Travels and Dancing 31
I could write a 6000 words blog post about each day or week of my life, if I did it at the perfect intersection: soon enough to remember everything that happened and further enough from it that I’d have some insights on it.
But as my travels continue, I’m finding that pieces of amazingness are slipping through my fingers and my thoughts. What I do know, is how grateful I am for the life I have. I have secluded myself from others and outside noises so much in the last month, by necessity, my body demanded it, and by choice, to have time to reflect, see where I’m at in life and where I want to go. This is most likely the middle of my life and far from having a crisis, I’m realizing how align most things are. Not all, but most. Of course, the one interrogation point that might stay like that forever, is the idea of a family. It might be jet lag, it might be tiredness, it might be different food choices, it might be so many things, but I think it is peri-menopause. There is so little we know about it, but from the changes I’m observing in my body, it is the most likely explanation. So at forty years old, possibly in peri-menopause, feeling so good by myself, not being quite ready to meet someone after my last breakup… what are the odds of me getting in a healthy relationship, knowing the person enough to feel like it would be a good parenting match no matter what happens with the rest, and getting pregnant? Not high. Not impossible, but not high. So the more I think on it, the more I organize my life around that fact and… I love what I’m creating. So conflicting emotions arise: if I feel so good, would I really want my life to change with a family? No. Would I welcome it with open arms if it happened? Yes. I feel like the ultimate emotional maturity is being able to hold two completely opposite feelings at the same time: grief and joy, love and heartbreak, anger and softness… but as of now, I am making the best out of where I’m at.
That includes where I left you with the last blog, leaving the Philippines and going to Bali. You know some places you land at and you automatically know it’s a match for your soul? Some other, you automatically know it is not, but if you planned a whole trip around it with so much energy and investment, you pretend it’s a fit and plow ahead. I landed late in Bali and… loved it. Just a cozy, loving vibe from the start. The driver who picked me up for the hour and a half drive to Ubud was so calm and everything was so easy. I got to my hotel and settled in for the night. The next day I left to start exploring all the amazing coffee shops, boutiques and places to walk. I wondered around the rice fields on a little trail in the north of the city, did a yoga class, had great food, and when it was time to get back home, it was pouring. It started pouring for four days. Non-stop. Everywhere they’ll tell you that rainy season is not that bad, that it rains an hour a day and then it’s over. Well, not that time. At some point, I started to wonder if the island could take anymore or if we were going to sink. Kidding I know it doesn’t work that way, but seriously was wondering if we were going to get flooded. We did… but just in the south, they were evacuating tourists on boat. I was safe in Ubud and for the first three days, I loved it. I was just walking to cafés, enjoying the slow pace, but on the fourth day, I was over being utterly soaked at every moment of my life. And it stopped. Perfect timing.
For my birthday, I gave myself two gifts (well, let’s say three if we count this amazing trip I am on). First, I found this spa package that was ridiculously cheap. I think in Canadian dollars, it ended up being 130$? I got to the spa, they gave me fresh juice and let me chose the products and smells I wanted them to use on me for the day. Well, they actually let me split the package over two days so I could really enjoy everything as I wished. The first day, I had a facial treatment and a hair spa. Omg. The joy of having someone take care of your hair: when does that ever happen in North America? Ok, you go for a haircut, maybe they give you a two minute massage while they wash your hair, but that’s about it. Here, they wash it, massage it, condition it, massage it again, massage your scalp and your neck and your arms, put a mask on it, let it dry, bring you more juice, massage you again… it was extraordinary and the first time my hair didn’t look like a sack of hay since I left for this trip a month ago between the heat, the salt water, the sand, the sweat and the low quality hair product I had access to. To send you off, they bring you ginger tea and a plate of fruit. You think this is good? Wait for the second day. They welcome me with a glass of fresh juice again, then bring me to a seat to wash my feet in a flower filled water basin. The hour and a half massage was first. Perfect pressure, perfect everything. Then the body scrub and body mask. Finally, they prepare a flower bath. I had told them it was my birthday… I get in the room to see a beautiful flower-made Happy Birthday written in the bath. They served me tea and fruits and I got to enjoy this amazing set up for half an hour. When I was done, they brought me to the terrace to enjoy a delicious traditional Balinese meal with refreshment. When I was done, two of the women came out with a cake with a candle to wish me a happy birthday. I tried not to cry too much. Because it was an amazing experience, and because I was alone on my 40th birthday and realized they were the first and only ones to wish it to me in person. I was particularly grateful. The second part of my gift, was a beautifullllll dress I saw in the window of a shop. I normally don’t buy much (I prefer experiences), but this was too good to pass. It is really similar in cut to the red dress that got me so many great experiences in the last five years, but this is an upgrade in style: real silk with Balinese flower pressing and the scarf to go with it. I can’t wait to wear it and feel classy!!!
