Dance, dance, dance!

Dancing is perhaps my first love...growing up on Molokai, I don't remember when I saw dance for the first time. I think it was a snippet of somehing on the old telvision; maybe even the Ed Sullivan show. All I know is that I do love to dance and never got the chance until later in life. I remember one afternoon putting on an LP of my mom's album (it was ballet music of some kind; probably "Dance Macbre"), and spun around the living room pretending I knew how to dance. When I was living away from home going to an all girl's high school on Oahu, I even researched ballet studios in the area to see if I could work it in my schedule. Only problem was that the bus stopped running after class let out and it was too far to walk in the dark (the distance didn't bother me; it was the safety issue). When siging up for my classes my first semester at University of Hawaii, all my first and second choices were closed out and my friend told me to just sign up for P.E. classes that were open. Imagine my absolute delight when I saw that ballet was open at the time I needed! I haven't stopped taking dance since then; more than 30 some odd years later. We do have some good studios here in the Albuquerque area; especially for adults who want to take calsses during the day. The comraderie is special; I have known the same group of women taking ballet classes since I moved here 12 years ago. At age 51, I am one of the younger ones in the group. I am going to see, "Carmen" (Ballet Theatre New Mexico) today with my friend, Oma. I think she is around 66 years old and still dancing! Women like her inspire me to never stop; just because the years add up doesn't mean you have to stop participating in life!