Salsa Musings

I've been dancing a lot lately :) and I love it! I think I've finally made my peace with it and accepted it for what it is: a God given desire and gift :) Some people are singers, some are musicians, some are both, and I am a dancer :) It truly is both a gift and a skill. After all, even our natural gifts need to be sharpened.

Even though dancing has all sorts of bad associations tagged with it (esp. in the Russian/Christian community), I will no longer let it affect my feelings towards it. I may be completely misunderstood by some, labeled and shunned by others, but God knows my heart and I know my heart, and it's pure :)

So here's what I've been picking up on the last few weeks:

*I really enjoy being challenged by amazing leads. I used to be intimidated by and afraid to dance with people who are really good, but now I have enough confidence to know that I can follow almost anyone.

*Leading is hard! Since I started learning how to lead (I only know a few basic moves, turns, spins and combinations) I've developed a new appreciation for leads. While I enjoy leading my friends, I can still feel the pressure of being responsible of their moves. Ha ha and also annoyance when I do my part, but they mess up theirs. It can be frustrating, so I'm glad I'm only doing it for fun :P

*I really don't like dancing with beginners. I know it sounds awful, especially since we were all beginners at some point, but I feel like for guys it's different. You can't lead another person when you don't know what you're doing yourself. Yes, they need to practice, but maybe with someone on their own level or with an instructor. I'm always kind and patient when I dance with them, but sometimes I get really annoyed and just want to lead them instead! And I'm sure that my face gives me away because "What the heck are you doing?" must be written all over it. However, if they are cute, I don't mind too much because then there's usually more talking than dancing going on anyway.

*I'd rather dance with friends than with strangers any day. I've had enough bad experiences dancing with strangers that now I usually just say no to people I don't know, unless I've watched them dance before. It's not me be being snobbish... just cautious.

So yea, dancing is a lot of fun! Especially when you're doing it with friends :) I got the pleasure of introducing it to a lot of people, and they all loved it... It's a good way to be social, enjoy music and even get some exercise :) Try it!