Since September 2024, I have been taking up weekly 1.5h sessions of Jazz Intro with Jazz.Artistry.Movement (J.A.M.)'s Mel.
I admit that I was responded to the dance form through an Instagram ad, (perhaps naively) hoping to find a more accepting dance form. I had felt like my body was too old to conform to the demands of ballet. So imagine my surprise when I entered class and was told to do plies and pas de bourrees!
My flexibility (and pas de bourrees) need a lot more work and I am still trying to figure out what has made me stay on. I wonder if it has to do with the more contemporary (pop) sound and the openness to blend with elements from other dance forms. Or perhaps, it is to do with the focus on conditioning, to slowly nudge my body into form. Or maybe even perhaps, the intergenerational crowd of fellow attendees. I might not have said it aloud but it is encouraging to be in the such a space and that my body can continue moving.