I got the privilege to give a private lesson to the west coast swing teachers who are developing the scene in Bali. Two amazing people. Let’s see if we are lucky enough, it develops and bit, and… who knows what we can create over there? Anybody interested in partnering up? J I went to try a delicious restaurant with them and was grateful for the connection. I tried more yoga places, wine bars and I found an aerial studio. Well, really it’s a castle. A beautiful outdoor rigged majestic space. I was so in need of training after the catastrophic week in the Philippines. I got to do a duet on a kind of looped strap (not sure if it has a specific name) with the machine pulling us up and down, both of which I had never done before. Then Mathia arrived. I had met this girl for five minutes in a room party at TAP, somehow mentioned my trip, and she said she’d like to join. I said sure. So many people say that, so sure. She asked me for my Instagram. Two weeks later, she asked me for my itinerary. Two weeks later, she asked me if those flights looked good. Oh. Wait, you’re really coming? Ahaha, amazing!!! Since then, we had done a one hour call to figure out where we were going to stay and that’s about how much interaction we had had, so I was curious to see how the trip was going to go. It went… perfectly!
She got to the Airbnb in the middle of the night, I was sleeping and left the door unlocked. We woke up, had breakfast there and went training together. We explored so many great restaurants, went for more massages, shopped (although one of us likes shopping way more than the other – hint, it’s not me -), drank some wine, tasted delicious coffee, and so much more. But more than that, we had some incredible adventures. One of my favorite is a day trip to Tanah Lot. We started in the morning with a stop at Ulun Danu Temple. Did we see anything on the drive with the amount of fog there was? No. Did we see the lake the temple was built on? Also no. But it was a unique experience to witness it in that state: how many people get that view (or lack thereof)? Then we drove to Jatiluwih rice terrace, a Unesco site. If I have learned one thing so far, is that you cannot be disappointed with anything that is included in the Unesco Heritage. I could have stayed there all day, which we almost did because I was too excited and ran ahead of my friend and we lost each other… for two hours. Loll. Thank god for her patience, and for my infinite enjoyment of walking in those fields. I had a coconut and plantain chips, we reconvened and left for the last stop of the day. We had dinner on the way with a view on more rice field and finally made it to Tanah Lot, which was the initial goal of the trip. I had seen it in a coffee table book at the massage place and just fell in love. We walked around, took pictures and almost had a sunset through the clouds… almost. We left before the next downpour and asked our driver to leave us at a Latin social dance in town where I saw my Westie friends for the last time.
Another fun night was when we decided to go see The Secret Comedy Show. It’s in a tiny room that can hold twenty spectators almost sitting on top of each other. Was it the best show I’ve ever seen? No. But the guy was good, created lots of public interaction and made us feel like a family for a couple of hours. Both Mathia and I won the two drawing: a tot bag in exchange for a dance. Perfect candidates. But the magic really started after. I was hungry and wanted to check their restaurant. We entered this strange spaceship looking elevator, found the restaurant, but there was nothing interesting. So we started walking towards the exit on a fancy ramp when I saw someone enter a mirror and lots of noise coming out of it. The entire hotel architecture was unique, but that? We get to the mirror and we see a tiny place to push, and then… magic! A hidden speakeasy karaoke that is so narrow, it’s almost dizzying and it looks like its part of a boat. We stay for a bit, Mathia sings and when we are about to leave, we come across a nice woman, start chatting, get a round of delicious shooters paid by one of the staff member, and finally make our way to a nice dinner. Thank you Mathia for making that part of the trip (aka my birthday week) feel amazing. Thank you for the discussions, the help with work, and everything else you gave me without asking for anything in return. Perfect week.
