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Laverne Cox just spent some time in Mexico, and apparently, she couldn't stop dancing while she was there.
In a new Instagram video, the 49-year-old actress can be seen dancing around a living room in a black corset with matching bottoms, topped off with oversized sunglasses, gloves, and gold strappy heels. "There was something about being in Mexico that made me dance 24/7," she wrote in the caption.
Laverne Cox Dances in Lingerie . But she also said that she had trouble feeling like she belonged in the ballet world. "It can be really rough—a lot of Black bodies are not the traditional ballet body," she said. "And Misty Copeland has talked a lot about that: Black folks and ballet [have] a tricky history. I never had a ballet body."
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Cox said she's even felt those old memories surface when she takes barre classes. "How do I kind of parse out my love of ballet, but then all the trauma I had around never feeling enough?" she said. Thankfully, she eventually found the Black-women owned studio Sidebarre, which she enjoys. "I think it's beautiful that these Black women are kind of claiming this space of ballet with a remix of other fitness movements," she said.
She also said that she's "not overachieving" when it comes to fitness right now and she likes where she's at with it. "It's fun, it's medicinal, and I'm not being hard on myself," she said. "I think studying classical ballet creates this thing where you just beat yourself up, and I'm not doing that right now." She finds plenty of time for music and dancing, though. Cox previously told Health that she considers dancing self-care.
"Throughout the day it's about putting on some music and dancing," she said. "I love karaoke when I can fit it in, and it is crucial. It's so cathartic to me, just like getting in a room with a friend and screaming into a microphone and dancing. It's a release. You have to get the energy out."
Cox also said she feels energized through advocacy work that she does. "When I'm engaged in work that makes me feel connected to purpose, to an energy that's bigger than me where I'm doing something of service, I feel my best," she said.
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While Cox oozes confidence, she recently told Parade that body positivity is a work in progress for her. "This is daily work, that our bodies are constantly changing," she said. "We gain weight, we lose weight, health things happen. I'm just reminded of the fact that my body matters and that I'm more than my body."
But still, she tries to focus on the big picture. "I'm able to look in the mirror and, even if something isn't exactly the way I would like it to be, recognize that this is what I have to work with. And this is beautiful," she said.
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