“This Thanksgiving, I’m Thankful For Dance…” Said Every Dancer Ever.
“This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for dance…” said every dancer ever.
Time to be a little more specific. I’m thankful not just for dance, but for my dancing family.
Now, don’t get confused - I do not come from a family of dancers. In fact, my mom said more than once this Thanksgiving weekend, “Where do you get your dancing genes from? They certainly aren’t from me and they aren’t from Dad either!”
Let’s rewind a tad. I got married this past summer, to the love of my life, who I met at a salsa club. Suffice it to say that there was a lot of salsa dancing at our wedding.
My Aunt and Uncle thought it would be a great surprise if they secretly took some salsa classes before our wedding so they could bust out some moves on our dance floor. It was, indeed, an awesome surprise!
Fast forward to November, when my family always makes our plans to travel to Buffalo, NY to visit my aunt and uncle for Thanksgiving. A couple weeks before turkey day I got a text from my aunt. She had scheduled a private dance lesson for our whole family; she thought it’d be fun.
I knew my Mom and Dad would give our family dance lesson a try, but I would have paid a large sum of money to have seen my brother’s face when he read that text. My brother is not a dancer (unless there is lots of alcohol, a dark bar, and his friends making awkward movements along with him). I immediately called him.
“So… I bet your so excited for the FAMILY DANCE CLASS!” I was grinning ear to ear.
“Why?” He asked dryly, “Why is this happening?”
The excitement didn’t end there though. Days later, we recieved another text from my aunt: “We just installed a dance floor in our basement so we can all practice what we learn!”
Even larger sum of money to see my brother’s face. I called him again.
“I don’t understand why this is happening to me” he practically wept. “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t had salsa dancing at your wedding, we’d never be in this predicament in the first place. I hold you fully responsible for this…”
Thanksgiving day came and went, as we talked about how my aunt and uncle would soon be performing with their new instructors in a student showcase. And on Black Friday, instead of joining the masses in the lines at Walmart, we huddled into a nearby dance studio. For the first five minutes, I giggled at my brother during warm-ups, egging him on with overly enthusiastic thumbs-up, while he wore a strange look on his face, watching my parents boogie down.
We concluded our class without incident or injury, although the instructor did ask my Dad, in her intimidating Ukranian accent “What are you doing, taking a cigarette break?” when he missed a few steps.
Saturday, as promised, we all practiced in the “basement dance studio.” Even my brother was a great sport and agreed be my Mom’s dance partner since we couldn’t shake my Dad from his mid-day slumber. My husband and I taught a salsa step. My mom would get frustrated whenever she messed up, until my brother would make fun of her and she’d burst out in laughter.
We joked about taking my brother out to a salsa club Saturday night, but he had already been through enough.
So, I’m not just thankful for dance. I’m thankful for my dancing family. For my aunt and uncle who, in their 50s, not only “tried something new,” but dove into it at top speed. For my Mom and Dad who lovingly stumbled through their first latin dance class together (and weren’t too bad by the end!). For my brother who is a damn good team player. And for my husband, who travelled 8 hours with my through rain and snow for our first annual “Thanksgiving Family Dance Weekend.”
I can't wait until Thanksgiving 2015, and I'm sure my brother can't either.
Article written by Hannah Lorenzo.