The morning I left, I felt sad. I also felt like it was a mistake, that I shouldn’t go to Ko Pha Ngan and that I should stay in Bali. I think my feeling was right. Not that I didn’t end up loving my stay in Thailand (especially in retrospect… less during), but Bali has my heart. So cheesy, so many people say it, so many people feel that way, and that’s why I’m wondering if Bali is going to put a limit on the amount of people who can stay there: it’s getting so overcrowded. I was lucky, I was there during low season, and for me, it was the perfect amount of people (and traffic), but high season… I can’t even imagine. I flew to Singapore and then to Koh Samui. I had to rush to find a taxi to get to the ferry, which the taxi people felt and took advantage of that fact to scam me, managed to get on the ferry (which was beautiful), then got showed in three different taxis before I could finally get to the hotel. People were rude all along the way and I was really trying to check my attitude and my vibes to know if I was the one creating that, but I really don’t think so. I got to my room in the dark, met my roommate for the month (or so we thought) and went to bed. The room wasn’t the one I paid for, the hotel staff was unhelpful, and a lot of other things I will skip that made the first ten days really intense, but as soon as I could relax and finally let go of expectations… everything went better and better each day. I called the island the Non-sense Island: you don’t get what you want, but you definitely get what you need. Anything you try to plan for will go sideways. And I am not saying it only from my perspective, you could see it and hear it from every single person who got there. We all needed at least a week to adjust. And by adjust I mean let go of everything you thought this was gonna be and let the island do its thing. Once you got with the program, it was smooth. Apparently the program for me was doing nothing. Well, the most nothing I’ve done in years. Which for me involves training in zouk for four to six hours a day, work four hours a day, and enjoy the free time. I didn’t go to half the socials, I missed some classes, I didn’t rent a scooter, I didn’t do excursions; I slept, I read for hours, I reflected, I wrote, I enjoyed the beach, I ate, I trained a bit, I talked with people, I tried a couple restaurants and a couple coffee shops and that was it. For a month. I ended up getting the room I paid for ten days in (which is a big part of why I could finally relax and rest), my roommate and I separated with so much love for each other and I started breathing. The sunsets were a show every evening and the main project of my day, whatever non-plan I had for this particular 24h was organized around the fact that I was going to watch the sunset no matter what.
The reason I went there in the first place was to train for zouk. When I was planning my trip, I was looking for an itinerary that made sense, flights I could buy with points, but most of all, purpose. I have travelled so much by myself, so it’s not that I can’t do it or that I’m scared, I’m just tired of not sharing memories with anybody. Retelling a vacation is not the same as looking at the person who lived it with you and through their eyes remembering everything. So my first desire was to be with people somehow. Then I know I like traveling, but again, to what end? So I thought on what else I like doing: training. The first part of my trip was The Maldives for a pole retreat (people and training), the second part was the Philippines in a small group tour (people), the third part was in Bali with a new friend (people and the possibility to train there), and the fourth part was going to be for one month of Brazilian zouk training (people and training). Perfect. Honestly, that was an expensive part of the trip. The island is 40% (or more) more expensive than the rest of the country, places to stay are costly, restaurant options in the area are expensive, the scooter and transportation mafia make going anywhere expensive, the month of training was expensive… so I had really high hope. That was supposed to be the highlight of the trip. Me, the dancer who is always teaching, every evening and every weekend, which makes it complicated to take any type of classes, finally giving myself the gift of training. Just for me. But I’ve learned an important lesson… so I thought, but I seem to keep making the same mistake even after. I always underestimate myself. I want to be humble, I value that as a quality, I don’t like arrogant people and I don’t want to be a prick and sound like I think I know everything. So when I hear of a month of zouk training, with a one year of zouk general entry level to access most of the classes, I think to myself: this is perfect for me! I have done zouk approximately five times through the last ten years at crossover events I was hired for or going to one zouk weekend in Canada, surely this is what I need. I need/want to learn the basic mechanics of zouk, the essence of the dance, leave with a good intellectual and bodily understanding of the dance. I did not. Don’t get me wrong, there were good teachers, classes well structured, interesting drills to do… but most of what we did let’s say in the first thirty hour week of training, I could have done in a one hour private lesson. Even writing this I feel bad, I feel like I’m bragging. I need to deconstruct this thought pattern in my brain. And I tried. I tried to be the best student I could, watching everything, listening carefully, digging for gold nuggets throughout, and I found some, but not enough to justify the investment of time, money and energy.
