Taking Flight

So ... kinda back flipped through the air today in salsa rehearsal. How's that for a little teaser?

There will be a few "surprises" in the routine that you see on June 6th ... in that I'll be surprised if I can pull it off in such a way that doesn't make me look like a petrified girl holding onto Charles for dear life as he flips me over top of him! ha ha

But seriously, all it takes is proper technique ... momentum ... and trust in your partner.

Christina is teaching me proper technique ... I will gain momentum the more confident I get with the flip ... and I trust Charles implicitly ... so it will be fine. After that, the key will be making it look smooth, sexy, and easy. No problem, we got this! ;)

But as I flipped upside down this morning -- with blood rushing to my head and squeezing the hell out of my core muscles so as not to hurt my back -- I couldn't help reflecting on an "incident" when I was a teen.

My brother Doug and I thought we were pretty fly hip hop dancers in our early teens. We decided to practice a move we'd seen countless times on music videos: the flip over the back. Obviously, we decided to try this on the street, because the neighbourhood kids were watching. Not on even terrain (downhill). And on pavement.

Over I went onto and over my YOUNGER (and smaller, at the time) brother's back ... his knees buckled ... and I fell back flat on the back of my head. All I heard was a crack. I thought, for sure, that I had broken my head. It was likely just a concussion ... good thing Mom's a nurse.

That was about 18 years ago ... and I haven't flipped in any capacity since then. Except for certain guys over the years, but that's another story ...

Welcome to the next level of my salsa training: flips and tricks. This is liberating. Stay tuned.

**NOTE: I can't help thinking of that beautiful Iron and Wine song "Flightless Bird" from the Twilight soundtrack when writing this. In fact, I would love to dance to that song someday ... hmm, it may mean taking ballroom dance lessons this summer ...