The last dance...

When I go to a salsa practica, or any other dance party, I usually stay till the end... till the music stops. Sometimes you can go a whole night without really "enjoying" any of the dances... and those times I just leave - but it happens very rarely. Usually the DJ plays at least a few songs I LOVE, or I get to dance with a couple of leads I LOVE dancing with, or both ;)

And I like to end the night with a favorite song, or dancing with one of my favorite leads. Last night it was both :) It was almost surreal... And the entire way back home in the car I played this song in a loop. A single dance like this is enough to keep me engaged!

'Save the last dance for me' has so much more depth to it than meets the ears ;)

Anyways, here is the last song from last night:

"How long have you been dancing?"

A question that I get at almost every dance party I go to :) Usually it follows a compliment "You dance so well", "You are so awesome" or something similar...

And when I tell them how long I have been dancing, the response varies from "Reallllllllly? Only 2 months?" "Oh, a year, no wonder you are so good" :)

Thing is, I have been dancing a year, but my "level" has stayed the same :( Sad in a way... I learnt SO quickly in the first 2 months, and have not improved much since... I used to be happy to answer this question in 2012, because their reaction was usually admiration, but now they dismiss it with "oh so long..."

I preferred it when I was a salsa 'prodigy' of sorts :D haha :D 

Art of leading!

I was helping out in a dance class (or being a dance model ;)), and Scott wanted me to demonstrate a new step which is not very commonly danced - at least, I had never done it before.

And instead of stopping and teaching me how it is done, Scott just *made* me follow during one of the practice breaks in class. Only when we stopped dancing did I realize how expertly he had led me. Renewed respect for awesome leads! :)

And later in class I learned that the move was called a "chase turn"... hmm...

Salsa on Alki

First time salsa dancing outside in seattle! Was a fun and different experience... The cool breeze on alki beach was awesome and added the element that is missing in indoor dances... and not to mention the sunset... brilliant! Thankfully it was a warm day and no clouds...

but I don't know if I will go back again :D The space was wayyyyyyyy too less for the number of people dancing, and I elbowing others or stepping on others. If I didn't, someone else stepped on me :P And my favorite part about dancing is interpreting the music and styling, which I couldn't do in this crowded space. Plus, the floor was not all that great... but still, I was happy I went :)

Thanks to all my leads and follows!

Almost a year (sort of) since I started my Salsa journey, so I guess this warrants a blogpost :) It has been an awesome experience so far, and I want to dedicate this post to all the people who made it fun, entertaining, and most of all, people who made it possible!

I started salsa dancing in June 2012 with the DJ Yambu salsa party at Danceworks studio... I had no idea what a salsa party was... and I was scared. None of my regular group of friends danced salsa and so I decided to (had to) go to the party alone - mainly because I had the 99$ unlimited pass for the month and the party was included in it :D I know I know, but it was a good thing. I enjoyed myself SO much that first day, and I felt bad that I had missed the other salsa parties that were included in the pass :) 

Thanks much to Scott, who has made this possible for me, and many many other dancers! It is truly a service to the community, and I really appreciate his dedication, enthusiasm and drive! But more about that later... :)

Today was the end of the month DJ Yambu salsa party again... Thanks Chaitali and Vamsi for coming by and celebrating 1 year with me, even though you didn't know it :) (I didn't know it either :D) Not many people on the dance floor and many of my usual friends were missing... nevertheless I had a marvelous time!