Day 29

Calf-high socks.

That’s the only fashion giveaway here for dancers. It’s bizarre. Why socks at all? It’s ninety-three degrees in Tel Aviv.

Today’s teacher is in a white tank top, royal blue shorts, and... calf-high socks. He plugs his phone into the sound system and steps into the room.

And so begins my last class in Tel Aviv.

“Don’t be shaped by gravity.”

I hear the snap, crackle, and pop of the people around me. My joints add a few notes too.

“Lift up your arms. Drop them, bend the knees, collapse down and out.”

Bending my knees, I give into gravity, letting my arms go out. The movement starts imperceptibly on the inside, accelerating until it emerges on the outside.

Whoosh!

Thirty days of Gaga has started a chain reaction. It’s unraveling who I thought I was, and who I think I should be. What’s starting to emerge: who I am.

“Bounce. Feel that the bounce is also a tiny collapse.”

Collapses aren’t just downward. They’re inward too! Even in my last class, the wow moments continue...

“Now, find your own dance.”

Yes!

I let loose. I move in 360 and 3D. I take up space unapologetically.

I listen.

I let the exploration lead me... the nuance of small sensations… the pleasure of connection… the joy of discovery.

The mind thinks it loves the familiar.

What it really loves is... surprise.

…..

When the class ends, I say my farewells. I exit the studio, and follow the cobblestones leading up and out of Neve Tzedek.

I’m overflowing with gratitude… for the beauty of this community… for the generosity of my teachers… and for being shown the world that exists within the timeless sensuality of my own body.

Placing one foot in front of the other,

I depart.

Placing one foot in front of the other,

I walk.

Placing one foot in front of the other,

I dance.