Let's Get Moving

Dance has become one of the best ways to work on me!

A little more about my decision to finally step into a dance studio in New York City

If we were to go back to my first blog post, the one where I decided to share 20 specific facts about me, one of those would say that I love to dance, and secretly wish I were a dancer on Dancing with the Stars (DTWS). That wish still lives deep within me, and despite being pretty sure that I will never on this lifetime become a professional dancer on the show, who knows. Maybe if reincarnation is actually a thing I could come back for my next life as a professional dancer, but really if I were to reincarnate as anyone please dear Lord... let it be Beyonce. 

All joking aside, dance has always been a part of my life. I have always had some sort of connection to dance. Being through music, dance lessons with friends, Mini TK’s (or however that's spelled) which were literally all the rave when everyone in Colombia (my generation) was about 12 years old and wanted to pretend to be older (hormones starting to rage) and have a clubbing like party. The point is dance has always been there, also because of my culture and the country I grew up in. I mean, from Cumbia, to Salsa, Merengue, Joropo, Mapalé, Champeta, Reguetton.. the number of dances that Colombia offers is pretty extensive and the people are always moving to the beat, smiling, and living happy. I mean, you might think you know about Colombia but Narcos is not the definition of my Country, and we were actually named the happiest country in the world a few years back. I truly believe dancing had a lot to do with that. 

So, in an effort to step out of my @Soulcycle comfort zone and return to my dancing roots, as well as to do something I love, I have taken on dancing. Finally deciding to book a class at a dancing studio took a while. Living in New York I am very well aware that there are a million options (I'll make sure to follow up with a post on my favorite dance studios), but even though I may not come across as a shy person, I am pretty shy. And dancing in a room facing a mirror with a bunch of strangers can be seriously intimidating, don’t get me wrong though… I love being in the front LOL (huge dissonance here, I know). Also, even though I talk a bunch and advocate self love and confidence.. all my talk is many times to fight against my own negative thoughts and moments of self doubt. I literally talk to myself, and tell myself pretty things. Because of this, finally making the decision to book a class at a studio, and go by myself, took a lot of determination, but once i finally did it there was absolutely no looking back. 

Truth be told, I should be doing less dancing, less Soul and definitely less Metcon 3 (super awesome class at @equinox) and focus on running… after all November keeps getting closer and that means Marathon. But, at the moment my body is not wanting to run, my mind is simply not in it and neither is my heart… so I'm going to listen to my body & my corazón. Honestly, dance has become my favorite way of destressing and it has actually helped in the everyday process of learning to value my body a lot more. Confession time, I have not been feeling my best in terms of body image over the past couple of weeks but even if just for an hour dancing has kept me sane and happy, and that's truly what matters. 

So far I have tried African inspired dance classes, more Zumba style classes, and the one that scared and still scares me the most, Hip-Hop. I don’t know what is it about hip hop that seriously feels alien. Play me some salsa, merengue or reguetton and I'll be soooo in my zone. But give me hip hop, and furthermore super fast choreographed hip hop and things get really intense and my head just wants to explode and my feet just don’t want to keep up. But that's exactly what I love about dancing, and about taking on styles that I am not really used to. Hip Hop is pushing me beyond what I’m used to, it’s making me much more confident, I feel, and I actually do want to become a better dancer and better at hip hop, so I will definitely be sticking to those classes. Also, I need to add Ballroom, Jazz, Tap, Broadway inspired, Belly Dance, Contemporary... the options are endless! 

I guess that the end goal of this post, other than to talk about dancing, is to invite people to push themselves out of their comfort zones. Find that one thing that you might love or are really interested in but have been scared or shy to try and just do it. Cheesy moment now… Don’t let the fear of maybe not being the best at something, or the dreaded fear of what others might think, keep you from trying the things you want to try and from doing the things you love. In the end it's about you, so focus on what makes YOU happy! 

Remember, love yourself always ♥

XO, 

Maritza