  When moving, mine were bent - absorbing the jump as it were.  When standing, they were straight.   As soon as I tried it w legs straight, it worked.

But omg what a journey to get there 😂. All the help and instructions that were technically correct and likely the ones 98% of people learning need, but not the one piece I needed for my little brain to put it together.  Those who’ve been around for a while will know that’s status quo, but always interesting when learning a new thing from people who don’t know me.  It takes a while for the lateral thinking to kick in ;)

Anyways - it was a riot.   I’ll put some time in over the week and hopefully be less bad next week.   And I really am just shooting for “less bad” lol  today was technically correct but horribly bad (and still hands free of course!).   Baby steps ;).  But so much fun on the way.