The second week was worse. Everything that was taught were things I have been teaching for years, and again, I am trying not to be pretentious and listen to the way things are said, see what I could bring into my teaching, get inspired… but yeah. The third week was interesting for me. Not the best pedagogue, so you have to be able to watch and reproduce, but because they were going fast and doing a lot of zouk coded movements (mostly head movements), I could learn a lot. The fourth week was the close embrace intensive and even though it was a really slow pace, I enjoyed just letting go, getting closer to people, connecting, hugging, and the teacher is a marvelous pedagogue so I also loved just digging for gold in what was said. The last piece was the advanced week, which I was really excited for… the first day was a rehashing of what we did with those teachers in the first week (with more details and faster) and then one foot spin drills and counterbalance… we have so much of these in wcs, I didn’t learn anything new. The second day was the best learning day of the month for me. Great teachers, good pace, good material, and fun people. When I got the feeling in my body of the way she moves, I was ecstatic, I didn’t want to let it go. I still don’t want to let it go. It broke me. It made me so sensitive to every little detail of my partner (which I think I already was), that I couldn’t even social dance that night. I didn’t show up for the last two days, I was done after that and happy to get ready for the last part of the trip.
But! There was something else worth its own paragraph in the trip: the Zouk Island Festival. Honestly, it was the part I was the least excited about initially, not that I didn’t want to do it, but what I wanted overall was to learn. On that front, there were leveled classes and I dared consider myself advanced (which I still don’t think I am, but apparently for learning yes), and I enjoyed them very much. But besides and above that, every night of the festival there were ceremonies. Omg. The first night was the opening ceremony, welcoming words were said and the newest dancers were invited to form a circle in the center, then the more experienced around them, then another circle until everybody was surrounded and supported by the people who have been in the community prior to them. It was beautifully contained, presented and felt. Then we were invited to form a hive of four people who were going to be our anchors through the festival if we came alone and needed support, a smile, some warmth. We sat together and shared a bit about us, the real side of us, why we were there, not just what do you do for a living. Lastly, we were set in motion, walking around, looking at people in the eyes, then dancing in a sort of snowball and by the time we got with the last person, the energy was so hype that I danced until I felt like I was high. I honestly got a bit scared for a second and had to reason myself that I was not going to be sick, that everything was safe. I felt like the time I went to a rave, did speed, and couldn’t stop dancing. I knew I needed to pee and drink water, but I genuinely couldn’t. So I remember asking the guy who was on the speaker dancing beside me or someone around to help me, and they did. Same here, I couldn’t stop dancing. I was sweating and I needed a drink. I understood how people can dance for three hours with the same person in zouk (which is wildly foreign to wcs dancers). I had an amazing evening combined with a scooter ride in flip-flops, a dress and no helmet with my hair blowing in the wind. The epitome of not safe in our western standards, but one of my absolute favorite thing in the world.
The parties would start early, I think 5pm and finish at 11pm. There were after parties until 1pm, which I didn’t attend, and felt like I could get my share of dance and still feel fresh for the next day. On Saturday, everybody got a blindfold, someone I met put it on for me, and we found a space. After some time to ground, followers got their blindfolds off, started walking around, and stopped in front of a leader. We led them into different exercises and then we switched roles. We had to keep our feet grounded and be seaweeds for whom the leaders would encourage movement. It felt soooo good, that by the time we finished, people came to talk to me and I realized I couldn’t move my feet. In a good way, I just felt so anchored. So I stayed there for a while, dancing in place, until a woman came and asked me to dance and I told her I couldn’t move my feet. She said ok, and started to dance with me on the spot until it felt safe to move. That was the only dance of the evening for me (and when we say one dance in zouk, it’s however many songs and how long that lasted, which I have no idea of, it is not just one song). I hung around, had beautiful conversations, and a high-speed scooter ride back.
