The first time a bachata song came up, a stranger asked me to dance. I said yes because, for one, I love dancing just about anything, but also because I know it’s hard for a guy to ask a woman he doesn’t know to dance a bachata song. There’s the closeness factor to take in to account. Will she be comfortable with my embrace? Or will she freak out? Some of my male friends have shared their frustrations when dancing with women who absolutely insist on keeping them at arm’s length during a bachata song. They confessed feeling totally turned off and even a bit rejected. But hey, what’s there to do? Not much, if you ask me. I, on the other hand, really enjoy the close embrace of bachata as long as it doesn’t get raunchy. But I also enjoy doing footwork at the rhythm of the music the way I saw dancers do it in Dominican Republic back in 2007. I was there to perform with Santo Rico at the Punta Cana Salsa congress and let me tell you, they don’t even get close when they dance bachata!

Some leaders here in Austin are really good at helping you syncopate through parts of the song. It can be truly, truly fun when that happens! So, if you’re a bachata lover, know that I’m definitely looking forward to more bachata dances this weekend

In the fourth and last part of this series we will learn a few exercises designed to strengthen your core muscles so you have more fuel for each turn you take on the dance floor. Not only is a strong core important for keeping your body healthy, but it also protects your spine and helps you maintain an optimal posture throughout the day.

Below you will find four suggested exercises with video explanations from top coach Yarixa Ferrao, a certified PACE instructor. I have trained many dancers with these exercises with outstanding results. Aim to do them twice to three times a week during a 15-minute session. When you practice your spinning drills, remember to support your torso with your stomach and back muscles; they should feel strong and engaged after a couple of weeks of these exercises!

Suggested core-strengthening exercises for Salsa dancers

1. Plank & Variations

2. Dirt Digger

3. Crunches & Variations

4. Push-ups!!

To learn more about salsa dancing, join my Online Salsa Academy at http://www.EveryoneCanSalsa.com

And check out my Salsa DVDs at Jazzy Dance Company

“Don’t sacrifice form. There’s no point to lots of turns without form.”
Gillian Murphy, principal dancer at American Ballet Theater

In the third part of this series we will learn how to prepare and take off for that perfect turn. Now that you have your feet properly placed and your posture optimally aligned, the actual task of turning is next. First, let’s go over one of the most important concepts of spinning: spotting.

SPOTTING
Spotting is a technique developed by the Italian ballet schools in the late nineteenth century. It is said that the Italians kept their spotting technique secret by practicing their pirouettes only in locked studios away from the competition. In simple terms, spotting allows the dancer to delay the rotation of the head relative to the rotation of the body by visually focusing on a fixed point (spot) at eye level. Spotting can help you speed up your turns, prevent dizziness, and conserve energy as you perform multiple turns. Thus, mastering spotting will be of key importance to achieving clean and effortless turns. I highly recommend you take a look at ballroomdancers.com’s site for a great visual of how spotting works.

How To
Find a spot at eye level and hold your gaze on that spot until the last possible moment in your turn, then quickly snap your head around and find the same spot immediately. Practice spotting while slowly rotating your body around its axle. Focus on keeping your eyes fixed on that one spot in front of you as long as possible, and when your head turns around, make sure to take a picture of only that spot before finishing the turn.

TAKE OFF
In salsa, most turns are done en dedans, or inward, whereby the body turns toward the supporting leg. For example, if you’re turning to the right, your supporting leg will be your right leg. If you’re turning to the left, your supporting leg will be your left leg. In ballet and Jazz, it is also common to turn en dehors, or outward, whereby the body turns away from the supporting leg. When practicing salsa turns however, make sure you always keep your weight on the appropriate leg (en dedans), as explained above. Here is your preparation for a right axle turn:

1. Stand in dancer’s position with arms slightly below your chest.
2. Turn your body to the left 45 degrees and take your left leg slightly in that direction and away from your body. Imagine that you’re going to take a step with your left leg but keep all your weight on the right leg. Turning your body slightly away from the direction of rotation creates momentum and torque.
3. Find a spot in front of you and begin turning to the right. Think of initiating the turn with your back, especially the right side of your body, rather than your arms. Don’t use your arms to hurl yourself around. Hold them neatly in position and avoid overcrossing them in front or sagging the elbows.
4. Find your spot on the other side and finish your turn. Ideally you’d sustain your balance for an extra moment at the end of the turn before the working leg relaxes and your weight distributes evenly on both legs. Practice sustaining your balance before and after your turn to regain control.

