My first experience of a dance class was at the age of 5 or 6 when I was taken to a ballet class to see if I would like it. Having an older brother in his teens, I remember my first thought being of the certain ridicule I would face if I had to wear a tutu, and deciding quite swiftly that this was not for me. So there began and ended my career in ballet.
Many many years later I faced a similar feeling of nervousness and embarrassment at the thought of what was to come as I was convinced by my husband-to-be to try out a Cuban salsa class. Walking in to the class I felt a sense of dread. Even though there were people of all ages and abilities I had no doubt in my mind that I would surely dazzle them with my total lack of coordination and inability to follow instruction. It didn’t help that my husband had already danced salsa before and therefore I didn’t even have the comfort of us both fumbling through a beginner’s class - it was me against the salsa! As I tried to find the darkest corner in the room where I could hide, in walked a girl dressed casually, Converse shoes on her feet. It is a moment that I will never forget. You could tell from the second she stepped in to the room that she was a dancer, that rhythm came naturally to her, that she knew exactly what she was doing. I stood there in awe, and I hadn’t even seen her dance yet! The confidence she exuded was both an inspiration and something that terrified me.
I struggle to remember all the details of that first class but unfortunately I was not pleasantly surprised by “actually being good at dancing”. I struggled with the basics and I did feel slightly disheartened by the end. And hence looking back on these first few classes, perhaps my experience with salsa is different from some. It was not that of instant addiction. In fact, it took me months before I really developed a love for it. At times I felt like I would never escape the awkward phase of dancing where every basic step is a challenge and every mistake you make seemingly an embarrassing reflection of your lack of ability. I’ll be honest, there were times where I felt that it was never going to get easier - that this was it. I had reached the limit of my abilities and I simply could not dance. But I persevered with classes. Partly because I wanted to be able to share the experience with my husband who was unmistakeably addicted, partly due to plain old stubbornness - I really wanted to look like that confident girl, the natural dancer I had encountered in my first ever salsa class. So I went back to classes time and time again and just pushed through that awkward feeling until one day it disappeared.
From that moment on, all I felt was excitement, and a desire and urge to dance that I had never experienced before. Suddenly everything in my life started to revolve around salsa. I listened to salsa walking to work, I practised steps under my desk, I’d do Suelto steps while on night shifts. It had become an obsession, and the unmistakable signs of addiction were there. Salsa opened a door to a select dance community and I discovered a whole new side of the city I had lived in for years. It only took one look to find that there were salsa classes practically every day and salsa club nights every weekend…and I wanted to do it all. I started going to every salsa class I could make and all other aspects of my life were put on a back-burner. I would sneak out of work as early as possible just to make it to a salsa class across town and the moment I entered that dance hall, the outside world and the stresses of daily life would just disappear. There was only good music, great friends and the dance. It was profound! I just needed one dance to make me feel happy.
This feeling plays a large part in the reason my husband and I set up a dance school here in Yorkshire. Cuban salsa has given us the opportunity to make some amazing friends, dance with some incredible dancers and given us some unforgettable memories. We hope that through our dance school, many more people can share the same experiences and fall in love with this beautiful dance form.
