Forgot My Shoes

Anyone who has ever taught a dance fitness class, or been any sort of dance instructor, has a deep fear of forgetting their music.  Or their music not working (iPod stops working, CD skips, etc.).  We have nightmares about it.  We get anxious about it and check our bags multiple times before leaving (and even upon arrival) for class.  Though Zumba was founded on such an incident (Beto forgetting his music and playing Latin CDs out of his car), it doesn't help ease the stress that a dance class is based on dancing to music.

So, I regularly freak out about my iPods, CDs (yes, I bring 2 of each because I'm crazy), and all of my music.

Never, ever, did I think about worrying about my shoes.  Until I forgot them.

My Rod Lavers.  I love their soles for dancing!

For the past 2 weeks I've been subbing for a Zumba class on Wednesday morning at Nob Hill.  I taught a class there over the summer, and most of my regulars dance in this class, so it's been fun.  I also have my regular Wednesday evening class at the Fillmore Center.  Both of these are in San Francisco, and I live in Oakland.  Also, I wear the same shoes for all of my Zumba classes, since they work perfectly.

I get pretty sweaty when I'm dancing.  My plan was to wear flip-flops in between classes so that my shoes get sufficient drying time.  It keeps 'em fresh.

The amount of time between the two classes was too long for me to just loiter aimlessly in the city, and my dog was having oral surgery, so I figured I would head home for the afternoon.  I came home, hung up my wet clothes, put my shoes out to dry, and did typical house-husband things.

When the time came around, I changed, grabbed my Zumba bag, and headed to class.  It turns out that I left my shoes at home.  I discovered this an hour later, once I was deep into the city in rush hour traffic.  There was no way of me getting to a shoe store, let alone home to retrieve my shoes.  So, I danced barefoot.  I explained to my class how much I always freak out about bringing music, and how ironic it is that the things I actually forget are my shoes.  Which it's really difficult to leave your house without.

Things went well.  Socks make for good spins.  It still just cracks me up that I actually forgot my shoes for a Zumba class.  I'd recommend you try not to do that, and maybe breathe a little easier about your music.

Happy Dancing,
~RoB