TIP: As you turn, relax the upper body and exhale so you can float through the turn.

CONFIDENCE IS KEY

“Turning is a gift, though it requires a certain dynamic and a certain fearlessness.”
Gillian Murphy, principal dancer at American Ballet Theater

Though for some of us spinning can be pure bliss, for others it may be a source of what we call “turn anxiety.” One thing to keep in mind is that none of us was born spinning. So as you practice, be really patient with yourself. Allow your body to make mistakes, and let it adjust to balancing on one foot while turning on its axle. Learning to spin with ease requires practice and time. Lots of practice, for sure. When it comes to spinning, your formula for success will look invariably like this:

Clean Turn = Correct Technique + Practice + Practice + More Practice

Having said that, you also have to know when to leave it alone. Lots of diligent practice is required, yes, but if you feel frustrated and even after sincere extra attempts you can’t seem to get that turn, then let it rest and resume the next day. Remember that a good turn should feel easy.

In the next part of this series we will go over suggested exercises to strengthen your core muscles so you turn faster and with more ease.

To learn more about salsa dancing, join my Online Salsa Academy at http://www.EveryoneCanSalsa.com

And check out my Salsa DVDs at Jazzy Dance Company

Without giving it much thought, I rushed to get in line inadvertently cutting in front of a tall, young man dressed in a business suit. I stood in front of him for a minute or so, then turned around and asked if he was traveling on business. He said yes. He was going to San Jose on business for a week. Semi-conductor industry. Finances, to be precise, he clarified. I told him I was going to San Jose for vacation, mostly to speak French and sing karaoke. This made him laugh.

“Are you a singer?” he asked in surprise.
“Oh, heck no, I sing for fun, just ‘cause my friends like to sing and it’s a blast. They put on the best karaoke parties!” I said.
“So what do you do other than sing and speak French?” he asked, this time his smile was less business and more relaxed.
“I teach dance. I perform. I direct a dance company. That’s it in a nutshell”, I said with a hint of shyness.
“Let me guess. Salsa. You dance salsa?” he asked.
“Yeap, how did you know?” I always wonder why people assume it’s salsa and not, say, tango or ballroom.
“Well, your accent. Mexican, arent’ you?” he said self-assured.
“Yes, you got that right.” I said with a big smile.
“How much do you charge for a lesson?” he asked bluntly.
“Oh, you mean for a private lesson?” I said.
“Yes,” he said, earger to hear the magic number.
“Well, it’s $75 for a lesson”
“Holy shit! Does that include alcohol and dinner with you?” he said this with a flabbergasted look on his face.
“Nope, no alcohol, no dinner. Just me and hopefully you learning something new,” I wasn’t sure what else to say at this point, but then it surprised me to hear him say, “Ok, well, can I get your business card? Maybe I’ll call you for a lesson.” Now he seemed more interested than shocked at the rate I had quoted him. I pulled out my wallet to get a business card, but then realized I only had the ones with my web address in it, not my phone number.
“Ok, here is one, but it doesn’t have my phone number because…”
He interrupted me before I could finish.
“Because you don’t want white guys like me to be calling you for no reason. I get it,” he said a bit deflated.
“No, it’s not that at all, I just ran out of my previous cards. But it has my email you can email me. What’s your name by the way?” I said.
“Booie. And yours?”
“My name is Azucena,” I said this while extending my hand to shake his.
“Well, it doesn’t seem fair you have my business card and I don’t have yours. Can I have yours?” I asked playfully.
“What doesn’t seem fair is that mine has my phone number and yours doesn’t. I can give you my email address, if you want it.” said Booie, business face back on.
“Oh, well, sure,” I said hesitantly, but at that moment it was time to check in so I hurried to the counter with ID in hand.

