PE - Salsa

1, 2, 3, nothing. 5, 6, 7, nothing.
The entire hour of my salsa class passed by with the repetition of numbers and nothings. Surprisingly, it was the best hour of my week.

I think everyone picks up some form of partner dancing at some point in their lives from simply watching others or being taught a step or two by a willing partner. I, myself, have been dying for quite a few years now to take an actual class in partner dancing. I know the base for salsa, waltz, and swing already, and when I saw that Partner Dancing fit perfectly into my schedule here in Toulouse I knew I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to build on my meager foundation of prior knowledge.

Walking into class my heart sank.....where were the cute latin guys? I just somehow figured that a partner dancing class would involve latin guys since it's stereotypical that latin guys love to dance. Guess not...
Well that's okay. I've partnered with girl-friends on the dance floor. There's still a lot I can learn by being both the 'boy' and the 'girl'. So, seating myself on the floor I officially entered the class.
Taught by a spry, elderly gentleman, who clearly loved being the only male in the room, and a gorgeous young woman we were shown the basic salsa, samba, and mambo. At first, all twenty of us were uptight. Like robots we mechanically moved from side to side and back to front. Our movement elicited looks of alarm and distaste on the instructors' faces though they tried their best to hide them. On and on droned the two metal sticks our female instructor kept time with - 1, 2, 3 (pause) 5, 6, 7 (pause). Twenty minutes in, hips began to sway, thirty minutes in, smiles began to appear, at forty minutes in, whole bodies were alive with beautiful rhythmic movement. Somewhere between the awkward beginning and the reluctant ending of class we all must have subconsciously decided that we were lovely, powerful ladies who just wanted to move with the music. No judgement, no self-consciousness, no worries....just dancing.

By the end of class, after I gotten the steps down, I felt very 'Dirty Dancing' and fancied myself a pro (at the basics). I walked out of class, put on my music, put in my headphones, and salsa/samba/mambo danced my way home.