Dancing is one of my favorite things in life, and I’m just now fully realizing this. In Korea, since I don’t have mountains of essays to grade and my lesson planning takes a fraction of the time, I’m finding myself with lots of time on my hands to do whatever I want. As it turns out, what I want is to take dance classes.
I started out taking drop-in jazz/hip hop classes at POZ studio near my school, but it’s kind of expensive and I haven’t been going very consistently. Then my friend Vicky wanted to try out salsa, so I went to a studio with her in Apgujeong. It was fun learning the short routine they taught us, but during the open dance time I felt like the guys I danced with managed to suck all the fun out of salsa. Koreans take their hobbies very seriously and study them to perfection, so when I was slightly off on the steps, they stopped me and made me practice the steps over and over. One guy also told me I was moving my hips too much and needed to make smaller, more controlled movements. That’s when I realized salsa dancing in Korea wasn’t for me. I’ve never taken formal salsa lessons, but I do know that “it’s all in the hips.”
Then in December one of my favorite coworkers, Giryoung, told me that she was taking swing dancing lessons and had a performance coming up. She didn’t exactly invite me, but I told her I would love to come watch. I brought my friend Ashley along, who was really excited about getting her swing on. We were very impressed by the couples cutting a rug like it was 1939, and Ashley begged me to start taking lessons with her. I wasn’t super excited about the idea, but Ashley was quite insistent and I gave in.
I’m glad I did, because we’ve been taking classes for 3 weeks now, and I absolutely love it. The lessons are all in Korean, but luckily Giryoung is there and helps translate when necessary. After our hour and a half lesson, they have open dancing for a few hours and that’s when the real fun begins. Many of the guys have been studying swing for years and can dance really well, and since most partner dancing is all about following the guy, all I have to do is stay on beat. Afterwards the whole gang usually heads to a restaurant for some food and maekju (beer). They are a really fun, laid-back group and have welcomed Ashley and I with open arms. Only a handful of them can speak English well enough to carry on a conversation, but that’s only motivated me to take studying Korean more seriously so I can talk to them.
Vicky getting a salsa lesson
Giryoung’s swing performance. How adorable are the outfits?
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