By the time I was done checking in, I’d forgotten I was going to jot down his email address, for no reason whatsoever other than to be polite. I turned around and just said, “Nice to meet you Booie, have a safe flight and a nice stay in San Jose.”

He nodded his head in agreement. After that, I only saw him once during the three-hour flight, right before take off. He was seated about 8 rows in front of me. I dozed off right after that and by the time I opened my eyes we had already landed. But the question remains, did he want my phone number or was he really interested in salsa lessons?

FEET PLACEMENT
In most partner dances including salsa, Latin ballroom, swing, and even tango, the ideal position of the feet is an adaptation of ballet’s first position whereby the heels are touching and the toes are turned out almost 180 degrees. For salsa however, the turnout of the feet is slight where the heels are closer together than the front of the feet. To achieve this position, stand up with your feet together so that the outer edges of your feet are parallel to each other. In other words, heels are touching and the big toes are also touching. From there, open the balls of the feet away from the midline anywhere from 25 to 45 degrees, or about one to two inches. How much you turnout your feet will depend on the flexibility of your hips and hip flexors. So go only as far as it’s comfortable and stable for you. Do this while keeping your heels together.

You may ask, why on earth do I want to keep my feet in this position while I’m dancing? Good question. I wondered the same for a long time. One of my ballet teachers in New York who was a principal dancer for many years in Russia, put it like this: at the end of a turn, your turnout will assist you with balance and will help you stop and take off for a turn more efficiently. Another teacher of Modern Jazz told me, in more technical terms, that the bigger the area of the square your feet create, the more balance and hold you will have on the floor. So there, be it for balance or aesthetics, if you keep a slight turnout on your feet, you will have more control of the beginning and end of your turns. Voilà!

DISTRIBUTION OF WEIGHT
During a turn, you want to keep your weight on the ball of the supporting foot. Avoid at all costs to turn on your heels. Imagine that you want to reduce the size of the surface on which you are turning. Ballerinas do it on the round of a quarter. For the rest of us earthlings, that may be the round of the ball of our foot. Why? Because the less surface area of your foot making contact with the floor, the less friction created, and thus, the less work you have to exert to turn. Makes sense, doesn’t it? But to accomplish this forward-weighted stance, some of us may need to strengthen our ankles, legs, and hips. Here are some exercises that will do just that.

DRILLS TO IMPROVE BALANCE & STRENGTH

TREE POSE
There are two main exercises I have used with great success not only on myself but also on the dancers in my company. The first one is called Tree pose and it comes from yoga. It is a seemingly simple balancing pose and yet it can challenge the best of us. So be patient with yourself if it’s challenging at first. Here is what you have to do. Stand with your feet in dancing position, remembering to keep the balls of your feet slightly turned out. Now switch all your weight to the right leg. Lift your left foot off the floor and bring it to the inside of your right knee. Your can keep your left knee pointing forward or you can open it 90 degrees to the left as in ballet’s Passé position. Make sure both hip bones are aligned and parallel to the floor. Bring your arms in dancer’s position in front of your body, or for an extra challenge, extend them over your head while keeping your upper arms close to your ears. Hold this pose for up to a minute while gazing forward. Then switch legs.

CALF-RAISES or RELEVÉ
The second exercise is the popular calf-raise. In ballet this is called relevé but most of us just know it as calf-raises: raising the heels off the floor as high as possible then returning to neutral position. This exercise will improve your ankle strength as well as your ability to engage every muscle in your supporting leg while turning. But here is the deal, try doing calf-raises with your dancing shoes on and with both feet raising up and down at the same time. Make sure you are close to a wall or a stationary object such as a chair to support yourself while doing this exercise. Eventually your balance will improve so that you can do this exercise without the need of a wall.

Okay, now that you have your feet properly placed and your posture straight, we are ready for take off. In the next part of this series we will go over the preparation and execution of that perfect turn!

