The Big Day

After our pre-launch, I was feeling prett-y confident about my dance moves, hence, my swagger down the street.

Nearly a month had gone by, and I was very excited for RELEASE's debut. It was the night we had been working so hard to make happen. I had just been to an amazing classical Indian dance performance by Charishnu in Toronto, so my belief in this program was at an even higher level.

I arrive at Lotus Music & Dance and I met with Pratibha. We both were looking forward to meeting RELEASE's first students. There were a total of three, but one made clear that she had a personal training session at 8:30, so she may be leaving early.

As we entered the studio, everyone was a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect. I did not know what to expect. But once Pratibha put on the music, my unease calmed with the familiar sounds of Buddha Bar's Osmyo.

Pratbiha had kept the same opening to the class, swaying one's hands and body to the soft sound. She changed the fancy footwork to something else, something a little more manageable for 'non-dancers.' By the end of RELEASE's slotted time, the class was beginning to have the first half of the program's sequence memorized. And we looked good.

Time flew and before I knew it, it was 8:15 pm. The girl with the personal traner, exclaimed, "I need to go BUT I am definitely coming back next week!" I thought, "Yes! RELEASE has a patron!"

Within minutes, the class ended, and we were all glowing and smiling from our hour's work.

As we gathered our things to leave, literature about the program's benefits was distributed. The girls wished us a good evening and said we would see them next week.

As these farewells confirmed returning customers, Pratibha and I walked down the street, discussing our excitement about the first class as well as what else needs to be done for RELEASE's larger goals.

Even though the latter holds a big task, the success from the workshop's debut gives me enough confidence to know that RELEASE can and will deliver.