Your dancer partner is a palm, the music is Mozart

It's a fitness routine that gets you dancing in no particular style to Enya, Bach and Mozart. Aastha Atray Banan dropped in to make up her own steps, stare into a stranger's eyes, and boogie with a woman's palm

Mid Day writer Aastha Atray Banan (right) tried her hand at Movement. PIC/Sameer Markande

I love dancing. When at a club, I know exactly what moves look good on me a slight hip roll, the slinky body wave, all choreographed to perfection over hours in front of a mirror while Britney sang about being a slave. So, when Meera Mittal told a bunch of us first timers go wild with our body, and dance in no particular style, I hit a road block. Wasn't dance all about looking cool? "It is also about letting go of worldly worries and finding that inner choreographer," said the NIFT-graduate who has trained in Bharatnatyam, Odissi and Latin dancing. Her class deals with Movement, a dance form that has often been used by theatre actors to loosen up.

It started off with Meera telling the class to "just dance", and feel the music. So, each one tried to do what they thought was dance, stumbling to the soothing tunes of Deep Forest. Some of us were visibly relieved when the music stopped. But that's when it got really uncomfortable; we were asked to practise the eye technique imagine looking deep into the eyes of a complete stranger, not for a second, but for the length of a whole song!

Eye contact with a stranger
The first five seconds were cruel "he's staring at me? Do I look silly? Do I look fat?" questions are more than likely to hurtle through your mind. But once the awkwardness passed, I found myself connecting with a stranger. And just when I was patting myself on the back, it got worse. Meera instructed us to pair up again, this time one person was the leader, the other, a follower. The follower would have to keep eye contact with the leader's palm, which would move as he danced. I found myself cleaning the floor with my dress, reaching high on my toes and running around in circles all so that I could keep up with a palm!

Ballet, that's not ballet, makes you sweat
It had been just 50 minutes, and I was alreadyu00a0 panting and working up quite a sweat, a feat I didn't think possible as I danced ballet style (or what I though was ballet) to Australian singer Enya's music. The last 10 minutes were about free movement, dancing on your own, making up the steps as you went along, smiling at the stranger next to you, and caring a fig about how you looked. Perhaps that's where Meera's class scores. It puts a pep in your step, and helps you shed inhibition as easily as casting aside an yesterday garment. Meera Mittal's Movement classes are held at Mint Health and Fitness, 202, Everest Classic, above Esprit showroom, Linking Road, Khar (W), every Sunday, at 5 pm. Call on 9819847794. Fees: Rs 3,000 for two months.