To learn more about salsa dancing, join my Online Salsa Academy at http://www.EveryoneCanSalsa.com

And check out my Salsa DVDs at Jazzy Dance Company

I first discovered Salsa in late 2003 at a popular club called Miguel’s La Bodega which used to be located in the warehouse district of downtown Austin. Four nights out of the week, I’d watch and be mesmerized by the dancers swaying to the rhythm of the syncopated percussions. One thing that attracted my attention more than anything else was the way the female dancers were spinning. Some of them were spinning so effortlessly, one turn after another, that it made me wonder if they had “magic” shoes. Later on I found out that indeed they had special shoes just for this kind of dancing. Shoes notwithstanding, the common denominator across the board seemed to be spins, spins, and more spins!

That’s when I knew Salsa was for me. Since then, and after dancing salsa professionally for the last six years as the video shows above, I have learned and taught different techniques for improving spinning ability, speed, and balance, and I would like to share some of them with you in this four-part series:

Part One: Posture: Head, Shoulders, Arms, Hands, Torso and Back
Part Two: Feet position and drills to improve balance
Part Three: Learning how to prep and execute that perfect turn
Part Four: The importance of core strengthening and suggested exercises

Let’s start with the most important aspect of the perfect execution of a turn or any dance figure: posture. It may seem obvious to some, but most of us do not have perfect posture in one way or another. The better your posture, the better your skeleton will support your body weight with less effort and the more stable your movement will become. So let’s see if we can attain the best posture our body is capable of before we take that first turn.

HEAD
For many people, especially those who work in front of a computer, the tendency is to push the chin forward, creating tension in the back of the neck. If you turn with a protruding chin, you will notice that your body tends to go forward and out of balance at the end of the turn. To correct this, stand up with your feet hip-width apart. Your head should be right over your shoulders, floating over your torso without any effort. Both ears should be pointing down and toward the shoulders and your chin should be parallel to the floor. Imagine that you have a cord attached to the top of your head elongating you upward. The back of your neck is long and relaxed and your chin neither juts forward nor tucks under.

SHOULDERS
Before executing a turn, your shoulders should be engaged enough to support your torso and chest. A good exercise I learned from Yoga teacher Rodney Yee is to have someone wrap their arms around your upper arms as if to lift you off the floor. You then try to break free from her/his hold and in doing so, you naturally engage your shoulder blades by broadening your back. Another way to position your shoulders and upper back for a turn is to hug a medicine ball. This movement broadens your back, flattening your shoulder blades and expanding them away from the center.

TORSO AND BACK
Your back should be in its natural position but for many of us that means a swayed back (tailbone pointing too far back away from your body) or a tucked-in pelvis (tailbone pointing too far forward toward the front of the body). Two things that we need to pay attention to: the tailbone should be in a neutral position and the ribcage should be floating over your hips without protruding forward. To find this ideal point, lie down on your back with your knees pointing toward the ceiling and your feet flat on the floor. Make an imprint of how your tailbone rests flat on the floor and your entire spine is on a straight line. When you stand up, imagine that you are trying to align your pelvis right over your hips and ankles on a straight line. The chest is lifted but your ribs do not protrude and your torso should be slightly forward so your armpits align with your hip bones.

ARMS
Your arms can help you maintain your balance and momentum as you turn. However, they should never be used to actually make you turn which is a common mistake made by novice dancers. To find the optimal position of the arms, raise your arms to chest level as if to hug a friend, making sure your elbows point to the sides of your body and are positioned below your shoulders. Subsequently, your wrists should be positioned below your elbows with the palms of your hands toward you. This would be first position in ballet (French and Russian schools). As you take off for a turn, your arms should remain in front of your torso at all times. Make sure not to bring one arm closer to your center than the other and maintain the same distance between your elbows throughout every turn.

In the next part of this series we will go over foot position and drills that will help you improve your balance before you take off for that perfect turn.

