Happy Feet

The latest bunch of salsa classes are much different than the last set I've had. The instructor is not the same as the two from last year and has been teaching us very different moves. Even the basic step is different. I’m a pretty quick learner at class, but that’s also about the only practice I get. So last night just before my class, I asked one of my friends who is taking the beginner class just before mine if she wanted to go out later in the evening to go dancing. And she said sure why not. Mind you this wasn't a date. I just didn't want to take the classes and never use them and then forget everything again, and I thought she might also like to get some practice in.

I've already talked about what the night-life salsa experience is like. And little has changed since then. Namely a Y-chromosome for an X, and that makes a big difference. Gone is the stress of trying to go up to a random girl and asking her to dance. Although I did take note of how the pros did it. They just extend their hand and put an inquisitive look on their face. And the girl either shakes her head no, or takes their hand. But the girls also seemed to be amazing, or at least could follow a lead. So if I were to ask a girl to dance, she’d probably be expecting I’m already masterful. The trick is to find friends to go with.

My friend had never been to this particular bar for salsa dancing before and she was very intimidated. As always, everyone on the floor looked like a master. But after a drink we hit the floor. And quickly the necessity of practice became clear. I couldn't remember anything I had learned over the past 3 or 4 weeks. The moves were just out of my head. So we stumbled around for a bit and as the time went on things improved a bit. But then she decided that I had to dance with one of her friends that was coincidentally also there. Her friend said she was just a beginner but I saw her dancing earlier and she was as much a beginner at salsa as I’m a beginner at getting a girl to say 'no'. Fortunately, God took some pity on me and helped me remember a few moves.

In the end we were out until after 1, and had a very good time. We were both pretty weak on the floor but it was still fun to get out. The difficult part is trying to not think that everyone is watching you. When you’re the audience you’re only watching the good people because they’re amazing. You just don’t even notice the weaker ones. So it stands to reason that no one is going to watch you if you're no good, but convincing yourself of that is easier said than done.

As a final note when we were done and remarking on how fun it was I told her that I had hesitated on asking her. See she was with Stacy and I last Friday, and knew about everything. So I had thought that by asking her, she might go thinking that I was trying to play a rebound or something like that. But she said she hadn't thought of it like that at all, and was very glad I asked. But don't go jumping to any conclusions. My friend is about as sure as she can get that she's becoming a sister.