Dear Suite, You’re pretty sour.

Can we talk about Suite for a moment?

You know, the grimy, rave-like, guido infested club at the Epicenter?

Barf.

I’ve been to Suite three times in the past year or so, none of these times being my own personal choice.  I’m the type of gal that enjoys low key bars such as Braswells, Ed’s Tavern, Thomas Street Tavern, etc., so needless to say, Suite is not really my scene.  The first time I went, my friend rented a VIP table outside for her birthday, so I didn’t notice the douchy-ness that was happening inside.  The second time I went, it was NYE 2009 and I was surrounded by tons of my closest friends and boyfriend of the time, so I didn’t so much care about my surroundings as much as the people I was with.  However, this past weekend I was boyfriend-free and on the prowl, and the plethora of greasy losers bordering the wall was painfully obvious.

To put it simply, I felt like I had suddenly materialized onto the set of Jersey Shore.  Looking around, I failed to find one single male that attracted me.  They all stood sleazy-like with their button down shirts and greasy hair.  Their eyes trailed the half-naked girls with fake eyelashes the size of my hand and enough hairspray to chemically murder someone.  The worst part of it all was the go-go dancers slutting it up on top of the makeshift “stage” to the horrendous string of remixed pop radio. 

If that’s your scene, neat.  But prepare for an anxiety attack when you get smushed against a wall and you can’t breathe because of the throngs of scantily clad attention whores grinding in front of your face.

Oh, but they do have super hot bartenders.

Hips Don’t Lie

I started dancing when I was three years old.  It became my life, my love, my passion, and I continued dancing and competing until I graduated high school.  Growing up, I never went to the gym.  I hated gym class, running was a foreign thought to me and I’m pretty sure I’ve touched a treadmill less than 20 times in my entire life.  I never had to work out – I danced four or five days a week, three hours a day and kept in shape by doing something that I loved.

When I went away to college, I took a couple of dance classes and considered hiking to class through the mountains in the snow to be my daily exercise.  I’ve never been one to feel comfortable in a gym.  Working out never made me feel alive and passionate and happy the way dancing did, and I snubbed the strange sweat that didn’t make my soul sing.

Fastforward to a year after college graduation.

Yes, I still hate working out.  I find nothing redeeming about collapsing on a treadmill with a boiling red face while sexy shirtless men are in plain eyesight of me.  I despise the skinny Minnies in their sports bras with the perfect tans who can run five miles without breaking a sweat.  I get bored taking walks and I didn’t even like riding my bike when I was eight years old.

What’s a girl to do?

Cue music and enter the best kept secret of Charlotte.

Several months back, a friend told me about a magical organization called Queen City Dancing Queen.  The moment I attended my first Zumba class, I was hooked.  Feelings rushed back to me that I hadn’t felt in over five years, since the day I competed in my last dance competition.  I was reminded of how great I feel when I move.  Booty shakes and hip swirls overtook my body and I realized that by George, I still had it in me!  My rhythm never left me, only my motivation.  All of a sudden a piece that had been missing in my life for five years clicked right back into place.

The instructors of QCDQ have more energy than I’ve ever seen anybody possess in my entire life, and it inspires me to keep moving even when I feel like I’m about to collapse.  The music blasts and my soul shakes and for an hour every Tuesday, I remember my first love.  As I look to my side and see my 50 year old Zumba-mate shaking her rump with the same oomph that I am, I am reminded of the movement that I will always possess within me.   And the beat goes on.

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Check out www.queencitydancingqueen.com to find a class near you!