To learn more about salsa dancing, join my Online Salsa Academy at http://www.EveryoneCanSalsa.com

And check out my Salsa DVDs at Jazzy Dance Company

I do as she instructs. Now it’s just laying down with my back on the table and knees toward the ceiling. I should be feeling embarrassed or some sense of decorum as I lay here half-naked in front of a woman I barely know. But the fact that she does this everyday, wax half-naked women from head to toe, relieves me of the pressure of looking in any way different from the way I already look. It’s more like visiting the gynecologist than anything else, except that by the time Natalie is done, I’ll feel more like a plucked bird ready for roasting.

“Wait, did you say American Idol? Really? You auditioned for American Idol?!” I ask with my arms interlaced behind my head.
“That was last year. I sang that song, Amor Eterno. I didn’t get selected though,” says Natalie, as she takes a good look at my bikini area, surveying the terrain that needs to be mown.
“That’s a shame. I bet you sing beautifully, Natalie. Would you sing for me? Would you sing that song?” I say, sounding more like a child asking mom for candy.
“You’re kidding? No way, I’d be too embarrased,” she says. This time she doesn’t sound that convincing. I have an inkling that if I keep prodding, she will.
“I promise not to look. I’d love to hear you sing that song. Please?!?” I plead.
“Mmhm, okay, but first, let me get this side. Ready? It’s going to hurt a little,” she says. I nod while I grit my teeth and hold on to the edges of the table. “Riiiipp!”
“Do you ever do this on men?” I ask curiously. I cannot imagine any guy being on this table half-naked waiting to be plucked like a bird.
“No way. We only do this on women, salon’s policy,” she says with a stern expression on her face. “Can you imagine? It just wouldn’t go very well. Women doing this on men, forget it. Men doing this on men, no clients will ever show up. From whatever angle you look at it, it just wouldn’t work,” she says decisively.
“Okay, let me hear it, Amor Eterno,” I say, my voice sounding a bit too commanding.
“Gosh, you’re really going to make me sing, aren’t you? Okay, but I have to dim the lights, you can’t see me while I sing. I’m really shy when it comes to singing in front of people” says Natalie. Funny that she’s the one embarrased and I’m not, under the circumstances.
“I won’t, I promise,” I say. This is surreal. Here I am on the table half-waxed, half-naked, and about to hear Natalie sing a cappella. She reminds me of a little child showing off her talents in front of her family. She reminds me of me.

Natalie dims the lights in the small room that only fits the massage table, two chairs, a chest of drawers, and equipment for facials. Under the candle-like light, she begins to sing. Her voice is angelical and velvety in texture. And even though she’s shy and holds back in certain notes, I can tell she’s got potential. I try to encourage her, “Natalie your voice is beautiful.” She keeps singing:

Tu eres la tristeza de mis ojos
Que lloran en silencio por tu amor
Me miro en el espejo y veo en mi rostro
El tiempo que he sufrido por tu adios…

This is one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard. Composed for Rocío Durcal by Juan Gabriel, when one of her sons drowned in a beach in Acapulco. By the time she finishes the song, I sit up and applaud excitedly, elated by her sweet voice.
“Wow, Natalie, you really have talent!” I say sincerely.
“You think?” she asks with a timid smile. “Yes, of course, absolutely girl, you have to keep singing,” I say. “I’m always singing. I know that about me, I’ll always sing. It makes me feel happy,” says Natalie as she grabs the tweezers to remove any last trace of hair.
“If it makes you feel happy, then you have a treasure inside you that no one can tamper with or take away from you. Do you think you’ll want to audition again?” I say.
“Mhm, I don’t know. That was demoralizing. There were so many people there, so much talent. I felt like I had no chance by the time I got on stage,” says Natalie as she plucks and plucks away, and everytime she does, it feels like a needle puncturing my skin.
“So what? Do it anyway. We fall, we get up, we try again. That’s just the way it is. I once read that all professionals started as amateurs. So we have to keep honing our craft, keep getting better. Don’t you think?” I say.
“I suppose so,” Natalie says. “Okay, missy, you are set, check it out.”
I prop myself up on my elbows to take a look. My skin feels tingly and bare.
“Yeap, that should do it,” I say.
“All righty then, that should last about 3 to 4 weeks depending on how fast your hair grows back, then it’s just maintenance every month,” says Natalie.
“Thanks Natalie, and thank you for singing that song for me. That was special,” I say with a big smile. We share a conspiratorial smile and part ways. Who would have thought I’d get my own personal concert during a bikini wax?

