Dancing in Debre Zeyit (Bishoftu)

Dancing, fresh air and nature: could there be anything more wholesome? After my plans for the weekend fell through, I decided at the last minute to head to a covid-friendly retreat in the lake town of Bishoftu to learn... Ethiopian dancing.

We had an excellent teacher from the city's most respected cultural venue, Fendika (see the video below). We were ready to become pros and light up the stage under the expert guidance of Addis Abraham (we'd be dying of exhaustion shortly into the dance).

We rolled into one of the many lodges that dot the shores of the lakes in Bishoftu, and walked up a shaggy garden and green path to a sort of gazebo overlooking the lake where we would begin our classes.

^ We could hear the faint sound of singing from the boat. It was lovely. But Ethiopian internet couldn't handle uploading videos.

We made some friends on the way.

^Seriously, what animal is that?

Ethiopia is home to over 80 different ethnic groups, each with their unique dancing traditions. Some of the wildest dances in Ethiopia involve rotating the neck so fast that you think the head will fly off and intense shoulder movements (the famous Eskista dance). Mercifully, this is not what we were about to learn.

^ you can tell, this was fun.

What I loved about the whole class is that the moves in each dancing style had a meaning and were rooted in nature. Some moves mimic birds as they gracefully dip their necks to drink water; others celebrate the harvest. Each region of Ethiopia had its particularity. Dances from the Northern part of Ethiopia incorporated shoulder movements, while those from the South had more hip movement (quite easy to remember, if you think about it - the top part of Ethiopia focuses on, well, the top, while the lower you go, the focus is on the lower body).

^Looks easy, but it's actually not!

After an hour and a half of energetic dancing (or in my case, randomly jumping), we drove down to Hora Lake for lunch (I hadn't realised how hungry I was). Hora is one of the most popular, and arguably beautiful, lakes in Bishoftu.

Tuk-tuks and horse-drawn carts lined up against the trees; men, teenagers and young boys herded their cattle to the water to wash them; couples walked hand-in-hand while singing voices came from a distant part of the lake. Small groups of people in their beautiful white-cotton ethnic dresses assembled among the trees, where the smoke of burning frankincense became a hazy window into the Oromo people's Sunday traditions as it wafted in the beams of sunlight filtering through the trees.

We walked around the lake to find our lunch spot, spying beautiful birds (did I ever mention that Ethiopia is a birdwatching paradise?), including a white egret.

We - or rather T, was eventually accosted by locals who mistook him for Jean Claude Van Damme (so he thinks) and wanted selfies with him. It was deeply satisfying to see a reversal of the roles - usually it's the ferenji who expects a picture with the locals!

The next part was less pleasant (for me).

^nope.

My lazy butt simply can't deal with hiking. (And I genuinely NEED to invest in hiking shoes and PANTS). But we had to climb up to hit our next dancing spot. Beautiful butterflies fluttered around, and we had a glorious view of the Hora Lake shaped like a figure 8, the result of its volcanic origins.

The fresh air made us giddy, and soon we were dancing again. I was often distracted by the view, and at times found the moves too hard as they focused on shoulder movements. Almost two decades ago, my shoulder was completely destroyed in a road accident. I couldn't help but reflect, though, how grateful I was, and how in awe, of the fact that here I was, dancing a shoulder-based dance, which I - or my doctors, or relatives - would never have seen coming as I lay on that hospital bed a lifetime ago.

^ Addis Abraham, our hugely talented teacher.

^ One of our guides, Mahi, demonstrating the "bird drinking water" move.

Attempts at meditating in the quietitude of that ridge were shot to pieces (thanks, E!).

The final perk of the day came at the local juice shop. In Ethiopia, very often, you can go to a shop selling fruits and veg, and find out that they have a small juice shop at the back. It's incredibly healthy and yummy. We were given the option of ...a mixed juice. With papaya, mango and strawberry. I was quite doubtful that this combo would work but.. wow. The juice had the texture and taste of a soft-serve icecream, minus the guilt and the calories. It was incredible.