Hip*Girly*Hop

Started off with “She bangs” and “Every time we touch” as called “warm-up” made me sweat from head to toes. I was already in trance.

“We’re going to learn hip-hop steps today!” He smiled and looked at us. Imagine half of the class was over forties, in which one third was in late fifties. Somebody started scratching head and made a chin-drop puzzled look.

“That would be amusing!” I thought and tried not to think too much of my clumsiness that might be unavoidably happening anyway. I was telling myself to stay in trance. I didn’t want to wake up. Please, Please…. Keep me there!

Some beautiful girly ladies made some disappointing howling-like voices behind me as we were familiar with cheeky bitchy steps. I was trying to tell myself it would not be too hard and everything would be fine.

He smiled, almost laughed, when he looked at many confused eyes in front of him.

N’Sync! Oh dear! The song titled “Pop” released many years ago when Justin Timberlake was in that Boy Band. The song was not really in “pop” genre to me.

Naturally, as he moved, we moved. He stopped and screamed! We stopped. Those jumps and jerks were challenging and not even a second turned me down. The music was played over and over and I danced hip-hop today!

I was taken back to 2001 with the dances to the song. If anyone could hear me scream tonight, it would be the scream out of the “Pop” of my popping crunchy heartbeat to the top!

................................

He Bangs!

Ricky Martin’s look stunned me when I first saw him sing “The Cup of Life” for FIFA World Cup hosted by France in 1998. His face was so structured and symmetric like Roman statue gloriously sculptured by Michael Angelo. And everything that was associated with him seemed fine. That was always the benefit of that kind of look. One of his hit singles, “She Bangs”, has come to the studio with energy-draining dance steps that would make anyone overwhelmingly soaking wet. Those body waves, jumps, Latin steps, and head turns made my sweat flowing from every pore to cover my eyes. And the spotlight turned lens-flared without the need of any camera filter. I couldn’t even count how many hips swings and turns I have made in the 7^th heaven until the song faded. Again, Prince Kimji, he screamed and shouted to cheer his crews to dance as if the floor was on fire.

“She bangs, She bangs…”

Swing your hips to the front twice – Double jump to the right and to the left

“She moves, She moves…”

Swing your hips in turning half round to the right, body wave with right leg front and left leg front

“She looks like a flower but stings like a bee”

Box step and shoulders shaking

“Like every girl in history…”

Quick turn, Jump, Latin double steps, and turn!

I could not dance without him screaming and shouting.

“Kick floor change! Kick floor change!” I could hear him screamed over and over in my head. In my blanket, I kicked and kicked with my eyes tightly closed. No! I wasn’t dreaming.

Prince Kimji’s look was nothing similar to that of Ricky Martin.

But he bangs, he really bangs.

...........................

The 32-Step

I didn’t realize the meaning of Pon De Replay (Rihanna) until my beloved Kimji dance teacher began his moves. Cherry, again, with her artistic dance skill, had successfully made her moves on the 32-step first and taught me to move to the tune. It didn’t seem too difficult when practicing with the claps mimicking song rhythms without the music play. We did and he laughed. Sarcastically, when the song was on, the 32-step had to be repeated twice. Cherry counted her moves and so did I. Never once, we had made it to the beat. We only made it to the 16^th step and we were gone, hearing Kimji dance teacher’s laugh like he was on drugs. Today was the last class for this song. I didn’t know I should thank him or I should have felt sorry for myself. We still didn’t make it more than the 16^th step out of 32 steps or to be honest out of 64 steps when we had to make it two rounds. He screamed and laughed through his microphone making me insane. His laugh was going to haunt me in my dreams and so did Cherry’s moves. I really thought I was gone far more than craziness every time I laughed myself to sleep when I thought how clumsy and how funny it was in the dance class. And my adrenaline rose to its peak.

Tonight it was coming back again. After just an hour of dancing – the dancing of every cell – , the 32-step turned the magical 64-step dance without breathing that encircled myself from the whole world around me.

He He He He He …C……C …C… Cherry… You are nuts!

.........................................