Marcus' Story

I was first really exposed to salsa music during my times in high school jazz band growing up in Albuquerque, NM. I had always been attracted to the deep and complex rhythms as well as the
African roots. I had only seen bits here and there of people dancing to it which was pretty cool.

But like many, it was not until "Salsa" came out that I really got to see the dancing to go with the music. I was so excited I tried to copy the steps with my sister. That didn't work too good, so after awhile I gave up.
I graduated in '87 continuing to work and go to school. It was a couple of years later my sister was all excited about this totally "hot" guy who had come to her school to talk about latin music
and dancing. He was an ex-Authur Murray teacher who wanted to teach the roots and what real salsa was about. So me and my brother went with her to check it out. We all started taking
lessons a few times but money got to be an issue. Since Rojelio, our teacher, was just starting he formed a dance troupe that would perform at local events and shows in return for dance
lessons. I thought it was a great deal.
Me, my brother and sister all started practicing but they fizzled out after awhile. I however was having a blast. We were learning basic steps and routines performing at schools and civic
events. It was great. The thing that makes me laugh thinking back to this is that I didn't really know many steps. Our teacher was big into making sure we felt the music and got the hip motion right (some things come naturally) so all of us looked good. I consider this time as one of the highlights of my life. I performed with them a year and a half and then I got married. Unfortunately this grinded my dancing to a halt. It was very frustrating trying to explain the difference between dancing and sleeping around. I tried teaching my wife how to dance but got impatient. My BIG mistake. This totally turned her off to it and I got tired of fighting about it, so I stopped dancing. After about five years we split up. I spent the next year as a depressed hermit. I was really tired of this and was trying to think of things to make me feel better. I remembered dancing, but I was reluctant to go anywhere because I didn't know that much to begin with. I overheard a guy talk about a place that played latin music that was good. I thought about going but then chickened out. I went through that a few times over the next 6 months. About that time I found the Salsaweb. After reading all the practical info for beginning men and what I was missing, I had to go dance. Fortunately this info was good for me because I accidentally went to an advanced class at the club, and a less than friendly woman pointedly informed of this. But I didn't sweat it and later that night I danced with all her friends. Needless to say my addiction has come back, and it feels good. There is no feeling in the world like dancing. With one song I'm in the "zone". The only problem I'm still having is with people who don't understand. I'm trying really hard to be patient with them but it's very difficult. Of course I have the most problems with girlfriends. Because of my previous experience I've been
extremely patient with my girlfriend, but she still has a problem with my dancing with others. I do everything to reassure her and explain it, which makes it better but not solved. Is this
something people can handle or not ?
All I know at this point is I gotta keep dancing.

Marcus Allen