Around three years ago, this girl from my company asked me and nine other people to attend Salsa classes in Lisbon (she was a Salsaholic of course). I didn’t want to go, but my friend begged me to go with her so we could be dance partners. We got there and we enrolled (I was little reluctant). One month later I decided to drop out of classes but my partner insisted that I continue. I was having MAJOR problems with the basic step. I felt very awkward dancing; it didn’t come natural to me. The closest I had been to dancing was drinking a beer at the bar of a discothèque.

Everyone in my class was starting to go out at night to the local Salsa clubs and were really enjoying themselves. I also went, but no one wanted to dance with me (except my partner) because I had two left feet. My biggest problem was understanding the beat of the music. The girls I danced with were always complaining about me being off beat and that my technique was terrible! One even told me, “There is no hope for you”. Wow, it was as if my ego took a running nose dive off of a 10 story building. It was then that I decided to quit Salsa and find a more interesting hobby. At the end of the second month my partner begged me to stay once more. I thought to myself, since I will have to spend another month, I shall try to solve my dance problems on my own. I bought a CD and listened to it over and over again in order to try understand the beat. Slowly but surely, it did start to sink in. I became more confident and decided I would test this new acquired knowledge in the Salsa arena with the man eating salseras. Yes, It worked! I was finally synchronized with the music! The girls still continued to criticize my dancing technique, but I did feel better. My next milestone would be to improve my dancing technique. I did eventually master the technique and even introduced little feeling to my dance.

Now I am completely hooked! It is like a disease. I started dancing with friends in parking lots, on the street, in restaurants, practically anywhere with a little open space and salseras. I danced almost everyday for several months which really improved my dancing technique.

I love the feeling of dancing with a girl and gliding across the dance floor with no effort whatsoever and in complete synchronism. You get completely absorbed with the moment and the only thing you can see is her face, everything else is blank. It is as if there are only two people in the universe, you and your partner, and your minds and thoughts become one. Some people say it is like having sex. Well, I personally prefer the real thing, but I must admit it is the best thing I have encountered without physical contact.

I still however hold a grudge against some of the girls who refused to dance with me in my early days. I didn’t like the type of criticism that was thrust upon me. I think that one should be more subtle and try to help you, instead of putting you on their most “unwanted dance list”. Most of the girls that wouldn’t dance with me before, nowadays are dying to get a dance with me. The ones that ask me for a dance, I do dance with them, however I never put on my best performance. The ones that are still waiting for me to ask them, well… they can wait several more years.

Regards,

Sampa