Sophia

‘Why do you trust me to make your tattoo?’ I asked.
‘I appreciate the feeling of the unknown,’ she answered.

Sophia, from Nuremberg, Germany, is 24 years old. She came to me as she was: a bit shy, but showing her pleasant smile and impatient blue eyes. Though blessed with a pretty face, she did not play the role of “the pretty girl.” She looked like a person set on following an alternative lifestyle.

‘What is your passion?’ I asked her.

‘Music. I listen to Acid Techno every day,’ she said.

So here it is: her character is starting to take shape. Only crazy people can listen to Acid Techno every day.

‘How can you dance to it?’ I asked with a smile, struggling to imagine myself doing that.

‘There are no rules or special postures. It’s just moving freely,’ she answered.

Totally free movement is not an easy task, I thought. Like so many others, I was raised in a society where dancing is considered normal only in special places during the night. If you dance during the day, especially on the street, you are either insane or a protester. I think we dance hidden away from people who don’t dance, because dance is freedom, and we are losing it since we abandoned tribal life and created government structures.

‘Is there something that you hate?’ I asked.

‘Classical dance!’ she threw at me.

When Sophia was in primary school, she was encouraged and persuaded to dance in the classical manner. She followed it for eight years but never liked it.

‘Why didn’t you like classical dance?’ I asked.

‘I was always quiet and shy, especially when it came to performing on stage. I am dreamy by nature and sometimes forgot the order of poses and steps. I would have loved to dance just with the music,’ she said.

Recently Sophia discovered rave culture, where no holds are barred, where people are wild and free, and where dreamy beatniks gather. It is in this environment that Sophia now experiences the endless energy of such unknown pleasures.