Do You Feel Like Dancing?

Another joy of underemployment is finally having the time to pursue your passion.  For my sister, Donna, that has always been dancing. We were both dancers as children, and she continued on through college. She was Disco Donna back in the Seventies, dancing at Studio 54 and the Electric Circus when she wasn't rehearsing for a new Broadway show and understudying for A Chorus Line. Donna is the one who got me hooked on the TV series Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance?  Two years ago she started taking ballroom dance lessons at the Arthur Murray studio in Sherman Oaks. Now she is dancing in ballroom competitions like the one held last weekend in Los Angeles.

I've seen the changes in my sister since she started dancing again. She is much happier and thinner and looks so much younger than she did a few years ago. Dancing is great exercise, one because it is aerobic, and two, because it is fun... a lot more fun than running on a treadmill.  Dancing involves human interaction, a chance to meet and dance with all kinds of people.  My sister has built a network of lovely new friends from people she has met while dancing. 

Last weekend I joined her at the studio where she and other dancers demonstrated the solo numbers they would be competing with on Sunday.  She soared through her Bolero, graceful and sultry at the same time. Other dancers performed a Viennese Waltz, Samba, Cha Cha and Swing.  There were varying degrees of ability on display, but the one thing they all had in common was the way their faces lit up as their colleagues and teachers applauded them through their dance.

Studio owner Mario Vitucci urged me to join them again on Wednesdays or Fridays when it feels more of a party atmosphere than a class. He promised next time to save me a dance. Group and private instruction is also available for all types of ballroom & Latin dancing.  For more info click here: Arthur Murray Sherman Oaks

Watch Donna's Bolero 

Amy's Tip:  Dance your booty off and/or dance your time away. Another fun activity for the underemployed.