So the answer to a question posed to me on several occasions now, that I couldn't quite procure before, came to me suddenly today while I was browsing some Salsa videos on google. The question was "Why don't you like it when guys use their feet/legs to lead a girl into a move?" Many a time while sharing the most miscellaneous thoughts about leads with leads I had to bring up this dislike. But I could never really figure out a reason why. Well today it came screaming at me loud and clear!
One of the comments under a Salsa video with lots of foot leading read "The guy was playing soccer wit her!" Which is exactly how some of us girls feel when we are "lead" in such a way!!! We feel like a soccer ball. And it's not a good feeling. A soccer ball is kicked, passed around, and rolled on the ground. No girl EVER wants to feel like that! Granted my opinion might change as I learn how to do more advanced moves or simply get used to the idea that it's appropriate to lead this way on the floor. But for now, I would like to never be lead like this, and the answer to WHY i feel this way feels extremely good to finally find!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Good Old Halo
After taking a week long break from dancing and narrowly escaping the temptation of the Seattle Salsa Congress, I stepped into good old Halo, where I was planning on staying for a couple of hours to get my exercise. I was shocked to see numerous leads who attended the congress back on Monday to dance with us, mere mortals, who did not participate in the magnificent ritual. I, myself, was hoping to catch the end of congress on Sunday night, after coming back from a weekend visit to Portland. But it was not to be. Delayed by holiday traffic, I arrived home to find that I am sick with something. Whether it was a flu, a cold, or plain old allergies, I do not know. What I do know is that I had zero energy for anything but getting into bed and passing out. Luckily, that did the trick, and on Monday morning I was miraculously back to good health. But unfortunately Salsa Congress was no more...
But good old Halo was still there. So there I went, determined to dance with all the beginners who came to practice. I don't know why or how, but there were no beginners there. From the beginning to the end (two hours my butt... I ended up staying until 10:30) every single lead that asked me was awesome. I did not have a SINGLE bad dance and I danced every song except one. So here's a well-kept secret that needs to come out: if you want to partake in some good dancing without being influenced by the drama of the scene, come to Halo! Distracted by the many newly discovered places to dance at, I've put Halo on the back burner for a while. But coming back to it after getting a taste for all other venues made it just so much sweeter. I'm never leaving again!
But good old Halo was still there. So there I went, determined to dance with all the beginners who came to practice. I don't know why or how, but there were no beginners there. From the beginning to the end (two hours my butt... I ended up staying until 10:30) every single lead that asked me was awesome. I did not have a SINGLE bad dance and I danced every song except one. So here's a well-kept secret that needs to come out: if you want to partake in some good dancing without being influenced by the drama of the scene, come to Halo! Distracted by the many newly discovered places to dance at, I've put Halo on the back burner for a while. But coming back to it after getting a taste for all other venues made it just so much sweeter. I'm never leaving again!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
How Salsa Sucks You In
It seems that as soon as I made a Facebook page for my blog some sort of a commitment became required from me. This instantly shut off any natural desires to write that might have been harbored by my freedom-loving self. So now I face a dilemma: discontinue the page and thus eliminate any possibility of spreading the word about this blog other than word-of-mouth? Or keep the page and figure out a way to deal with this paralyzing fear? The first solution seems easy enough... but the second one would be way more beneficial for the long-term.
Now about the topic. In a few moments that I could steal all to myself in the past couple days it suddenly hit me that my promise to be objective when starting this blog has miserably failed. Objectivity is too far beyond my reach at this point to even try and get back to it. I now have a pretty complete set of favorites in the Seattle Salsa Scene -- from DJ's, to songs, to nights out to dance, to performance groups, to leads to dance with. But that list of opinions is just that: opinion. Because although I've lost my objectivity, I have not yet gained expert knowledge about Salsa to be able to suggest that others agree with what I think.
The question is, how the heck did this happen? How did I turn from being an objective outsider to being an opinionated insider in the matter of just a few months? (Or should I say from a nice follow to a snob (and back)). And how can people who don't wish to find themselves in my shoes protect themselves from this happening? Below, I've outlined several stages of this evolution. BEWARE. And have a laugh about it too.
