So I've been meaning to write about Salsa dancing for a while now...so here it is:
In town they have Sunday Salsa lessons. An hour of lesson and then dancing till you drop for everyone. The lessons are always for beginners, but they're slightly different each week so you still feel like you're learning. Sometimes if enough people have been a few times, they teach slighly more advanced stuff.
I wanted to write about it after the first time I went. I've wanted to go to these lessons for years. Since I first heard about the Sunday Salsa I've been trying to find people to go with. Finally, this year, my wish was granted. A friend heard about it and decided to go, so I went too. I was happily surprised to see that the number of guys and girls was even. It's been that way, every time, almost exactly even. So after the instructor goes over the basic steps with the entire group, when he breaks us up into "leaders" and "followers" it's actually pretty much guys and girls.
The neat thing about Salsa is that it's a social dance. People are there to dance, and with different people. It's not a dance that you do expecting to only dance with the person you came with the entire time. So often, as part of the lesson, we form a circle and after a few minutes of dancing, the ladies switch off to the next guy. The first time we did this I was so delightfully tickled. Every single person dances differently. That's also another great thing about salsa: it has steps and rhythm, but you're supposed to give the dance your own flavor. You stylize it to reflect your personality. And although when you're learning, you generally can't spare any focus to think of this, it always comes through subconsciously. I notice this as I go around the circle.
There are shy guys, strict guys, funny guys, restless guys, serious guys, the list goes on. Everyone does the moves slightly differently and it's so fascinating to me. It's also just plain awesome because I have so much admiration for all these people at the class. Especially the shy guys. Because a million kudos to them for having the guts to show up (often by themselves) and learn something new and scary.
I never fail to get a kick out of it. Just the sheer human-ness of it. Everyone's skill level is different, everyone dresses a little differently, everyone's style is different! I absolutely LOVE it.
There's the young new med student who is so exuberant and confident even though he's new.
There's the older Indian guy who seems a little quiet, but picking up the dance really well.
There's the tall thin guy who I'm pretty sure *thinks* he's above the average skill level, (and probably is) but hardly ever dances with people.
There's the new guy who seems so awkward and uncoordinated and is so focused that he barely smiles or even looks at his partner...
And I love them all!!
The list goes on and on.
And of course all of the women have their own personalities and everything too, I just don't dance with them so I don't notice it as much.
Salsa is called such because as our teacher says, "it's a mix of flavors," and it is SO true. But so is life, so are we. All human, all basic needs and desires the same, but oh, how amazingly different the flavors! The quirks, the traits, the personalities. All different, all delightful. Delicious!
