Kinja reply list

Bassey, your writing is so beautiful and insightful. You truly have a gift for storytelling, and I don’t think that is something that could ever be learned in a class. I cannot wait to get my hands on your memoir! Fall 2018 seems too far away, but I guess I can always enjoy what you post here until then. (And that is not to place any pressure or expectations on you or your work. I believe whatever you release is going to be magic. Simply because YOU wrote it. If there is one thing Rihanna has reminded me of, it’s that nobody else will ever be able to do you.)

That said, I think the way you feel about dance is the way I feel about music. It’s life to me. But I never afforded myself voice lessons until I was an adult. And I only kept those up for a few months. These days, it’s rare to hear any music that makes me feel like singing. But I don’t think all is lost. Yet.

I am a terrible dancer. In fact, when I was a majorette learning routines, I NEEDED those 8-counts until I got the routine down and I could substitute the changes in the music for knowing where to be when.

My experience in Zambia sounds similar to yours in Nigeria, but I’m sure I was WAY worse! LOL! I’m too uptight in general, I think. I’ve got to get outside my head and just let go. I could use a dance class or 10. I still may sign up and stand in the very back. Hahahahaha!

Dancing is life. Letting the music dictate the movement, feeling the release. The first time I went dancing with my husband (EDM) he freaked out because I was sweating like my body was aiming for immediate dehydration. He kept asking if I was okay. I was. I just dance hard and with dedication.

I did have dance lessons. Ballet at 3 years old to correct severe pigeon toes. Performing arts summer camp with modern and ballet and jazz. Mandatory ballroom lessons in middle school. Hours and hours at home with the original cast recording of A Chorus Line! But I don’t like steps and counting. Just the movement.

People who claim to hate dancing baffle me. I think it is one of the most basic human urges, like hunger and lust.