Dance Salsa

It must be about ten years ago when I first stepped into that Salsa club in San Jose. I was on a trip to visit my cousins and they wanted to go out and have a good time dancing. The only problem was that I had no idea how to Dance Salsa. Neither did my cousin Chuy really, but something as small as that wasn't going to stop him. That was the first lesson about dancing that I had to learn. It doesn't matter what you know, the point is to have fun.

At the time I wasn't thinking about having fun, I was watching in amazement at all of the complicated movements and the grace of one individual on the dance floor. Women seemed to flock to him looking to dance. This was great! I had to learn somehow. Unfortunately, I never dared to get out on the floor in fear of making myself look silly.

An important lesson that I learned from that night is that if you are having a good time and enjoying yourself you won't look silly. Everyone has to start out somewhere. The sooner you get going the faster you will learn.

To Be Continued...

I am fortunate to have a wonderful family living in Mexico. Unfortunately I grew up in Idaho and my Spanish speaking abilities are just so so. But I have a strong desire to learn new things in my life and I set my goal to learn how to dance salsa and speak Spanish better simultaneously.

Off to Mexico I went. I enrolled in the International Exchange program at my university and I put Guanajuato, Mexico down as the location that I wished to go to. This is a beautiful town that has a great university and some nice Salsa clubs. It is also near the town my family resides in. I couldn't have worked out any better.

I was fortunate to get to stay with a family that had a mansion and housed multiple exchange students. One of the other students I met there already knew how to dance salsa and took me out the first night I arrived. It was a great experience because the others in the group pulled me out on the floor and taught me to dance. I promised myself that I would stay on the dance floor the entire night no matter how bad I looked, and I did.

After that night, the quest had begun. I found a three different dance teachers and I took lessons everyday of the week. After the lessons I lingered around a Salsa club called 'El Bar' where the best dancers in the town hung out.

I danced every night and watched some of the professionals to learn some new techniques. It was very difficult in the beginning but as the weeks passed I noticed definite improvements. I found the biggest challenge about getting out on the dance floor is being able to lead your partner. This obviously took a bit more time to learn, but soon after I returned home from Mexico I began to teach others at my university and picked up the secret to leading your partner quickly.

Dance with Me

Salsa
The Motion Picture

Dirty Dancing
Havana Nights