1. Oblivious Unawareness
If you are like me, you weren't invited to dance Salsa. Rather, one of your acquaintances ranted and raved about the experience until you gave in to the powers of curiosity and signed up for lessons to check it out yourself. During lessons you tried your best to memorize everyone's name, learn the steps, and be nice and courteous.
2. Excitement of Discovery
At the beginning of your second class series you finally worked up the courage to go to Halo to "practice" with one of your newly developed acquaintances from class. He/she decided to leave after a few songs but it didn't matter, because you soon discovered that making eye contact and smiling at a person has an 100% success rate of scoring a dance with them. You couldn't believe that real dancers were asking you to dance/agreeing to dance with you, timidly let them know that you just started, and smiled every time a turn actually worked.
3. Happy Oblivion
After a while you progressed to memorizing just the names of interesting leads in your class, as well as coming to Thursday night dances at Century Ballroom. At first you could only stay for a couple hours at a time because your entire body, not used to this amount of activity, hurt the next day, as if from learning how to snowboard. You could not feel your feet (which did not stop you from wishing there was a place where you could dance every night of the week. You were not yet aware that there WERE places like that.) But the more exciting part of dancing for you was the realization that a bunch of very diverse people are doing the same thing in one place and getting along marvelously with each other. Everyone was friendly and respectful. Finally you've found a social circle with no drama!
4. Intermediate Disappointment
You've whirled through your Salsa 1's and 2's and have started the six month long series of Salsa 3. Suddenly an awareness dawned on you that you are not as great a dancer as you thought yourself to be when you first started. You learned that a spin doesn't just happen -- it's actually preceded by a prep. You realized that if you try to put that hand up just any random way that's comfortable for you, you'll end up smacking the lead in the face. You stopped memorizing any names in your class, and dreaded dancing with the leads who clearly needed to repeat Salsa 1. You also began to hear stories from familiar leads about there supposedly being a lot of drama in the salsa scene. But you didn't believe them.
5. Commitment Token
After completing one of the classes from Salsa 3 series you decided that Salsa IS something you will stick with for a while (based on the overwhelming pull you felt towards Century and Halo every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.) To make it official you decided to finally invest in your very first and special pair of dance shoes. If a follow, this was preceded by a long observation of fellow follows feet, hours of fruitless trying on of pairs at local shops and finally narrowing down to and possessing the exact style, color and fit that you wanted. The first couple months of ownership were accompanied by a significant unplanned expense: band-aids. Now that you had shoes that were actually made for dancing you found yourself staying until the very end of an event one day, and to your amazement discovered that a small group of people you were somewhat familiar with stayed as well, and either kept dancing or went out to eat after the event. Not quite being in on it yet though you skipped the polite invitation to join.
6. Wishful Dancing
After watching several birthday dances and performances you have identified people that you wished you could dance like/with. Part of your time on the dance floor was now spent observing them and dreaming about how one day they would say hello to you and maybe even ask you for a dance. You have now realized that you officially suck at dancing and started taking all classes available to improve. The rumors you heard about there being a lot of drama in the scene started seeming more probable now, but you happily assured all who told you about them that you will NEVER have anything to do with any of it.
7. Social Discovery
Perhaps by chance. Perhaps by getting to know certain people more. Perhaps by a force of fate that will get everyone sooner or later, you got discovered by one of the many socialites of the scene. That socialite and you connected on facebook and they introduced you to all their closest friends in the ballroom. Suddenly you saw your friends list go from 27 to 270 in a matter of a week and your bedtime from 6pm to 6am. Work started becoming second priority. You now happily accepted all invitations to eating out and after parties.
8. Expansion of Social Comfort Zone
You got to know more and more people. And your new salsa best friend opened your eyes to the wonders of other venues to dance salsa at that you had no idea about before. To your utter amazement, some of these venues were free! Why people didn't go out to dance every single night remained a mystery to you. Your friends list on face book grew from 270 to 450.
