Wicked!

Sometimes, I feel like being just a little bit Wicked! Not mean wicked, but crazy wicked. There are times when I'll be sitting at my desk, trying to work. But the more I try to concentrate, the more I just want to jump up from my desk, break into song, or do a little jig.

Today was especially hard since I just saw Wicked for the first time last night and my head was literally swimming in songs from the musical. It probably didn't help that I was listening to the songs on Grooveshark while trying to work. But I couldn't help it; they are just so good!

And several of the songs seemed to be simply beckoning me to break away from my desk and dance. Dancing through Life and Thank Goodness, especially, make we want to waltz every time I hear them. "I couldn't be happier..." that I finally got to see Wicked. I've been wanting to see it for the longest time. Now, if only I could be in a production of it... that would be wonderful :)

--Arkajit

Singing on a Bike

This summer, most of my Saturday mornings have begun with a singing bike ride. Actually, several of my weekday morning bike rides to work have also featured similar musical numbers. And though I've been meaning to write about these rides for a while, I've never gotten around to it. So instead, I've decided to show you, rather than tell you.



These bike rides are really quite exhilarating. I find it quite freeing, especially when my hands are off the handlebars and free to gesticulate along with the music. I'll occasionally throw in a few simple dance numbers too, but that's harder to do with one hand holding a camera ;)

But when my hands are completely unencumbered, the bike's frame just becomes an extension of my feet. And at times like these, I'm often inspired to dance around turns while waving my hands maniacally :)

Oh, and I've found that these shenanigans are best-saved for the early mornings when there are likely to be fewer witnesses ;)

--Arkajit

Cross-Training

What's new since the last time I was at Google? They now have a danceplex! And throughout the week they have tons of classes in a variety of dance styles. Super cool!

Today, I dropped in on a Capoeira class. Capoeira is a type of Brazilian dance form that doubles as a martial art. And let me tell you, it's harder than it looks. Actually, it looks pretty hard already. But from the first day at least, it seems even harder than that :)

I exercise fairly regularly, but I still found Capoeira refreshingly difficult. I showed up in a t-shirt and jeans, which I now realize was a bad idea. Within minutes, I was sweating freely and my shirt and jeans began sticking to me like tape. 

There were some moves that required you to do handstands or cartwheels which were a bit challenging for me. But it was still a pretty enjoyable experience. It really augments my daily exercise routine in new, exciting ways. I think Capoeira could turn into a very useful cross-training program for me. 

And while it's a good workout, Capoeira is still, at its heart, a dance form. There are moves and steps that are coordinated to the beat of music. And all the figures can actually be done with a partner. Just as in other types of dancing like ballroom, your moves mirror your partner's. Some of the moves are even reminiscent of figures from other dance styles. For example, we learned one simple side-to-side two-step that's very much like the basic step in Samba.

I'm excited to learn more about Capoeira and I hope I'll be able to stick with it over the summer.

--Arkajit