My wife got me into a contact dance workshop today, organised by Choreotheque. And as reluctant as I was to participate, I couldn’t escape it.

When I went to drop her at the workshop venue, I had to wait and give her company till the workshop started. Then when it was starting, I was going to be the only one in the room not dancing. Then Anish, the dance instructor called out to me. So I thought what the hell, I should just play along for a while.

The workshop was on contact dance, a dance that fine tunes your senses and wakes up your ability to listen and respond to what is happening in the moment. What makes contact dance from other dance forms is that partners are often moving in and out of physical contact while rolling, spiraling, springing, and falling. The dancing is unpredictable and insipred by the physical and energetic contact the partners share.

We start off by ‘exploring our spaces’ which was something I have never experienced before. My space? I knew the hypothetic term but actually putting out my hands in air to explore my space was a different feel altogether. After this, you team up with your partner, join hands, and explore our space together, first you as the leader and then as a follower.

Then there was another session where we were made to roam around and sway while holding a pen using mine and my partner’s forefingers.  You and your partner need to press the pen from both ends with your fingers to prevent it from falling. And when you do that while you are having a sort of ballroom twist, then you need coordinate very well along with your partner.

We the had a number of exercises changing partners and between groups. The most important thing our instructor was repeating was that we need to keep our minds clear of any thoughts and concentrate on the movements. Work lessons?

The workshop quite refreshing, surprisingly, and I wondered where my tiredness was gone. Maybe it can teach us a bit of team work. Corporate HR folks who conduct a lot of innovative team plays for employees should give contact dance a go and see for themselves.

Can you rotate one of those big Ferris Wheel at parks yourself? That too with dozens of people riding on it. This guy at a Mussoorie Mall Road park sure did.