Born 2 Dance Studio
Vienna, VA
One TAOS Member attempts to cover for her sista, who is VERY behind in blogging about this activity. "Due to the nature of this activity, photos may or may not be posted. The description and review of this activity is forever stored in our hearts and minds. It has been nearly 7 months since this outing and we have yet to document this Club TAOS experience. Sometimes, there are just no words. Or photos."
While the statement above is true, I've been guilted into writing the real blog from this event... yes, we are documenting this AND yes, there are pictures! :-)
Here's the activity description copied from the Born 2 Dance Studio website:
Make this Valentine's Day one to remember as you surprise him with the most sensual of dances, drawing from the repertoire of Exotic Dance movements and concepts you will learn in this workshop. The workshop is designed for any woman who wants to revive her femininity and express her sensuality--all in a classy and graceful manner. Specifically, the workshop will teach striptease, sensual dancing, seductive catwalk and floor movements. No prior dance experience required. Guaranteed to be an intense workout! Recommended attire: Comfortable workout clothes. High heels optional.
We were all a little nervous/hesitant about this activity... while it's one thing to dance around in your bedroom (whether in front of someone special or alone), it's something completely different doing this in front of other people, led by an instructor, and surrounded by mirrors. But, in the spirit of TAOS, we went into the studio open-minded, joined the eight other participants and our instructor (Michelle) and promptly donned our high heels.
Blogger's note: We were dressed in workout clothes and relatively standard high heels - well, 2 of us wore leopard print peep toes... but a couple of girls in the class who were obviously regular attendees had on acrylic heels with lights in the soles that illuminated whenever their feet tapped the floor... yes, we were a little intimidated. Another participant wore glamorous jewelry and full make-up for the class...
The class began with a warm-up to loosen our necks, hips, shoulders... then we started learning the choreography. Right away, we felt at ease and were even smiling at ourselves in the mirrors as we imitated the moves demonstrated by Michelle. She was a great instructor with an obvious amount of "professional" dancing experience. She made us feel comfortable doing these exotic dance movements and our inhibitions quickly faded away. One TAOS member was so impressed with herself that she commented several times, "I'm actually pretty good at this!" As the class continued and our exotic dance movements progressed into a full-fledged "routine", we occasionally giggled and felt mildly ridiculous, but enjoyed ourselves much more than we anticipated! Near the end of the workshop, Instructor Michelle, asked all the participants if we planned to perform our routine for anyone special for Valentine's Day, the TAOS members all responded "OMG, NO!" However, my suspicion is that more than one of us DID perform our newly learned exotic dance for her husband... mums the word on who did what!
Below is the description of the routine e-mailed to us by Instructor Michelle following the workshop... just in case we needed to refer to our "notes". Again, the language and description of the movements caused us to giggle, but we also realized that this type of dancing IS serious business and a lot harder than you would think! Yes, we really are mature 30-somethings! (ha!) Maybe our "followers" would want to try it out for themselves... enjoy!
Dance incorporating a chair/sofa
Valentine’s Day
Entrance - sexy walk, using arms and eye contact – 8 count (can be more if you are in a large room)
Pose when you get half way across floor (hold for 4 counts looking at him)
Continue walking to the chair
When you are directly in front of it - do a quick pivot turn so your bootie faces the chair (move it around - this is the first time the person in the chair will be gazing at your bod - work it. And if you have a big men’s shirt on, this is a nice time to move it around and show bootie shorts, a thong, whatever) When you are finished; turn head and look behind at him (over your shoulder)
Continue walking and make a full circle and a 1/2 around the chair; until you are standing behind it - 8 count or more
Put right hand (big gesture) on back of chair/on person in the chair; then put left hand (big gesture) up
Plie behind chair (you could rub your hands on person’s shoulders and down his arms as you plie and come up) 4 or 8 counts
Continue walking clockwise ½ way around the chair, right arm can graze the side of chair/person, as you move past - 4 or 8 count
Stop in front of chair facing chair/person
Move hips side-to-side and touch self (head, next, chest hips, etc. while moving)
If person in the chair has knees together legs closed – bend over, arch back, and place hands inside the person’s knees and gently push them apart
Turn body slightly left and to the side as you lift and place your right foot up on the chair in btwn the person’s open legs and put your right arm on person's shoulder or around back of the neck
Hip Roll with right leg on the chair – slow 8 count
(Balance on his shoulders, as necessary) Lift foot off of chair and place it back down on the floor
Walk around the chair in the opposite direction until you are in front of person again
Note whether or not his legs are still open (if not, slink down and push them open again)
Turn body to face sideways and sit on person’s left leg and place right hand on chair or around the back of next
Arch to the back as far as you feel comfortable, raising your left leg up with a pointed toe – 4 count
Push yourself back up; or pull against back of chair/his arm to get back up - 4 count
Move into floor work:
Put both hands on seat btwn his legs and turn body to face him, knee down and go to floor and sit with right knee bent and left knee bent the opposite way on the floor. (Alternative: Slide off of his leg on to the floor and turn around and sit with your right knee bent and left knee bent the opposite way on the floor)
Stretch right arm (Big gesture) on floor toward chair, then the left arm (big gesture) lift hips off of the floor leaning toward chair and sit back down; lift hips again
stretch both arms out on floor reaching toward chair and now head, slide hands and "drag" them back toward body
With left hand stroke inner right thigh, use left hand to push leg out into straight or bent leg (yoga pigeon pose, if you have the flexibility)
Use left hand to pick left leg up and bend it in front of you, foot on the floor and looking at person in chair
Lean back on both hands on the floor and lift the other leg and put right foot on the floor next to the left
Shimmy back to floor, or just lay down and straighten legs on the floor
While lying on your back on the floor – bend knees and lift legs into the air, cross ankles with legs straight and toes pointed (Optional "money shot" lift booties in the air a few inches and hold - 2 to 4 counts)
Bend right leg and rub it up and down against the left leg straightened behind it (cricket) and reverse (4 counts on each leg)
Uncross ankles and put big toes together side by side (legs are straight and toes are pointed) Begin single leg circles with right leg and then alternate using left leg (Keep the leg not making circular motion straight in the air with toes pointed). 4 circles on each leg.
