"The Salsa Queens"

I would have never expected salsa class to make me feel beautiful; especially not last Wednesday, with the humid rain and breezy wind.

I always thought of salsa to be enduring, a physical sport-like activity. Due to Wednesday’s two hour practices, Thursday mornings are usually filled with aches and bodily pains. Because of this, I believed dancing was much more instructional (perhaps even calculated and timed.) I guess a part of it is- the rhythm counting and the tune plays a huge part in how you dance. But sometimes...a tune just complicates things.

I never thought it would make me feel beautiful. I would awe at other female salsa dancers who, with their graceful limbs, twirled and whirled around the dance floor- usually in their stilettos. How beautiful, how feminine, how un-karlaish. I wouldn’t have the guts to attempt anything as majestic, and if I was drunk enough to try I would surely look ridiculous!

On Wednesday October 27th our salsa class was separated in two. One halve of the class practiced with their partners while the other halve, my halve, practiced their “shines.” I’m not going to lie- I sighed. I sighed heavily! I wanted to practice with a partner for the sole fact that it’s more practical. When we go to socials we will have to dance with others, so I wanted to get as much hands on experience as possible.

We learned this really cool move though- one that we didn’t think we could initially do. I wish I knew or remembered the name because it’s so elaborate and impressive. All of the students grunted when Dr.Trillo first showed us because it looked so impossible! But it turned out to be rather straightforward- Right foot: kick, tap, land, Left foot: toe tap, heel tap, toe tap again, FOOT STOMP. Now if you count the steps you would notice that there are eight. This was our first eight stepped move. One.two.three five.six.seven. EIGHT. I capitalize because the eight shouts! “Cockroach stomping,” they call it.

Well, we all did it. Me of course, the worst dancer of the bunch, took a little extra time but I got it, I got it. Then we began adding on moves that we had already learned and we even learned another new move. This move was sexy- is that correct, calling a move tantalizing? Ha! Well, it certainly felt that way. Extremely inviting, passionate, and risqué. It was the crossing of the right foot over the left, crossing the left over the right, and so on and so forth until we finished the seven step count. But I must point out that there was an intentional exquisite pause between the three and the five.

Once we finished with that move, and whilst our instructor departed to instruct the other halve on their partner dancing routine, our halve continued to add on to our four move routine. We added moves that we already knew: the Susie Q, the cross-body, and about three others!

Something wonderful happened just then. We were really, really, really, really good! And it was a routine! We never did routines- and now we were doing it by ourselves. Our halve of the room was all females and so we began to proclaim we were the “Salsa Queens.” Ha! It was silly but it was motivating. All of us caught a drift, followed a motion, watched and reacted to one another. Moreover, we began asserting we were the “Better Halve,” which was extremely funny because everyone on the opposite side of the room just glanced in remote confusion. It wasn’t meant to discredit them, but I think it was more for our esteem.

Even when I messed up- skipped a step or forgot the next move- I kept it going. Dr.Trillo calls this muscle memory, I call it a miracle. I would pick up the step and continue the routine. I don’t think I could have done that a week ago. The beat stuck to me, and I stuck to it. I felt beautiful.

Got my Dancing Shoes on

So the social last Friday went very well. I didn't know what to expect and I have to admit: I thought we would be receiving class instructions from a salsa professor. In fact, for the first 20 minutes no one moved out of their seats. We anticipated the professor as we nervously sat amidst an empty dance floor with salsa music blasting from the speakers. No professor came. Little by little, slow ripples of people began to rise and ask one another to dance. Our class, huddled together on one isolated corner, began practicing "the basic," "side basic," "fancy basic," "left turn," "right turn," and even some couple moves.
I had brought my mom mainly because she had been begging to come but presumably, I guess I wanted to dance with someone who knew what they are doing. After Friday night, I wished I could inflate a good dance partner and deflate him when I'm done...I think I learn best and quicker when I dance with others.Moreover, he would have to be "good" because that way you'll learn from the best, and one day be the best! Unfortunately, the woman to man ratio in our class is about 450 : 4 1/2 so we can never have more than five minutes with a particular dancing partner. My mom said she learned how to dance salsa by going to parties. I guess that's all a social is... a party.

So after pushing my mom to dance with this one guy, who had multicolored dance shoes on, and seeing his dance moves I decided I would approach him and ask him for a dance. He was an older fellow, perhaps in his thirties and once we started dancing I saw just how incompetent I really was. He was advanced, by far, and it showed. He tried to turn me, I went the other way, our arms tangled and toppled over my head and it appeared, from afar, that he was holding me in some sort of WWE headlock. I apologize. We gave it another shot. Again, Betty spaghetti arms went flying in every direction. He explained to me that I shouldn't move my body to the movement of his hand. In other words, when he pulled my right hand to the left, he was only prepping me for a turn, this means that I should not complete the turn by shifting my body all the way to the left but instead wait for his signal- his guiding my hand to the right- to turn.

I learned a lot on Friday night and had a few good laughs. I definitely need to practice more but now that I have bought my dancing shoes, I'm ready to take on any and all obstacles!

onetwothree.fivesixseven

Well...
here
I
go

Putting the radio on, and searching for La Mega. Nope, merengue is playing. "Mom! Can I get a Joe Arroyo or El Group Niche CD or something?"

So I get it, I play it, and I hear "Esclavitud Perpetua." I feel it. It makes me wanna dance...so much so that I am actually getting up in front of my bedroom mirror and doing "the basic."

This is EASY! But then Joe Arroyo starts singing, the music fades and the tempo changes. All of a sudden I don't "feel" the music. It's right when he says, "En los anos mil seiscientos, cuando el tirano mando
las calles de Cartagena, aquella historia vivio..." that I completely lose focus. Is this a transition? Am I suppose to slow my step on certain instrumental notes? Because I feel like I'm totally off rhythm if I keep with the "onetwothree.fivesixseven"

I'm going to ask my mom what it is I should do during this awkward transition. She would know. I'll letchu know when I find out!

PS- there is another part in the song that sounds like something out of a Tom & Jerry episode. Joe Arroyo says, "Y con ustedes....Chelito de casa" and then "Chelito de casa" starts going off on the piano in a very fast paced manner. Too fast, too fast! Note to self: Ask mami about this too..