Sometimes, when traveling, I have these grandiose plans of doing everything there is on offer... and then I kick myself when I look back and have only done a fraction.
I had planned to dancedancedance. I had this idea that I was going to take dance classes all day, and go out dancing at night. I was going to finally learn that samba thing that americans can't seem to pick up.
It's been just over a week since I arrived, and I have hardly done any of it.
With Sinead's help, I found two dance schools. One is Escola da Danca, located off the Rua de Oracao near the Terreiro de Jesus. This is the dance school with the most classes. There are two types of classes: ones you have to sign up for the month (or longer, I'm not sure) and "cursos livres" which you can join on any particular day. Unfortunately, there are at most two classes per day. One is at 6:30 and the other is at 7:30. They have classes in Blocos afros, afro-brasileiro, samba, and a couple of others I wasn't terribly interested in. It's expensive (by Brasilian standards) at 20 Reals per hour of class. Classes are only Monday - Thursday.
Sinead told me there was a samba class there at 4 yesterday, but it wasn't listed on the posted schedule. So between my lack of great portuguese and the guard's not giving two shits about me or making the studio money, I thought it didn't exist and went home. Sinead said it was brand new.
Another school is the Diaspora Center, located around the corner. The classes are an hour and a half, for 15 reals, although by the time the teacher started, it was really an hour an 10 minutes. Better for me, really, cause I can never commit to 1 1/2 hours of class (he said he was waiting for others to show up... only two of us had showed up that day.) I took a class in Orixa dance. In a candomble ceremony, each orixa has a certain dance that is reflects its attributes. The dances are not terribly energetic, and this class hadn't kicked my ass in quite the manner I was hoping. Not that I was any good at what I was doing, it just wasn't very high-energy. They have one, maybe two classes a night, at the same time as the other school! Also only monday - thursday.
The third is the Obispo center for dance, located at Rua do obispo, just off Praca da se. It has dance classes at night, although I was more interested in the african dance class they have on Monday and Wednesday at 11 am! I'll try to get my butt over there on Monday.
This is also the place when I went dancing last week and last night. Every saturday, they have some live band and dancing in their studio space. Last night was samba. My samba is improving, although it looks nothing like the dancing of the girls here, who seem to float on the floor while moving their tiny, compact asses in every possible direction. It really is a sight.
Pelorinho, often called Pelo, is not Salvador. Salvador is a big city, almost none of which I have truly experienced. I just don't want to leave Pelo. There are clubs on the beach, but that is quite a distance away, and getting there is not too much of a problem, but I'm worried about returning late at night. Also, there is free amazing music here in Pelo all night, every night, right on my backyard. I am happy here. People take day or weekend trips to islands where the beaches are more tranquil, more nature-filled. I have no interest in traveling to a remote place to enjoy nature. Pelo's a small town, but it's vibrant, and I'm a city girl at heart. "Getting away from it all" to me, is going to a smaller city.
I recognize so many of the men here already. When you go to these dance events, there's the same group of amazing male (and female, but mostly male) dancers showing off amazing dance moves in groups, or pairs. Imagine the recurring dancers from "Soul Train," my dad's favorite show in the 80's. At some point, each of them goes off to dance with a different tourist. The guy who came to dance with me was the best dancer I had ever seen. I must have danced 5 different stlyes of dance with him by the time all was said and done. A salsa song came on and he said "I really don't know how to dance salsa" and his salsa was better than mine could ever be. I really wanted to see what he could do, but he kept letting me dance in a certain way, and he would imitate it, probably to be flattering. I'm a good dancer, but he was AMAZING.
We must have gotten through about 5 songs before he said to me, in portuguese "My heart is yours."
Oh, now, why'd you have to go ruin it??
Another dance later, and I snuck out of the club to go home. Then the guy from last week sees me and says "I'm arriving, and you're going home??" Argh.
I have about 5 1/2 more days here before I'm off to Buenos Aires, for tango and meat, and I hope it's enough to feel like I've gotten the full Bahis experience.
Although the full Pelo experience seems to involve waking up next to a guy in a favela, which another girl here did the other night. Ack.
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