Dance class IS life

What you learn and do in dance class is a reflection of and shapes your life. And the first thing you need to know is that “you can’t say you can’t!”

My Zumba Strip Cardio instructor in Peurto Vallarta was hardcore. But everything she said made sense. The mind and the body are one, so whatever the mind knows it can do, the body does. And she stuck with this principle throughout each routine. If you didn’t do a move right, she’d glare right at you and make you do it until you got it right!

The high intensity workout consisted of Salsa, Samba, Jazz, Bellydance, Tango, Hip-Hop, and sexy cabaret using a chair. I absolutely LOVED it! She taught a move on the floor where you stick your butt in the air (very Velina-esque) and she said “you learn this move and your boyfriend or husband will buy you jewelry!” She was being tongue-and-cheek but we all had a good laugh as we awkwardly tried to make it look as smooth as her. I discovered new moves and interpretations of music and was having so much fun I forgot I was working out – even with what felt like gallons of sweat pouring out of me!

The class was small, with one middle-aged, Spanish-speaking woman and what appeared to be a mother and her 20-something-year-old daughter. Near the end of the class, the teacher told us to work with our chairs and dance “whatever we feel” using the combos we learned that day. I challenged myself to remember the new moves while incorporating a sexy flair to my dance. The daughter started getting into it for the first minute or so but then withdrew herself and stood in the back to watch. At the end of class, the instructor asked the daughter “what happened? Why didn’t you do the exercise?” The daughter shyly responded, “I didn’t want to… I couldn’t do it”.

The instructor was understanding but gave her amazing advice. She said, “It’s okay to be shy sometimes, but in dance class is where you can explore yourself. People come in here afraid to touch themselves. Then they do it and they discover “Wow, I have legs, and I have arms, and I have breasts!”… We are all sexual, sensual, love and FEEL until the day we die! Don’t deny yourself the pleasures we are given! And learn about yourself and don’t be ashamed about your body. It is YOURS! All of you, women, your body is your own to understand and enjoy!”

I almost cried. I loved her. I had spent the past 4 days learning about how to empower youth and adults about sex and sensuality, and this woman does it every day… in dance class.

The Vilena Pose

Sometimes it takes a daring woman to create change and trends. In the world of pin-up photography, certain poses become famous for these daring women, and a few of these poses are now considered classics. Think about Marilyn Monroe, who posed with her dress being blown up and showing her bare legs!  At the time it was scandalous.  And now with the Internet, a classic Myspace/Facebook photo usually consists of one or two peoples smiling with one arm outreached, as though they don’t have any other friends to ask to take their picture.

So what can a woman do to present herself in a sexy way but without the means to get someone else to take her picture? Legend has it, Vilena, a Russian woman who was on an online dating site, ran into this exact issue. Her solution? To pose in front of a mirror on her hands and knees with her butt up in the air and snap a photo from a cheap camera. The result? A weird but somehow sexy photo of a woman that doesn’t reveal much except creativity and joie de vivre!

Somehow this photo has become a viral Internet phenomenon, with a few people posting their interpretation of “The Vilena Pose”. The general elements of the photo include a bare or g-stringed butt in the air forming a sort of halo-effect around the subject’s head, on hands and knees in the “doggy-style” position, and a small camera in one hand blocking a portion of the face.

Of course, after seeing this phenomenon I just had to try it out for myself. I decided I wanted a nice backdrop so I laid down a sheepskin rug in front of the fireplace. I struck a pose and found it to be surprisingly difficult to do. Here are a few pointers for anyone else who wants to try this for themselves. In order to keep a nice arch in the back you should keep your knees together. If one knee is even one inch behind the other, it gives the illusion that your buttcheeks are lopsided, and that is not pretty! And if you spread your legs apart, it reduces the height of your butt, which makes it more difficult to maintain the halo. If you’re large-chested, it helps to have strategically place your hair in front of yourself to avoid looking like you have udders hanging down.  If you don’t have long hair, you can either keep your chest on the floor or grab a blanket to lay in front of you, since one of the things that makes this pose sexy is that it doesn’t show traditional secondary sex characteristics. Then there was an issue of perspective. I found myself taking several photos just to see which was working and which wasn’t. This was when my back started to hurt, and I ended up with rugburns on my elbows! Damn you, Vilena!

The final product, though, was a surprisingly good photo. By arching the back, any cellulite is erased and what’s left is a beautifully toned butt. I wore a cute g-string that gave it a nice “whale-tail” effect. The expression on my face shows that I was just having fun and being silly. If I were in the market to be on an online dating site, I would consider posting this shot, as it has elements of tease and creativity, two things I admire most about pin-up shots.  Besides, if someone couldn’t handle a silly photo like that, they wouldn’t be able to handle me.

Since I took the shot, I posted in on my private Flickr account. So far, the stats show that it is definitely a flash-in-the-pan novelty, receiving more than 120 hits the first day, which dwindled down to about 30 hits on the second day. I suspect that, like the surprised prairie dog and Chocolate Rain guy, this will be a trend that’s short-lived. It would be fun, however, if it ended up being considered a “classic” pose in years to come. Imagine seeing billboards, greeting cards, postcards, or product labels featuring models in the Vilena pose. Only time will tell…