rasputin

i danced in school on this song in 6th grade. they auditioned us on who can hop and kick in rhythm (for boys roles), and who can hop and skip (for girls roles). I was chosen as a boy, which also worked coz i also had boycut hairstyle and was skinny like a stick. I think I was the only 6th grader who made the cut, coz the group included girls from middle and high school both. This made me go first in the lineup coz of our heights. 

practiced intensely for like 3 weeks. Our calves were tightened like rocks by the end of it. To get into the spirit of the song, our choreographer broke down the lyrics for us to that we could understand the story/emotion behind. 

was asked to buy a white shirt, blue jeans, and black boots. Had the shirt and the jeans. Red vests were to be brought by the house team organizers. Remember running around with mom and sis to find the specific boots. Finally found them in a store that were fitting on the tighter side. Discarded them right after the show. 

It was a camp fire event, meaning we danced in the open around fire. We came in second in the competition. 

The outcome of this was, I became somewhat popular. Girls would greet me with a peck on the cheek in the morning assembly as i walked down the aisle. Started with one girl, but progressed to 7-8 copycat girls. Finally one girl joined the pack who would plant a wet kiss on my cheek. ugh. After this, had to politely tell them to stop this nonsense. thankfully they stopped. My best friend since 1st grade got jealous of all this attention and began acting out. So had to be let go by the end of the year. One girl who was a newcomer in 6th grade and became my best friend (after bff breakup) used to joke later how she was convinced in 6th grade that I was a boy disguised as a girl. Another strange outcome of my boy like looks was, some girls actually fell for me  There was this girl in particular who would ask me daily if she can kiss me, coz i looked like a boy neighbor of hers who she had a crush on. Strange reason, but true. I think this was in 7th grade. She promised me she won't bother me after that. So eventually I let her kiss me on the cheek one day, just to get her off my back. Was pretty freaky when she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and kissed me sorta middle of the face, closer to my nose, and then lingered two seconds too long *shudder* But she seemed quite happy. Didn't bother me after that. I think I still consider her as straight and not a lesbian, coz she had the crush on the boy first, I was just his proxy? That was middle school for me. Many times I would be mistaken for a boy coz of my short crop hair, tomboyish getup and no boobs. And by the end of it, I had boys chasing me (actually just one boy). 

My girl partner in the dance was 2 years older to me, but we worked fine as partners coz she was super short. I met her years later in a NYC party, but she had no recollection of who I was. So that was the final tragedy of this song.