I had the pleasure of dancing last summer with Nia instructor Britta von Tagen. She co-taught a white belt training in Pleasant Hill with Kellie Chambers and dropped in to the Just Move Studio for some community dance sessions. Her energy, precision and a kind of fierceness were exciting and maybe a tad scary for me.
But in overcoming the lethargy of January, I wanted some of that von Tagen energy. I got it in spades dancing with the online version of “Dragon” for the first time. This routine toggles between subtlety of movement and controlled power. I love how the narrative that accompanies the music and the movement brings a mental shift. The story in the dance engages the imagination. Suddenly there’s a beast in the room, and it’s me…emerging dragon.
As I was dancing, I flashed on “Ted Lasso” actress Hannah Waddingham, who plays a soccer club owner in the UK, a lone woman in an industry dominated by men. There’s a scene where she describes psyching herself up for meetings where she’ll be the only woman. Do watch it if you haven’t seen it — one minute and 25 seconds of video that I feel deeply no matter how many times I click on it.
That’s what dancing “Dragon” made me feel like. When I woke up the next day, I wanted to do it all over again. So I did.
Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now 