Kally, on the other hand, seems wide awake. She greets me matter-of-factly and gets ready to explore the state of my teeth, gums, and who knows what else dentists find in there. Oh yes, cavities of course, which is why I’m here. While I wait for her to get my chart, I leaf through the pages of a magazine and find a half-page photograph of the impossibly, ridiculously, idiotically gorgeous George Clooney. This jolts me out of my dormant state in a heartbeat, better than caffeine. I pray silently, please God if you let me go to heaven, let there be many men like him up there, please, please, please...

“Isn’t he the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen?” I ask Kally showing her the photograph. She takes a look at the magazine and raises one eyebrow. “Mmhm, well, indeed he is gorgeous,” and then gets down to business, “now open your mouth wide for me.” Those may be the most dreaded words for some, but for me, going to the dentist is actually… dare I say… fun. There’s just something about being strapped to a chair (in the figurative sense of the word, of course, although my imagination can leap moutains… but that’s another blog) with at least two people attending to me that makes me feel, in a corny kind of way, special. It’s kind of like going to therapy without having to talk about your problems or, better yet, not having to talk at all.

“Have you seen any good movies lately?” I ask in between X-ray takes.
“Not really. I’m not much of a movie person. The last movie I saw was Eclipse, but only because my husband dragged me to see it. I’m really not into vampires,” replies Kally while inserting a soft pad in my mouth for another X-ray. I instantly think her husband must be absolutely cool. I mean, who drags his wife to see Eclipse?
“Do you have any kids?” asks Kally. I wonder why she wants to know.
“No, not at the moment. Do you?” I say.
“No, not anytime soon,” replies Kally. I take a second look at her and estimate she’s around my age, mid-thirties, give and take two years. If either of us were in a Latin American country, we’d already have at least two kids. My best friend Martha, who lives in Monterrey, is married with two kids, works full-time, but thinks it’s sensible not to have a third child like most of her friends. For example, Karla, one of her best friends, has five kids which she happened to have all at once. Nature wasn’t very kind to her in those days, but she’s a happy mother now. Still, five kids at once? I pray silently, please God if I ever have kids, let them come one at a time, not two or three at a time, just one, please, please, please…

After examining my X-rays, Kally has some bad news. I have developed two cavities. For the past four years I’ve been fortunate enough not to have anything done on my teeth, but today is not my lucky day and I am definitely not happy about this. The thought of coming back, sitting on this chair, and talking to Kally is not so bad, however. Maybe next time I’ll ask her more meaningful questions about her life, her work, her passions. Maybe I’ll share some of my own, tell her a bit about what I do and what I haven’t done but want to. As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, just make lemonade. And take a magazine with a picture of George Clooney just in case.

Heart pounding in my throat, I accelerate my pace looking sidelong at him as he approaches me from behind with long hurried strides like a Bengal tiger about to pounce on unsuspecting deer. On my right, I see a large filthy canvas tent, and before I know it, he pulls me in it, with the force of his right arm wrapped around my waist.

The rest of his group is still across the street, cheering him on and uttering obscene sexual grunts and sounds of dominance and lust. They see the canvas molding into a hand, arms, and feet thrusting and kicking, then two bodies locked in a ferocious tussle. They hear me howl violently, then punches against bones, nails against skin, and knuckles against live flesh that shudders and trembles. Long minutes filled with more of the same go by, what seems to be a spectacle for the audience across the street who laughs and cheers. Then, at last, silence ensues.