Cross ankles again and swing both legs (bent and together) back and forth like a pendulum 4 swings in both directions
Uncross ankles and put big toes together side by side (legs are straight and toes are pointed), slide both hands up the leg from thighs to ankles. Use hands to open both legs wide in a “V” and do a peek-a-boo with head thru the legs
Optional: Open and close legs 4 times (do not use momentum – slowly open and close them)
Lower both feet to a flat position on the floor, knees are bent and facing the ceiling, legs are apart… Lift the pelvis and hips off of the floor – 4 count; lower them back down to the floor - 4 count
Lift up – 1 count; lower 1 count; repeat 3 times and leave pelvis and hips in up position on the 3rd repetition
Do a circle with the hips in the air – optional: repeat
Lower pelvis and hips to the floor and straighten your left leg down on the floor (leave the right in bent position) hands are flat on the floor near hips
Arch back and lift upper body off the floor so you are in a seated position with bent knees, move them around to the left and kneel
Options for getting up:
Use his chair for support – bend right knee and push up, then left
Crawl closer to his chair and use his legs to help push your up
(You can lean over and give him a kiss and end your dance here)
Or you can add a lap dance:
Move in close to the person's body and step over legs – first with right leg, then left
Tease with your hips – side-to-side just slightly above the person's lap
Lower yourself down further (sit on the person if you want) – do circular rotations with your chest - 8 circles clockwise
Lift up (off lap) and touch the top of the person's head, shoulders, chest, etc. (BREATHE)
Lower yourself down again (sit on the person if you want) – do circular rotations with your chest - in the opposite direction – 8 circles
With each hand firmly on the person's shoulders/back of chair
Step right leg back over the person's leg and push yourself off and bring your left leg up and over the person's other leg…
Walk backwards using sexy arms – 8 count
(You can end the dance here)
Or, add the strip tease with large men’s shirt/robe (Recommend rayon/blend rather than 100% cotton, only the last button in the front is closed, sleeves are rolled to be about ¾ on your arms):
Facing the chair move holding the collar/buttons area of shirt in each hand, moving it around – to take it off: Slide your right arm over to your left (Inside the shirt) and move your left arm out of the left sleeve; next move in a circle, when back is facing the chair use your left hand to move the right arm out of the right sleeve; when you eventually face the chair both arms are “free” inside shirt. Begin to turn the shirt around from the inside so the back of shirt is now facing front. Optional – put shirt in move and use both hands to unsnap your bra – toss it towards chair…
Let go of shirt and move hips in a circle until shirt hits the ground. Optional: step the left foot out of the shirt on the floor, then “kick” the shirt with right foot
You can end dance by walking over to shirt, arch back as you bend over to pick it up – bring it up sexy. Then stand up, throw shirt over your shoulder, wink and walk away.
This activity was not as hands on as previous ones, but with the holidays right around the corner this demo sounded too fun to pass up. We arrived at Open Kitchen and took our seats at the bar which had an excellent view of the 
a daiquiri. This part of the class reminded us of 7th grade Home Economics - Judy would not let anyone talk while she was talking, and told us we were measuring the flour wrong because we did not “fluff” it first. It quickly got much later and was pitch dark by the time the lemon-thyme chicken was thrown onto the grill. Some students appeared a bit cranky – maybe even one or two members of TAOS - but eventually we all sat down to a delicious meal in Judy’s 1970s decorated dining room. When we say delicious, we mean it! Dessert was rosemary sorbet made in an interesting antique ice cream machine…definitely a 1972 original model! 
From their website: You will make an a
