Music resonates across the ballroom of the café surrounded by soft brown and green coloured leaves covering the windows, hiding the space from the hostility of the city. The feet tap and tap, increasing the noise, making it hard for people to hear their own conversations. Some of the guests still have their coats on, the party has just began, but the dancing started since the first notes of the bass.
The orchestra spreads its enthusiasm by exaggerating the dynamism of the score, hands run fast on the piano keyboard, fingers swiftly pinch the violin’s cords, air get expelled hastily from lungs into the trumpet, and feet tap and tap to the elevating cadence.
The gentleman on the left was the first to hold his hands on his waist, camber his back, rise on his toes, and respond to the music’s tempo. Captivated by his own moves, he barely noticed a woman in orange lifting her skirt which revealed her red tights, rounding her arms and back, and following the steps her imagination was choreographing to the melody. Now they dance together while sharing the rhythm and letting their bodies entwine in the empty space made by retrieving from their previous steps. The atmosphere is jovial, guests are amused and as they become more comfortable amid the crowd, their heads start to tilt, their hips swing and their feet tap and tap.

Listen while reading: “Sitting Pretty” by Ralph Burns