Every day around 4 pm I have watched a dance class from the rooftop terrace of the hotel. There are usually 6 women and yesterday they were joined by 2 men. The teacher leads the class in a formation split into 2 lines. The women dance with fans, the music a slow rhythm, the singer a very deep voice. It´s traditional Ecuadorian music, I think. The lines move up and down a small park and the dancers come together for the occasional spin or brief promenade.
My favorite of the group is this one woman. She may be more of a girl; I can´t tell from the distance. This girl has rhythm and a sense of beat but is always one step behind. She moves in rhythm, only her own rhythm. When the women dance with open fans, she swings hers in a huge sweeping motion. That along with being off a step every step, it´s pretty funny. Everyone knows that she´s off but in the days I have seen, no one has made mention of it. It´s kind of nice how they let he go at her own pace, dance how she feels, without comment or correction.
The group is a range of ages--gray hair in braids on two of the women. It´s surprising to think that a woman of that age would need dance lessons. I guess I just assumed that most people in Latin cultures grew up dancing & had natural rhythm. Just goes to show, you can´t take anything for granted.
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