Dance Class
Meredith Duvall
Wearing a burnt orange jumpsuit and black heals the woman with the flowing black hair dances along the promenade with her partner as if they were alone in a studio. Onlookers snap photos and make recordings as the two salsa and tango seamlessly through the hot Caribbean air. Every Sunday for three to four hours anyone who comes along can watch the woman in the burnt orange jumpsuit instruct and show her students how to do a proper tango and salsa in the middle of the promenade behind Hotel Sevilla. As students practice little children run between the dancing couples and people carrying their groceries, careful not to interrupt. The stereo blares music and people of all ages stop to watch the show. It is as if this is not a class, but a street performance.
And it is a street performance. The students are able to practice in public and overcome any fear they may have about performing in front of an audience, while passersby are able to appreciate the students’ hard work. Furthermore, by practicing and performing in public the instructor is able to show off her students and drum up more business as people watch in awe what she was able teach. It’s a brilliant business strategy and one that I’m sure has been successful for the instructor in the burnt orange jumpsuit.
Onlookers, both Cuban and foreigners, love watching the dance class practice. People clap at the end of every dance and occasionally a pair who is standing off to the side will dance along to the rhythm of the music. At one point a gentleman walks to the middle of the promenade and lip-synchs a performance of the song playing while the dancers twirl around him. The few hours every Sunday when the dance class meets on the promenade provide a pause from daily life for every onlooker who stops to appreciate the beauty of the dancers and transcended their worries for a brief moment in time.
Meredith Duvall
Wearing a burnt orange jumpsuit and black heals the woman with the flowing black hair dances along the promenade with her partner as if they were alone in a studio. Onlookers snap photos and make recordings as the two salsa and tango seamlessly through the hot Caribbean air. Every Sunday for three to four hours anyone who comes along can watch the woman in the burnt orange jumpsuit instruct and show her students how to do a proper tango and salsa in the middle of the promenade behind Hotel Sevilla. As students practice little children run between the dancing couples and people carrying their groceries, careful not to interrupt. The stereo blares music and people of all ages stop to watch the show. It is as if this is not a class, but a street performance.
And it is a street performance. The students are able to practice in public and overcome any fear they may have about performing in front of an audience, while passersby are able to appreciate the students’ hard work. Furthermore, by practicing and performing in public the instructor is able to show off her students and drum up more business as people watch in awe what she was able teach. It’s a brilliant business strategy and one that I’m sure has been successful for the instructor in the burnt orange jumpsuit.
Onlookers, both Cuban and foreigners, love watching the dance class practice. People clap at the end of every dance and occasionally a pair who is standing off to the side will dance along to the rhythm of the music. At one point a gentleman walks to the middle of the promenade and lip-synchs a performance of the song playing while the dancers twirl around him. The few hours every Sunday when the dance class meets on the promenade provide a pause from daily life for every onlooker who stops to appreciate the beauty of the dancers and transcended their worries for a brief moment in time.