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Peggy Pollard, Teacher www.PeggyDance.weebly.com Join the funnest social dancing in Santa Cruz! Santa Cruz Waltz & Swing In-Person & Online Dances & Lessons Meet cool & sophisticated new friends! My Waltzing-In-Saree Dance" Par t One It began with my success that first Monday night in Singapore. I ventured away from the comfort- able companionship of my work colleagues at our conference hotel, and set out on my solo cross- town adventure to find the Singapore Swing Station dance party. It's not as brave as it sounds, Singapore being an extremely safe city with very strict and well-enforced laws and constant internet connec- tion, everywhere. It is probably the only city in the world I would feel so safe to go out on my own in at night. So, following my iPhone's blue dot, I rode a bus across downtown, walked a few blocks through quiet, well-lit neighborhoods to find the dance group in a back al- ley community recreation center. As soon as I saw the slender young man arrive, sporting a dapper straw boater hat and bow tie, I knew I was in the right place. As I watched him huddle in conversation with other young adults also waiting in the courtyard for the dance party to begin, any hesitations I had about jumping into a new dance group melted away. I was ready for a lovely night of good dancing, perhaps my only chance for dancing fun on my four-week, four-country trip? I was not disappointed. In just 90 minutes I bounced and jived my way, one partner at a time, through a fun, friend- ly evening. My new dance partners ranged from young-to-old, beginner-to-veteran, all well-mannered and ener- getic, for a jazzy evening of sweaty swing in the tropical June night. They were so friendly, in fact, that I accepted their invite to "afters." About 20 of us walked to a nearby outdoor cafe for noshing, drinks, and friendly conversation. The dancers were a mix of students and tech work- ers from nearby universi- ties and businesses. The vibe felt quite similar, sus- piciously so, to our Friday Night Waltz community near Stanford. And in fact, the founder of the group was an alumnus from Stan- ford, having earned his PhD in EE there, and modeled this Singapore group after that campus' dances. Aha! But that delightful night was just the start of my dance adventures on the trip. It got even better from there. My international dancing transformed by my hosts into a surpris- ing dance performing/ teaching tour a add-on feature of my speaking engagements. And the spark was that video that went vi- ral-ish, of me Waltzing in my brand new red, white and blue saree, that put me over the top for my South India tour and paved my way to dancing fame. From then on, at most of my university speak- ing engagements, I was also asked to perform my "Waltzing-in-Saree Dance" to my audi- ence's delight. But why? Was it just the nov- elty of seeing a white woman in their beloved traditional saree dress? Was it that waltzing looked so different than their Bollywood and folk dancing? Was it because my Tamil hosts were just super-friendly and exuberant, like doting parents who express de- light at every little thing their guest (or beloved child) does, whether deserved or not? I'd say YES to all of the above. And my main quali- fication for deserving such abundance of admiration? It was the combination of having the right introduction by my prestigious Professor friend, so I was defi- nitely flying on his coattails, and that I simply showed up in an area where, apparently few non-Indians dare to visit. In fact, in my entire week in that area, I was the ONLY non-Indian I saw anywhere. Cool! And thus, my already exciting speaking tour had just gotten boosted up a notch in awe- someness thanks to my surprising new status as a celebrity dance performer. It was my saree waltz video that really sent me over the top. In my globe-circling trip last month … yep, it was definitely my widely-viewed "Waltz- ing-In-Saree Dance" video that boosted my four-week social dance agenda from merely Fun Adventure into an epic, legendary saga of farthest-ends-of- the-earth, cross-cultural bridge-building dancing glory. I meant the dancing to be only a side interest of my visits, of which, the big highlight was my guest speaker schedule for my international student work and Rotary volunteer work. But instead the dancing became a celebrated fea- ture of my talks. Thus, I believe I am now a (probably undeservedly) international dance legend (in certain elite circles). As my trip ended and I boarded my plane for SFO and for home, I left behind me, far across the oceans, the shared memo- ries of our dancing deeds, deposited in the souls of my old, and many new, friends (and in thousands of digital photos). But I also carried home with me, imbued in my body, physical hints, of the dancing, multi-hued tiny molecules of dust, sweat and oils from our shared dancing times. Thus I am now re- luctant to wash my formerly-white, now dusty red socks, and my yellow-turned-orange san- dals. I don't want to rinse away those faint remind- ers of our awesome times, connected by the beautiful glue of cross-cultural social dancing. Even my skin, head to toe, is now imbued with microscopic specks of: -- copper-orange dust from a desert sunset of refugee settlement football and hip-hop -- musty drops of sweat from a high-tech city Swing Dancing club -- white powder of bless- ing, imbued with ancient Tamil poetry, smudged onto my forehead by an ancient farmer -- grey dust from my waltzing upon marbled university floors -- golden lamp oil in my fingertips as I lit the wick of a candle of knowledge for the young women scientists gathered around me at the mountaintop campus of Mother Teresa university -- dark brown volcanic soil pressed into my palm from crevices in the strong hands of women farmers in our Uganda Rotary project village. There we danced, hugged, and shared blessings and thanks for their improved water and health, a healing antidote for their recent evil traumas. So, yeah, it was an awesome four weeks this summer, of my great round-the-world social dance adventure. (and that's just the danc- ing part) (Watch this space next month for more dance adventure story in Part TWO of "Waltz- ing-In-Saree Dance") By Peggy Pollard, Santa Cruz Waltz & Swing www.peggy- dance.weebly.com Adobie stock photo LIC.# 440708773 Schedule a tour today! (831) 462-6257 Dominican Oaks Active Retirement for Active People Dominican Oaks offers all inclusive retirement with amenities such as weekly housekeeping, laundry service, three meals a day in our dining room, transportation and a robust activity calendar. Visit DominicanOaks.com for more information