Sonya Wilson's Blog

Me and my new best friend, Maks Chmerkovskiy

Right?  You can be best friends after one dance lesson, right?

New York is fun, but it’s just teeming with people–all kinds of people, all over the place.  I almost feel like I’m back in Rome for the crowds, London for the diversity–except New York seems even more diverse.

When I took this picture I was sitting next to some Italians in the dining area at the Whole Foods, trying to understand their conversation and watching from the clear glass wall as people milled around Union Square.  By the way, this Whole Foods is AMAZING.  (Supposedly there are about 5 of them in Manhattan.)  There’s enough prepared food to boggle even the most decisive mind, and with 3 floors, this place is no secret.  Despite 35 cash registers, you still have to wait 15 minutes in line.

In case someone is wondering what in the world I was doing taking a ballroom dance lesson from Maksim Chmerkovskiy, let me explain.  I was taking a ballroom dance lesson from Maksim Chmerkovskiy.  In case you’re wondering who he is, he’s an amazing ballroom dancer on Dancing with the Stars.  I actually don’t watch TV myself, but this season was an exception, and if you really want to know why, just ask and I’ll explain–it has to do with Evan Lysacek.

The dance lesson was preceded by a seminar a few days earlier given by Maks which was a lot of fun.  He taught us a bit of the jive, the samba, the rumba, and all about the figure 8 hip action, which he said is the basis for all the dances.  In my private lesson, he taught me more about hip action and a bit of footwork.  He’s extremely detailed, funny, and friendly.  He explained how the movements flow in the context of the whole body, and to help me get it, he had me put my hands on his back muscles as he contracted and stretched them as he was conversely stretching and contracting his stomach muscles to get the biggest figure 8 possible.  At one point he said something like, “Since you’re an intellectual, you’ll understand this…”  (Intellectual?  Um, is it the glasses?  Probably since I told him I was looking into the publishing scene and grad schools here.  Ah, the beauty of deceptive first impressions.)

At another juncture he said, “Now, I don’t mean to sound racist at all.  But, understand me correctly, since your name isn’t”—he looked up and lowered his voice—“Maria Torres, this Latin dancing is not in your blood and it’s not natural for you.  Right?

“Si, es la verdad, tu sabes que no soy de Mexico,” I said.

“Okay, I have no idea what you just said.  But I’m Russian, and it’s not natural for me either.  But I believe that there’s no such thing as natural talent.  You have to do something over and over and over until it looks natural and it feels natural, and then you’re better off than someone like Maria Torres, because she’s doing what’s natural, but now we can do more than what’s natural and apply it to all kinds of dance.  You know what I’m saying?”

I nodded.  If I was an intellectual, I better get it.

So we practiced the figure 8 over and over, him pulling my hips back until I looked like Maria Torres, only worse, and I started to get it.  Then we worked on the feet, how to point the toe place the heel and pull in the knee to the point of, um, maximum feminine aesthetic affect.  Then he did an amazing demonstration of how the arms just follow as an extension of proper technique, and I–can I sound like a Californian for a second?—I was like, WOW.

Anyway, it was kind of surreal working with a celebrity, but also pretty normal since I felt like I already knew him, and just really fun.  And si, I  have been practicing.

I’m now on a bus on the way to Boston to check out Emerson College, and I have a full day scheduled in New York Monday before I head back home.  I’ve already been asked twice why in the world I’m looking to move to New York if I already live in San Diego.  Pues, mis amigos, that’s what I’m here to find out!

This entry was posted on June 18, 2010 at 2:42 am and is filed under Travel. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.