The Sunday Cacao ceremony was the absolute highlight of my month. I had a few dances, then we were called to sit in a huge circle around this magnificent venue we were in (we would dance in a different place/resort on the island every night). We set an intention from the earth, were handed delicious hot chocolate, sipped it sensuously, started walking around, connecting to others, sharing emotions without talking, the energy upped and upped, then we were animals facing each other, I got in front of my roommate and felt completely high on something as we laughed like maniacs, we ran, we jumped, and we came down. After that came the element dance. We had to find a person, chose who would start leading, containing, and who would be free and move with earth. Surprisingly, that one felt comfortable to me. I had been working so much on earthing so that felt like great news to me. Water is me, so that felt like home. When fire came, I hesitated for a second before stopping in front of someone I know. I think because I am afraid of showing my fire, I didn’t feel it in him, so I thought I needed to pair with someone who oozed fire. What a ride! The host instructed us to dig deep and connect with our needs, what we want and find the fire, and his eyes switch, a darkness that is so alluring, one you only read of in novels, I got high. I was the first one to lead and I had an hesitation right from the start as I saw what I was about to do and thought: that’s too much, I can’t do that. But then I said, hell no, he’s an adult, he can decide if it’s too much and stop me, and fire came. Oufff… it was so intense, so intense I had to go sit outside to process at the end. We finished with air and another exercise and they started an hour of dancing without any speaking allowed. I went outside, I didn’t feel like participating in that, wasn’t sure what I wanted, found a staircase that led to a little alcove overlooking the dance floor with an amazingly comfortable chair. I sat looking at the paper ceiling lamps saying in the breeze and started to process what had happened. Then they called: last song! What? I had been there for two hours, looking at the ceiling, processing, and it was the best night ever. Monday was the closing ceremony which we finished with our hives and a huge group hug. I love touch and people, but I always had blockages with these types of group hugs and cuddle puddles for some reason, but this felt aligned. So I will say, although I didn’t get what I wanted from that month, at all, on any level, I got a lot of what I… needed? Needed for evolving, and I love evolving and growing. What didn’t come into dance growth came into interpersonal growth. And that’s without mentioning the deep conversations about love, relationships, career, life purpose, alignment, patterns, money, menopause, and so much more. In hindsight? If you had told me how it was going to go, I would have probably cancelled the trip, but from this side of it, with everything I can hold in my heart from it, I’m really happy I had that experience.
Korea!!!! You know how everybody has a list, all the countries they absolutely want to see, and places they want to go to? Well, Korea wasn’t on mine. Obviously, I am interested in seeing all the things and anywhere in the world my travels and contracts take me, I’ll be happy to discover, but it wasn’t a priority. It started with rooming with the fabulous Heejung (most likely the top dancer and organizer in Korea) at an event last summer and her inviting me to come to Korean Open. I was already planning to leave for the winter, as I have promised myself I would do every year going back to Canada, but not until April, but… why not make everything work? So I took a local bus/truck, to a boat, to a shared taxi, to the beautiful outdoor Koh Samui airport, flew to Bangkok, got my luggage, checked in again, boarded my overnight flight to Seoul, and landed in Incheon. I was so lucky to have people welcomed me in their house: the apartments there are pretty small and it’s not so common to have people over… especially for a week. He also came and picked me up from the airport, I got home, took a nap, and thought I’d go explore for an hour before coming back, relaxing, working, and sleeping early. I ended up walking and exploring for eight hours!!!
