The Diary
of
Anne Ku
28 September 2000
Thursday
DANCING ON THE THAMES
A familiar tune distracted me in mid-sentence. I excused myself and ran upstairs. The dance floor was empty. "Who will dance with me?" The DJ replied, "I will."
While we danced on the boat hired for the occasion, I rattled off my list of oldies. ABBA? Cyndi Lauper? Opus? Orchestra Maneuvres in the Dark? the theme from Flash Dance?
Before long, my mid-twenties' colleagues joined me on the floor. The DJ went off to play my requests. These songs took me back to the first time I danced on the Thames.
Suddenly, the guy who was watching the girls pulled me into his arms. He led me into a close merengue. Then he spun me out in a ceroc move. Other dancers moved back to watch. We soon fell into a rhythm, to the music and to each other. It was rock and roll, jitterbug, disco rock, ceroc, salsa, all mixed together. Finally, he twirled me to a pause - a ritardando, diminuendo lambada embrace.
After I caught my breath and came out of shock, I asked him, "Where did you learn to dance like that?"
"Various places."
"So what else can you do?"
"Anything. But not disco."
No wonder he just sits and watches the girls dance.
