Every year again I let myself entrain to join a beginners lesson in aerobic, power step, hot iron (or whatever these dancing lessons are called).

It starts promising with great music, an enthusiastic female trainer (there was never a man) and a room full of women with need for movement. Every now and then there is a lost male soul as participant.

The first 10 minutes are always easy, melodic and instil me with great trust that I will manage this time. But every time this expectation turns out to be wrong. At some point every trainer starts to include small step sequences, as she says totally basic and she starts to combine them. The repetitions are getting less, the speed of changing sequences increases. And eventually I mix the legs, right instead of left, fall out of rhythm and struggle with the figures.

It seems that the entire class consists rather of semi-professionals than of beginners and the women seemingly move without effort in the given step sequence at the appropriate speed. Even though I manage to catch the rhythm again in between, I then loose it again and it’s no fun and frustrating.

Then I just don’t care about the given steps because I don’t manage anyway and just jump around enthusiastically. After the lesson my suspicion that I am the only beginner is confirmed but that only helps to a certain degree.

I vow to myself to never get ensnared again but then, like today, I tried it again. The first 10 minutes were easy, melodic and giving confidence that I would manage. Then the entire pattern repeated itself. Never again, I vowed to myself not for the first time!!!