I am so in love with that place, I already know I need to come back. I want to see the country side, nature, more temples, and more people. I am sad I don’t speak Korean so I could connect more with the locals. I love the culture, the esthetics, I want to buy everything: I normally don’t shop or buy many souvenirs, but here… I walked around Seokchon lake and I was lucky to be there in full cherry blossom season. The landscape was so sweet. I walked over to Lotte tower and thought, why not, let’s go up and see the view. Then I saw the sky bridge. You can put a one piece one, a harness, a helmet, attached yourself to a cable and go walk outside on a skimpy bridge at 541 meters in the sky between two peaks of the building. Yes. I got the last spot for the day, and what an experience it was. I found a vegan restaurant, walked some more, did some groceries trying to mimic what I was looking for to the locals - don’t try it, just use a translator app – and went back home to get some work done. The next day was pretty relaxed, and then I met with an American girl I knew to walk around Insa-dong, had delicious tea at an old house transformed, was amazed by the eternal juxtaposition of the landscape between old constructions, temples, skyscrapers, green rooftops, shops of all kinds, we found food, shopped around, and talked until my friend left for the evening. I still had some energy left in me, so I found a wine bar, and went to pole class. That was a strange experience: a whole hour with two short times on the pole to then take all the filming gears out to make sure everybody had nice videos… ok, so the goal is not to train, but have something for the gram. This is also where I thought I had learned my lesson about underestimating myself, but no. I had written to the studio before asking them what level would be appropriate for me, with some top moves I can do. I am generally advanced in most studios, but you never know, just like taking a wcs lesson in a different country: you might be level 12 at home, but it equates to a novice class over there. She told me I should come to pre-intermediate. Ok. No. I was not pre-intermediate. It was like the zouk month all over: paying money to not do anything of substance. Anyway, one day I will learn. Let’s make it today. Loll I thought of going home after that, but the night market was soooo close! So I walked over and did not regret it. Fascinating. Everything about it. The stalls, the food, the shops, the people, the atmosphere, the lights. By the time I got home, I had been gone for fourteen hours, and still had to do some work. I don’t regret anything.
The next day was a lazy working from home morning until everybody was awake and ready to go. We wondered towards the Starfield Library with my hosts, ate at an awesome vegan restaurant, and walked all the way to the Westie Gangnam studio for my first Korean workshop. I hadn’t taught a class with a translator for a loooong time. It’s easy for me to separate my speech into portions that make sense, but I forgot how long it takes to say everything in two languages and how much I have to adjust my teaching. When I do English/French classes or two languages I can translate myself, it goes faster because I can intertwine them through sentences… but everybody seemed happy with the material! The social dancing was great, although my body felt like it was in zouk consistence instead of wcs; softer, airier… I’m happy I have a couple days to readjust and find my footings again before having to dance in an Invitational. Sunday was a lazy morning, a vegan and rice flour (therefore gluten free) bakery, and an excursion to a Unesco Heritage site: the Namhansanseong Fortress. We had a beautiful spring walk on the walls, and finished the day with the most delicious meal ever at the Tofu House, a very local, very fresh – as in we make the tofu block on the lawn besides the restaurant – very healthy meal!
Monday was another working day… when I mentioned having to work through the trip, lots of people were commenting how sad or inconvenient. Is it? Really? I get to travel the world for two and a half months doing most of what I want, exploring, having extraordinary adventures, but I have to work… GREAT! I knew that before I left and I am extremely happy with the balance I found. A good friend from the US arrived that day and we had the honor of a delicious home cooked meal with great conversations. Tuesday was walking, exploring a new district, coffee shops, shopping without buying anything, and more work. Then it was time for the DMZ tour. What an experience! I had a nagging feeling that we were shown the worse of North Korea, but after that tour… I think we are shown what it is. The interview with a defector was particularly interesting and touching. This woman decided to risk her life and her family’s by attempting an escape through China with a broker. They made it out, and she thought they were going to stay there: they knew nothing about South Korea, but a little bit about China. It didn’t quite work out for them, but they met a missionary church that helped them get to South Korea… through Cambodia and Vietnam. They had to swim across a river to escape; she doesn’t swim. They stayed for five months in a refugee camp in Cambodia. When they finally made it here, they had to re-learn to live again: what is internet, wifi, how do you make money, how do you shop for shoes with six thousand options. She haven’t talked to her family that stayed there in a year when they had access to a phone by a Chinese broker. During the first regime, people would go to work and get “paid” with 700g of rice per day for an adult and 500g for a teenager. They’d also get clothes and other types of ratios that way. When the first dictator died and the son took over the country, the ration system collapsed; now people were going to work with no pay and no compensation what so ever. So people tried and go fish or hunt and exchange at the market… I’m skipping so many details, but to think that this is happening right now, beside us, in the same world we live in… it’s just wild.
