Dancing Through Life

Because the real title would’ve got caught by your spam filters

This week, I’m getting cosy, and adding some sass.

• 🍜 Kabuto instant noodles. When I get back from an evening dance class (more on that below), I don’t want to cook, and because I’m going straight to bed, I tend to only want something light. Time for posh instant noodles to step into the limelight! Bristol-based small business Kabuto make really nice instant noodles (and mac & cheese!) with all natural ingredients, which are the perfect restorative pot of goodness on a cold night. I tend to stir in some marinated tofu cubes, or sliced ham, or whatever protein is open in the fridge, to stop me waking up hungry in the middle of the night, but if you haven’t just done a 2 hour dance class, that probably isn’t a problem!

• 📕 10 Things That Never Happened, by Alexis Hall, read for audio by Will Watt. I had only just finished listening to Rosaline Palmer, one of Alexis Hall’s previous books, on audio, when I found out that he had a new book coming out this autumn, and that the audiobook was going to be read by Will Watt, someone I am lucky enough to consider a friend. It’s not just me who thinks this recording is excellent - it’s been named one of the best audiobooks of 2023! I’d highly recommend it for a bit of pre-Christmas silliness. You’ll never look at a glass shower cubicle the same way again (no, take your minds out of the gutter, it’s not like that). (Audible)

• ☕️ IKEA ‘Produkt’ milk frother. Took me a while to figure out how to get the batteries in, but since I followed the instructions in a YouTube video (the comments are full of people in similar levels of disbelief that they needed a video to do this!) I have been mainlining properly frothy hot chocolate. Perfect since the temperatures have hit freezing this week!

  

  (With marshmallows. Because they’re punk)

When I was planning my move to Bristol, one of the most important things was finding dance classes. I’d danced in Edinburgh - most recently picking up my ballet classes at Dancebase this spring - and I’ve written before on this platform about how much I enjoy it. 

Since making the move, though, I’ve branched out from ballet to tap (which I did for a year as a teenager, but hadn’t done since) and musical theatre - and now once a week I spend an evening bopping my way through high-energy rhythms. I always get home with a smile on my face. 

I could talk for hours on what I love about a ballet class: the predictable structure, the opportunity to work through every single one of your muscles, the storytelling, the way that I leave feeling like I’ve had a hot bath and a deep-tissue massage.

Tap and musical theatre are nothing like that. Sure, the basic structure is relatively similar: we start with a warm up, work on technique, and do fun combinations. But the music, and the dance vocab to go with it, are completely different. After moving my hips and wiggling with sass to a track from Kinky Boots in a recent class, I went to work the next day wearing heeled boots (brown suede with a 2” heel, not red sparkly six-inch stilettos!) the next day with my self-confidence topped up and a renewed case of Main Character Syndrome.

 

 Which is to say, I had to cue up Good Morning Baltimore from Hairspray on Spotify as I walked into the office. It doesn’t mean I single-handedly changed the world on one day, but I gave it a darned good try. By which I mean… when everyone was standing in the work kitchenette complaining that there was no milk, I went downstairs to the building coffee shop to get a fresh bottle. It’s the little things, right?

I guess that what I’m trying to say is that I - quite literally - had a spring in my step. And that’s why I love going to dance classes. If you’re thinking about starting something new in January, let me be the one to suggest trying a dance class. 

Speak soon,

Lily

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