Fat girls can dance!

I went to a new dance class at the gym today, and I was very impressed and inspired by the teacher. She is one of those people with lots of energy and enthusiasm, who was still shouting "let's go!" and "yeah, push it!" into the microphone after one hour of very intense aerobic activity. She is also not the classical dancer type, being more strongly built than petite and elegant - I tend to think of ballet dancers as having the ideal dance physique. But this girl is muscular and stocky in overall build.

And she's fat. Significantly overweight. BMI greater than 25, most likely (for what that's worth). When she shakes it, it really does shake. She's got rolls of fat around her tummy, muffin tops, thunder thighs, wobbly upper arms and bosoms that require at least three layers of lycra to hold in place. Not a bone in sight.

And that makes her an inspiration to many of us. I've been feeling too old to dance, too flabby in the tummy, too maternal and post-2-babies to feel comfortable dancing. But this girl is not self-conscious at all! She gets up in front of a whole class and dances us until we drop - she's super-fit, super-stylish and she's got the moves.

Standing next to her, I feel like a poster-girl for "white girls can't dance". I feel stiff and very unco-ordinated. But unlike being too old and post-partum, I am inspired to dance *more* and change these things. Thanks S____! You go, girl!