We saw Peace Park and the freedom bridge where the soldiers were exchanged to go back to their countries. We went to the observatory where we could see propaganda village (a fake village that was constructed close to the border to make it look like North Korea was thriving) and an actual village at the base of the mountain, even saw some people walking around and carrying a wheelbarrow. We walked down third tunnel, all the way to one of the gate that is, if I recall correctly, 110m away from the border; the closest most of us will ever get to that country. I was happy to have two friends from the US with me on that tour so we could talk, share, enjoy, and make it a little lighter. We also visited a beautiful suspension bridge over Majang lake. That night, I decided to go explore one last area of town I hadn’t seen, and wow! My favorite place!!! I wish I had found it before, but I might have just been there for a week and not see anything else, so… It feels like a mini Brooklyn, really cool jazz bars, Spanish tapas, markets, shops, little coffees, speakeasy, gay saunas, and the best vegan restaurant in town. I am a fan of this city, the culture, the people, the pace, the vibe, the energy!
Last stop on the trip was Korean Open. I got to the hotel on Thursday, got some work done and social danced early so I could get a somewhat good night of sleep. On Friday, I came to watch Emeline and Jakub’s intensive and ended up joining as a leader. It is always so interesting to jump in the rotations again and see how much people think they are doing what the teachers are asking for, but they are not. Good reminder as a teacher. Anyway, the theme was really interesting and is something I really want to bring to my students. I taught one workshop, judged Strictly all-star/champ finals, and watched the pro demo. I was a bit sad not to join in, but we had one extra follow, so the event director decided to put me in the Invitational instead, which I appreciate and prefer if the choice is there. After that, I social danced a little bit and ended up nerding out about dance stuff with one of the All-star that was there. It had been so long I hadn’t danced, I wanted to figure some things out in my body and also in partnering. It was awesome and ended up with people joining us in the hallway, dancing, sharing, talking, two men exchanging pants for the next day’s competitions. It was glorious. Saturday was a pretty easy day for me, and there was finally an AS/Champ class that was not at the same time as my workshop, so I went to learn with Jordan and Tatiana, and… it was exactly what I needed: some footwork practice and connection logic on fast songs. Not that they were things I hadn’t done before, but they are so not my strong suit and not often lead lately so it felt perfect for me!
Some more judging, some chilling, and then it was time for the Invitational. It’s one of those events with a theme in the Invitational and it becomes a whole show on its own… I had heard of it, and was also told they wanted a show. Ok, no problem… not sure what I’m gonna do, but something will happen. And then, I realize I am last and after Tatiana. Ok, we need to strategize times ten. Loll I have to admit, the first song was K-Pop and the one we had I found a bit hard to attach to anything, thank god the public loved the song and we got the whole crowd to help put on a show. The second song was Sexyback. Ok. That I can do. ;-) So down I went, onto the floor, and my amazing partner didn’t miss a beat and started to drag me in what became the staple of the weekend. The all-skate started with everybody in that position, I recreated it with my cute, tiny newcomer leader from the Winner JnJ, and it became one of the charade in the Westie Challenge (a kind of Squid Games meet dance battle epic game). I had one last workshop on Sunday morning and I think, as people got to know me through the weekend, they liked what they saw and I got asked for so many privates… You have to remember, I haven’t travelled as much internationally as I used to before Covid (I am totally opened to if you want me at your event), and I am not so present on social media that people would know me from across the world. So I think when people in Korea see my name on workshops, they don’t really think about it, they come and try, see who this person is, hopefully have fun and learn something, but if they like it… there will be signs.
It is now time to go back home… after two and a half months and about
16 flights
28++ buses/subway rides
2 trains
14 Uber
11 car rides
10 boats
Infinite walking
Unfortunately, I got sick on the weekend. By the time I finished all my privates Sunday night I was exhausted and almost had no voice. Ended up with fever all of Sunday night and on my ten hours flight on Monday (which made me think they should offer free re-bookings on flights to not get people sick when you don’t have a couple thousands to do what is morally right). Now I have no voice at all and desperately trying to do all the right things so I can be in shape for the next event coming up this weekend: Swing in Bloom!
See you soon on the dancefloor!