Finding Your Mojo In Eight Counts

Lately, I’ve been feeling like sometime in the last 10 years, I have either lost or misplaced my mojo.  So I decided to look for it in a Jazzy Burlesque class at Your Neighborhood Studio.  

If, like me, you want to step out of your comfort zone and move your body around and in ways that brings out your femininity and its power, YNS’ burlesque class with Brooklin is for you. Vulgar visuals are ubiquitous and blasé attitudes have misplaced the real beauty of the human body and movement.  YNS classes, especially burlesque, is a way to see passion through dance.

The song Brooklin used that particular Thursday evening was "Mercy" by Duffy.

I love you/but I gotta stay true/my morals got me on my knees/I’m begging please stop playing games/I don’t know what this is/but you got me good/just like you knew you would/I don’t know what you do/but you do it well/I’m under your spell.

As can be expected, the class was full of women.  Brooklin taught us the steps but highly encouraged and assisted us in improvising and making it our own.  We were to give it attitude.

Brooklin: He’s got you good! You’re tied up!  You can’t leave!

And so we raised our hands in the air, as if we were tied up, looked down to the right, right knee slightly bent.

Brooklin: ‘My morals got me on my knees’, ‘begging.’

On count four and five, roll knees and hips to the right, on six open your knees, seven roll-turn to the left, pop on eight while looking down and hands clasped.

Brooklin: You’re under his spell…

Like a snake responding to a flute, we moved from a crouched position and slithered up in a rolling motion.

Each eight-count allowed us to release physical inhibitions.  The movements, along with the music and the narrative, forced us to reach within and explore feelings and desires–at least as expressed by the singer.  It was not surprising to see that as the class progressed, we were less self-conscious and embraced the movements.

We swayed to the left, swayed to the right, helplessly looked into the mirror in front of us, as if it were the object of the song.  We released and contracted, twisted and turned.  Although we were given the same instruction for the movements, the adaptations varied.  The burlesque dance class was a safe space to express passion in a creative and empowering way.

If your mojo has gone astray or you just want to have fun, stop by Your Neighborhood Studio.