I look down at my hands, scratched and stained dark red, and then at my attacker who appears to be unconscious. His navy blue T-shirt is shredded on the front and his hair is matted with blood on the right side of his head. His right arm is bent in an awkward impossible position I can’t seem to comprehend. After a few seconds, it dawns on me that it was I who did this. How did I manage to knock him unconscious? The men outside gasp when they see me walk out of the tent, mostly unharmed, save for the numbness on the left side of my face and my hands. I keep walking away from the tent, in the same direction I remember going before and with the same sentiment of invincibility. The thought crosses my mind that I might not be human after all. But then, what am I?
Dreaming…

With ten minutes to spare before the class begins, I make a run for the restroom, not realizing there is a line of eight people waiting their turn. Impatiently, I get in line, fidgeting from leg to leg, trying to think of something other than my pressing bladder.
“Hey girl!” Veronica calls out, raising her eyebrows and nodding her head in my direction, blue mat under her left arm. She’s checking in at the front desk; behind her, an interminable line of yogis. I wave at her, making a grimace that can best be described as, the I-must-pee-right-this-instant face. Then I see the yellow blond hair poking out behind Veronica’s shoulder. It’s Heath. He’s in line behind her, ready to check in.
As I observe him, this time from a farther distance than when I first saw him and under different circumstances, I notice how guileless his face looks, almost innocent, and how harmless his demeanor seems to be. Not at all the type who would present a threat to anyone, least of all me. His frame is thin and small-chested, with long, stringy arms dangling to his sides. The round of his bare, sunburned shoulders reflects the light like new polished leather, and so do his cheeks and nose. He’s barefoot and his Lululemon shirt matches his blue leggings which hug his narrow hips tightly. I turn away and pretend I didn’t see him. What would I say? I almost kicked you in the chin last time I saw you ‘cause you were so creepy? He doesn’t seem to notice me when he walks by, inches away from where I’m standing.

By the time I get back to class, bladder happily empty, the room is teeming with a steady stream of chatter. This is common of Jen’s class. Everyone seems to know everyone else or wants to know about everyone else’s life. The only person I know besides the instructor is Veronica, whom I met weeks ago. My eyes search the room for the yellow blond hair and sunburned skin. He’s on the row in front of me, lying down on his back, motionless, palms up toward the ceiling, eyes closed. I feel instantly guilty that I even considered using self-defense techniques on this guy. I head toward my mat and sit in cross-legged position, ready for the class to start. And a funny thing happened during class. Every now and then, I would look toward his mat, secretly hoping he’d notice me. How can he not see me? Remember me?
Once the class wraps up, I head straight to pick up my shoes from the multitude of pairs that are stuffed in dozens of cubbyholes against a wall, put them on and walk out to my car. I have to meet a friend in less than ten minutes.
“I like your bag,” says a voice behind me. I turn around and see Heath smiling at me.
“Thanks, my orange bag seems to be popular. Heath, right?” I say more friendly this time.
“Yeah… it’s big, and it’s definitely bright orange. I’m sorry, was it Susana?” he says this as he tilts his head right. There seems to be a veil of sadness in his eyes that instantly tugs at my heart.
“Close. Just add an A at the beginning. Can I ask you a question? Are you outdoors often? You have a serious tan going on, you know?” I say jokingly, trying not to sound judgmental.
“Oh, this,” here he looks at his arms, “well, I don’t have a car so I walk everywhere I need to go, or take the bus, or both,” Heath says this with a hint of embarrassment, and then adds, “I’m a programmer but haven’t had any steady contracts lately so I don’t want to spend on a car until I get something for sure.”
“That makes sense, of course,” I say sympathetically, not knowing what else to say. I haven’t walked more than a block under this blistering sun lately. I cannot imagine how hot it must be for him. No wonder he’s so thin, I think to myself.
“You seem all dressed up, ready for dinner, or a date?” Heath asks intrigued.
“Me? No. Well, yes, dinner with a friend,” I say.
“Hopefully a good friend, those are hard to find, you know? Good friends are gold. Is your friend, the one you’re having dinner with, is he or she gold?” as he says this, his eyes squint as the sun hits his face from the west.
“She. Yeah, she’s gold, she’s a keeper. Anyway, it was nice meeting you again, Heath. Be safe, all right?” I say amiably.
“Sure thing, you too, be safe, Asusana,” he takes a few steps back, still looking at me then adds, “peace,” and walks away.
Peace to you as well, Heath.