Day 2. "I thought she was going to eat me"

I get up and find that I'm sore. What? it's only been 2 classes! I would have done 3 classes if I stayed in Kamloops last night. Oh well. I get a fancy blue highlighter and plan out my days on my fancy brochure schedule.
I was told yesterday that I can't sit in on classes so there goes my plan of just bumming around the studio trying to be the spongiest sponge of knowledge I can be. I decide to take a level 1 jazz class at noon. This class won't have any of "the source kids" in it, they are probably all working their retail jobs to pay for classes. I'm sure I will see them later tonight and this class doesn't have one of them. This class is filled with a nice mix of people. Mostly older some I think are professionals who want some mid-day exercise, some who maybe used to dance in their younger years and still enjoy it, some who are new to dance but have a passion and are in the studio every chance they get, and this one guy who was about 40 who looked like he had never been in a dance class in his life my only thought was that he must be there to win the affections of someone in his life. There are lots of jazz shoes in this class.
I think that this class will be a nice mid day way to spend my time, to work on technique, and to simply take advantage of my time here. Holy $&!% again. I am dripping with sweat 10 minutes into the warm up, but I don't feel too bad about it. I was nowhere near as sweaty as the dude next to me. He took on the mental nickname "shirts" in my head. He came into class about 5 minutes late and looked like he came out of a hot yoga class he did in his shower. In addition to the drenched shirt he was wearing he had 2 shirts on hand for the sole purpose of wiping down is far too wet body. I am not exaggerating either. At one point he left class only to return in a different pair of pants.
This class goes well. A nice slow pace. After the 50 minute warm-up/conditioning bit we do some cross floor. Turns. He set out a turn combo I have done plenty of times before, and I do well. The teacher even calls on me to demonstrate for the class "hey, red shirt what's your name?" "me?" (I had just finished turning and was slightly disoriented. I demonstrate and people politely clap because they feel hay should.
The rest of class is relatively uneventful with one exception. The teacher is me. During the warm-up I thought that the teacher kind of reminded me of myself. Similar flexibility, height and build. He is a much more polished dancer though. cI hadn't thought much of it until going over the combo he asks the class "any questions, comments, concerns?". My brain perks up, "That's my line!" I yelp internally. "what's he going to do next, say cahier or kayak?" I ignore it and think of it as just a coincidence. A few minutes go by and he says it again "any questions, comments, concerns?" I try to ignore it. Then he says it! he added on! the way I add on! except he throws out a new one altogether "corvette's". I hadn't thought about corvette's being extended to the list but I suppose it could have a place. Clearly I am similar to this teacher.
Class ends and I have nothing but time to kill until the next class at 5:30 so I eat on a patio for lunch and then go sit in starbucks to type this out and finally walk over to the library to read my book a bit more. Back to the studio!
Jazz 2/3 with kevin Tookey. I'm looking forward to this class as I have taken a class from him before and he grew up dancing in Edmonton so I kind of know what to expect. The class feels very beautifully simple (and as expected, there are no jazz shoes in this class). Absolutely nothing complicated about any part of the class including wiggling around on the floor for a core warmup. Nice class, but it goes over time and the next teacher is eager to get started.
I have to change and physically sign up for the class and so I walk in 5 minutes late and 2 counts of 8 into the choreography. It's level 2 hip hop which I learned yesterday doesn't feel like an intermediate class. The movements are small and intricate with an emphasis on how the moves are to be done. The teacher tells us halfway through the class that we are too light, too soft, and simply not having an impact on him. He feels nothing from the class. Over the next half of the class he asks for more out of us and in many different ways explains what he wants and what we need to do to give it to him. Everyone picks it up, the swag and the sexiness picks up. We are supposed to be the sexiest and cockiest dancer in the room. We get split into 7 groups of 4 and you can see the anxiety of some people in the class and the teacher tells us this is good because most of the time we dance when it counts we are nervous whether a show, competition, or audition. "Practice dancing nervous." That's great advice I think. The class starts winding down and people are bringing more and more sexy cockiness. Some girl started dancing next to me (for more space, not because I'm special in any way) and while doing the combo the teacher was getting in her face trying to bring more character out of her and holy $&!% she was sexy in that moment. I thought she was going to eat me. And the thing is…. I wanted her to. I even said it to the teacher after class, while I thanked him, that I thought she would eat me, he laughed and understood how when the ladies get going it can be slightly distracting.
This brings me to a picture in the studio. In the one room I have had all my classes to this point there is a huge picture on the back wall of a women doing some sort of jump while dancing. The expression on her face is that of joy and ecstasy. The picture is also somewhat sexual as the lady is wearing a body suit that is see through with her nipples clearly on display. I think this is a good picture for a studio like this. It is for more professional and developed dancers, hopefully at a stage where they are aware and in tune with their sexuality. I think there is a some level of sexuality with most dancing and in a studio for young professionals it is appropriate. Certainly not a picture I would put in a family oriented studio. We do not need a bunch of pre-teens with exposed nipples jumping all around the place.
Again, the classes today were tremendous. I walked out of Harbour on a cool rainy dark Granville street with a smile on my face. This could easily be the backdrop for despair and loneliness but I am in a great mood from the classes I have taken and my time in Vancouver.
Back on the skytrain where I have a brief conversation with a girl who looked nervous and a couple of drunk guys telling me to invest. Yes, another great day.