It was a sweet sunday morning dance session at the End Up club here in San Francisco for the Burning Man Deep End Camp. Kramer and I decided against the all-night option and instead got up at 4am for the sunrise set. It took me a while to get my groove on... for the first couple of hours I danced at about 50%, moving with the beat but not really "feeling" it. By 9:30, I was thinking of calling a morning but decided to spend a few minutes on the floor before going. What happened was what I went there for in the first place.

Sun-Woo was playing. Honestly, looking back, I can't tell you what he was spinning exactly. After a while, I noticed that I was travelling in movement patterns which were familliar. I tend to bob my head, pulsate my shoulders and chug my arms forward in a fairly predictable way when I dance on autopilot. Remembering the Nia training with Carlos, I started pushing through my dance habits and letting different parts of my body respond to the music instead of dancing to the music. Suddenly my elbows took control, leading me on an undulating path which took me high, low, in arcs, spins and leaps. My shoulder blades started hopping, and finally, I felt my feet lock into the beat. There was a tremendous rocking forward and back patten that emerged, a crouch and capoeira-like spin which evolved. A whole new vocabulary of moves gushed out of me, unstoppable and it felt so good! There was no thinking, just feeling. It was like riding a frieght train, feeling the heaviness of the bass and the whole room rocking. My own body was cruising at the speed of a cheetah. Every nuance in the music inspired a different muscle into the dance. It was like my body was the music! Powerful, articulate and fast. It was deep, driving house music. Dozens of sweaty people were going ballistic all around me in the dark and lights were flashing like mad. My vortex lasted about an hour. What a gift!

I have clarity I need regular bouts of this kind of groove kicking dance to build my endurance and creativity. It trains my body to amplify and radiate. This rhythmic body movement allows me to hoop in a way that feels amazing.

Now I'm resting a bit before a 3 hour hoop workshop. My ankle is a bit overworked, so ice, advil and some elevation and compression is called for.

Thank you. I am full of appreciation for the gift of grace through dance!