Brushing Up On My Latin

Now, lest you think I'm a neglectful mother, let me preface this by saying my daughter went with her father to San Diego for the weekend, so that's why I happen to get two weekend nights out in a row. I'm not just dumping her with a sitter. And man did I USE these nights. When this little red hen gets a night out, or two nights out...I get OUT. Last night was the movie premiere (sort of) with friends... tonight was SALSA dancing with a guy I met in a Whole Foods well over a month ago. I don't think a man has ever taken me dancing before...so I had to go.

Here's what I LOOOOOOOOOOVE about Latin culture. Dancing is in their blood, their hair, their sweat. I was a little nervous about going to the club because I'm not a clubbing kinda girl...except tonight I just realized that I AM. I freakin love to dance. Movement, is in MY blood, my sweat... you get the idea. I took to SALSA like a flea to a dog. And in the process, scratched an itch I'd been having for years. I had a dance partner who showed me the basics and then I just moved. It felt natural, like I'd been doing it all my life.

The other cool thing about Latin culture is that you change partners like it's nothing. There's no ego, no jealousy. My date had to go get drinks (water!) for us a few times and whenever he was gone another man would come by, wordlessly teaching me new steps. The other partners would return me at the end of the dance with a "thank you" and a smile and my date would just laugh. I think the ecstatic smile on my face had something to do with it! It was wonderful...one of these men in particular you could tell had been dancing for his entire life and it was as though he didn't even move at all. That's the beauty of salsa...the men can move very little but transport a woman across a dance floor like she's a breeze.

Luckily I had a pair of perfect dance shoes that helped me melt into the turns like butter into hot toast. Very glad I never got rid of those shoes. (I used them in a show back in college.) Tonight was their first time out of the closet in almost 4 years. Pathetic. Now, there were times I fell out of rhythm...and knew it immediately. Luckily they would slow down, help me reset, or simply guide me by the hand and propel me in the right direction and we'd be off again. My hips and legs moving underneath me in a way that startled even me! God Bless Pilates. There's nothing this body won't do on command, I think! I am so grateful for that. I would never be this coordinated, centered, balanced, and fluid without it being such a fixture in my life.

I need to dance. I love to dance. Specifically with a partner. Dancing by myself doesn't really hold much excitement for me. I think because the physical conversation between two people is what is so addictive about it. A conversation without words. The hardest part about it is relaxing and letting myself be led, especially when the steps are unfamiliar. I'm not always a good follower. So, for me it was similar to trapeze in that, you find fluidity in release and strength in posture. You pretty much just have to let go, living in the moment. Shaking your ass every now and then for good measure is nice.

I was never without a dance partner. In addition to the salsa, there was some regular bump and grind hip hop clubbing music too--and that's always fun--but there's no ART in it. There's not much conversation except: let's bang with our clothes on. With salsa, there's a whole dialogue...moving towards and away, constant rhythm changes, finding delight in the space between, knowing when to lead and when to groove on your own....it was utterly fascinating and beautiful. I actually preferred watching the non-competitors dance. Everyone on that dance floor was there because they loved it. It was palpable. Not to mention--when there's no "routine" you don't know what's going to happen next. There's no anticipation, you have to be perfectly in the moment with the other person. You turn "mistakes" into opportunity to move in a way you hadn't anticipated.

There was an actual contest going on while we were there with professional salsa dancers--a competition. It was amazing watching them. They were fantastic. While I have no desire to be a competitive dancer...I could do what they were doing with some training.  Tonight has irrevocably changed the way I think of myself on a dance floor. It has also made me realize that I LOVE dancing and have to devote some of my life to it again. So, after tonight I'm moving towards dancing. I'm not sure how...or what classes I'm going to take...but it is in my blood. I was completely in my bliss tonight dancing. I didn't care who I danced with...I just wanted to shake it and learn new things.

Now, the only thing I don't love is that some of the dresses... Hmm. Let me put it this way: the host tonight looked and sounded like a perky Kindergarten teacher in a G-string. It was a little disturbing. She had a piercing, yet sugary voice, long, blonde hair. Not to mention, I was witness to WAY more of her thighs, ass, stomach, and breasts than I wanted to be. Oh--and we had the regrettable luck of witnessing a MAJOR wardrobe malfunction. One of the competitors had a top that pretty much split in half in that middle of one of her crazy-salsa-whirl-moments. However, she kept whipping and spinning and so did her boobs. eeps. Whatever it takes to win a contest I guess. Though the girl that did win from one of the teams had the nicest rear end I think I've ever seen and you have to wonder how much that had to do with her win. She and her partner did a move where he "played piano" all the way up and down her torso...while she writhed and...such. uh. WOW. And the winners are... Nice Ass and her composer.

I think the only thing I wasn't prepared for...besides being flashed...were the amount of really extraordinarily bitchy, ugly, and rude WOMEN. The men were lovely and quite gentlemanly actually. I was treated very cordially and respectfully by the men, which maybe that made it worse...who knows. Sometimes, I hate my own gender. Ugh. Mean girls. But I had so much fun and can't wait to go again.

So...I wonder how this changes how I'm approaching some other things? Well, I'll have to think about that tomorrow. It's 2:28 AM and I'm beat, not to mention I can't feel my feet.

--Eve White