A Lively Salsa

Last Tuesday evening I started my Salsa Class. It was Michael the instructor. I enjoyed the class. Most of the participants are young with only three men out of six women, including me and Roziana, a Rotarian who brought me to the class. I was the newest participant.

Salsa is such a sexy dance. Or at least it makes me feel sexy. Passionately to reach harmony is the soul of the dance I think. The passion refers to the rhythm of the steps combined with the movement of the body and hands. The harmony shows on each movement of the couple that is always reciprocal. The man leads the lady. He is the one who take initiatives and his partner has to meet his goal passionately.

Carloz Paz, a Columbian who works as a professional Latin Dance Instructor in the UK, says on his video Salsa Inferno that Salsa means efficient and it’s about expressing yourself. It looks sexy because both partners have to be always in a close contact of their body and eyes. As the leader the man should give the right hint of where he wants his lady to move through his hands. The eye contact works to confirm and give the lady sort of a secure feeling that she will move the right direction her partner wants her to do.

Salsa also teaches you to be a self confident person because we have to face our partner. We are not allowed to look down. No place to be shy. It is also about trust. The lady should trust the man. Let him lead you all the way.

Talking about the music. It’s a very dynamic one. It’s a Cuban rhythm, a mix of mambo, chacha, solomentono, wanacha and boma. What a rhythm! You just steps in, move your body and hands following the rhythm.

The origin of Salsa is debatable (see www.salsa-in-cuba.com). Carloz Paz mentions it’s from West African and Cuba and then commercialized in America since 1960. Well... to me the history is less important than the fact that Salsa reflects life. Trust, confidence, communication, passion, love, and leadership are the ingredients we need in order to have a harmonious life. A perfect Salsa!