Dance, The Universal Language

Dance is everwhere! The all-incluive in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico includes day and evening entertainment, and that means lots of dancing. In two days, I’ve seen aerobic dance classes in the pool, line dancing class on the beach, a dance game looking something like musical chairs(but you sit down on your partner’s lap instead of on a chair), a lip synced Broadway review on the La Boheme stage. The eight house dancers made quick costume changes then re-entered the stage along with a blast from a fog machine. An Aztec troupe of eight dancers with authentic costumes and fabulous 3 feet high feathered headdresses performed the dance of the hunter and the deer. I always cry when the beautiful deer dancer in his antler headdress takes his final leap and drops to the ground, clutching the spear wound in his chest.
Next night, we have the house dancers, women in tight capris, and men in muscle shirts, in an energetic rendition of the dance numbers from the 50’s era Grease. Sweet, sexy, innocent, and brash, all qualities expressed through posture and movement. Later, the dancers lip sync and do impersonations of famous pop stars. The Tina Turner girl was a hoot.
Every night there’s a kids disco from 6-7, teen disco from 8-10 and adult disco until 2am. People wiggle, slither, hop, skip, plotz, etc, and call it dancing. I’m not sure what I call it, but it’s still a most popular form of entertainment, especially in this international tourist venue where I’ve heard at least 8 different languages spoken.