Roger's Story...

I started working in Latin America three years ago, and my first
year I spent a lot of time in Colombia. Salsa is very popular there,
and I saw great dancers in Bogota, Cali and Barranquilla. I was
born in Jamaica, and thought I knew "rhythm" from reggae music....well, was I ever humbled. I was really impressed at how
smooth and graceful some couples danced, and how flamboyant
and expressive others were. The dance seemed simple until you
tried it, and then it was what's the beat, which foot goes where,
what do you do with your hands, is there some secret code that
you have to be a Latino to know, etc., etc.. Fortunately I had very gracious hosts, I found that Colombians are one of the friendliest people in Latin America, and I was able to enjoy the music and dance to Merengue and Vallenato and stumble around to Salsa.

After not traveling to Colombia the last two years, I moved to
Ft. Lauderdale last year, and decided to learn Salsa this year as I
work in a Latin environment and still travel occasionally. Well, I
found there is a vibrant and expanding Latin scene in
Ft. Lauderdale, so I want to be a respectable dancer, and do the
music and the culture justice. I really believe in doing things right if you are going to do them, and music and dance is such a big part of culture that aside from having fun, I wantto learn the essence and the spirit of the music and the dance...plus, it looks way cool.
So, if you ever have occasion to stop in South Florida, let me
know when you are coming and hopefully you can give me
acouple pointers.

Roger can be reached at rogerc@bellsouth.net