March 7, 2015

My Morocco, Part 2: Breaking Beats

I think I've "gone clubbing" four times in my entire life. I do it my own way, dressed for comfort and ready to dance (read: sweat). I've had a mixture of experiences, none of which have been overwhelming epic in order to convince me that a "discotheque" is totally my scene.

That is - until La Corniche.

The biggest determining factor on whether a night out will be awesome or not is the group of people. That said, I don't know if I'll ever be able to recapture just how much fun we had at B-Rock and Bao that night. We were 3 American extras, crashing the Casablanca CrossFit party because John had taken the liberty to just keep inviting random people.

Ready to crash any wedding, anywhere.
Every time I've crashed a party, it's been rad. Once, I even crashed a wedding (thanks, Jenn).

B-Rock had a live band. A live band that played only songs I knew, everything from Elvis Presley to Pharrell Williams, and from I Love Rock n' Roll to Uptown Funk. But the music wasn't even the best part. People were dancing to dance.

They were moving their bodies to the beats and having fun with their friends. They were laughing while singing the words they knew to each other and letting the music lead them around the floor. All the while enjoying their alcohol and cigarettes (oh, hello, Morocco, and no laws against smoking inside public establishments!). If someone was there with their significant other, they danced close together. That was it. Nobody was gross, nobody was creepy, and nobody was out of control.

The best way I can sum it up for you is that is was fun and lighthearted like Taylor Swift's Shake It Off music video under a haze of cigarette smoke.

After our fun moments at B-Rock, we walked down the street to Bao. Talk about an experience that can never be repeated. This was a "real" African club: African rap music so loud we couldn't hear each other shouting, out of this world dance moves, and I was the only blonde person in the entire building.

It was the most deafening place I've ever been. I could feel the music pounding through my feet up to my rib cage. Real dancers kept crazy rhythms that I will never experience in my own body.

And then it happened.

A circle began to form around two guys. The music got even louder as we drew closer to see what was going on.

"OMG, a dance-off?!?!" I shrieked excitedly.

The first guy started his insane footwork. He did some okay "warm-up moves" (I've seen So You Think You Can Dance, I know what I'm talking about), and motioned to the other dude: "Your turn."

This dude didn't waste any time on courtesies. He made one quick step, then flipped onto his hands, and proceeded to (this is where my dance knowledge ends) bounce in a circle on his hands until he began spinning on his shoulders.

This dance-off was now a breakdance-off.

Thank goodness the music was so loud that nobody could hear my white girl screaming. I was freaking out in the best possible way - I could not believe that I was seeing this impromptu dance battle with my own eyes, just 5 feet away from me!!!

The battle kept going a few more rounds, but the first guy was way out of his pop-lock-and-drop-it wheelhouse as the second dude kept stepping up with even crazier feats on his hands and head. Yes. It was like whatever dance movie you are thinking about right now (I felt Stomp the Yard, personally).

I hope nothing ever beats my night out in Casablanca. I definitely won't be out trying to best it anytime soon! But I'm so thankful for such a fun and different experience that I can smile and talk about forever: the music, the dancing, and the insanity of it all!

For the complete "My Morocco" series...
Visit Morocco! (Under Certain Conditions)
Part 1: Les Petits Taxis
Part 3: Places & Plates