Shimmy and Sculpt

When I was a child, I took ballet lessons. I pointed my toes with the best of them. I knew how to do a port de bras or a pas de chat. I had all the Princess ballet annuals. I went to watch the NAPAC ballet company in every show they put on. I read all the Lorna Hills books - a Dream of Sadlers Wells and all the sequels and prequels. But when it came to the shows, I was always in the really sucky dances - the drum majorettes and the Hiawatha dances, usually with kids 2 years younger than me - and that was because I really sucked at ballet.

I went to a Zumba class today at Curves. I think I smiled for 30 mins straight - I used all the muscles in my body AND the muscles in my face.

The pity is that I still really suck at dancing - if I'd seen the sign that said "Shimmy and Sculpt" (on some of the Curves banners) I might not have been brave enough to try. I tried belly dancing once - and shimmy is totally beyond me. I should be good at it - once the shaking starts there is a lot of belly to keep moving - but I really am not. I lack the co-ordination to make my arms, shoulders, belly and hips as well as my feet, work together all at the same time. I gave up belly dancing when I got tangled in the veil and just about strangled myself when I was supposed to be twirling gracefully round.

Fortunately, the sign at my Curves said "Hold on to your Sports Bra," so I gave the Zumba class a try. The thought that I needed a sports bra was enough to encourage me - after a sedentary life where every time the urge to exercise overcame me, I would lie down until the urge went away, it was quite exciting to think I might need some sporty clothing.

And I LOVED the class. The music is catchy, Ruth, the instructress, is very encouraging, the moves are all such fun and I worked harder than I ever do on the circuit alone. As I say, the pity is that I suck at it. The rhythm is there, the understanding of the moves is there, but my body just won't do what it is supposed to. In my head, I am a quick learner, but my body is definitely a slow learner.

But I'm not giving up! I would like to go again tomorrow and try and learn some of the moves. Maybe I need to find the video and practise some of the moves on my own. It took me forever to learn to tap dance, and now I'm not too bad - at least I know what to do when she says "flap-ball-change" or "crab roll." I really still suck, but my teacher just laughs when I screw up and gives me steps that I can do - and tells me I am great, even though I'm not.

I don't think there really is a dancer in me, but I'm going to keep going. Maybe once I have Zumba under my belt, I might even give belly dancing another try. And I might even learn to shimmy and sculpt.