9. Social Comfort Zone
The people you've only admired from afar before have now became your friends. The leads/follows that you only dreamed of dancing with were now the comfortable ones you grabbed at any moment you wished. You've traveled for Salsa, maybe even on more than one occasion, and became tightly acquainted with the map of who belongs to which studio and performance team. You enjoyed knowing a lot of people and got along great with everyone. The dance shoes were now worn in enough to wear without the band-aids, but the money you saved immediately went towards cover for attending the multitude of events in abundance available via facebook invitations every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
10. The Drama
As you got closer and closer to certain people you began to realize that the rumors you've heard about there being a lot of drama in the salsa scene were, in fact, true. Heart-to-heart conversations with now close friends revealed beef that went back decades and a variety of ghost characters that were nevertheless on everyone's mind. Too late to fix anything, it dawned on you that a lot of that drama involves conflict between two or more people that you are very close with. Thus, your determination to stay out of it didn't seem to be enough to truly stay out and you were suddenly smack in the middle of it all. You also found yourself not wanting to dance with half the room because you've danced with the best -- a disgusting habit you used to judge in others but now reluctantly admitted to having yourself.
11. The Resolve to Stay Away
Tired, in danger of losing your job because of long nights out, devoid of any social contact other than with the people from salsa, and determined to stay away from the drama draining you emotionally, you decided to back off and stop going out so much. This was immediately followed by a wave of peer pressure to go out, which felt good, but overwhelming. You didn't give in, and limited your going out to social events that couldn't be missed, such as performances and birthdays of your friends. You started missing Halo and Century and the times when salsa was nothing but a dance in which everyone was nice and respectful and where there was no drama... You got invited into Salsa 4.
12. The Come Back
Now balanced in your work life, salsa life, and life outside of salsa, you settled into a happy existence with Salsa being just one of the many parts of your life instead of it being your life. You are still close, but not co-dependent on your friends from the scene. You go out enough to keep up the skill but not enough to get sucked in again. Your job became much more pleasant because you now get to participate in a marvelous activity called "sleep." As part of your settled life one day you decided to visit the good old "Halo." It worked. The friendliness and laid-back atmosphere of the place made you wonder why the heck you didn't come back faster. You smiled and accepted every lead that asked because you realized that you are now the one who will make Salsa that magical place where everyone is nice and accepting and where there is no drama...
Now about the topic. In a few moments that I could steal all to myself in the past couple days it suddenly hit me that my promise to be objective when starting this blog has miserably failed. Objectivity is too far beyond my reach at this point to even try and get back to it. I now have a pretty complete set of favorites in the Seattle Salsa Scene -- from DJ's, to songs, to nights out to dance, to performance groups, to leads to dance with. But that list of opinions is just that: opinion. Because although I've lost my objectivity, I have not yet gained expert knowledge about Salsa to be able to suggest that others agree with what I think.
The question is, how the heck did this happen? How did I turn from being an objective outsider to being an opinionated insider in the matter of just a few months? (Or should I say from a nice follow to a snob (and back)). And how can people who don't wish to find themselves in my shoes protect themselves from this happening? Below, I've outlined several stages of this evolution. BEWARE. And have a laugh about it too.
1. Oblivious Unawareness
If you are like me, you weren't invited to dance Salsa. Rather, one of your acquaintances ranted and raved about the experience until you gave in to the powers of curiosity and signed up for lessons to check it out yourself. During lessons you tried your best to memorize everyone's name, learn the steps, and be nice and courteous.
2. Excitement of Discovery
At the beginning of your second class series you finally worked up the courage to go to Halo to "practice" with one of your newly developed acquaintances from class. He/she decided to leave after a few songs but it didn't matter, because you soon discovered that making eye contact and smiling at a person has an 100% success rate of scoring a dance with them. You couldn't believe that real dancers were asking you to dance/agreeing to dance with you, timidly let them know that you just started, and smiled every time a turn actually worked.
3. Happy Oblivion
After a while you progressed to memorizing just the names of interesting leads in your class, as well as coming to Thursday night dances at Century Ballroom. At first you could only stay for a couple hours at a time because your entire body, not used to this amount of activity, hurt the next day, as if from learning how to snowboard. You could not feel your feet (which did not stop you from wishing there was a place where you could dance every night of the week. You were not yet aware that there WERE places like that.) But the more exciting part of dancing for you was the realization that a bunch of very diverse people are doing the same thing in one place and getting along marvelously with each other. Everyone was friendly and respectful. Finally you've found a social circle with no drama!
4. Intermediate Disappointment
You've whirled through your Salsa 1's and 2's and have started the six month long series of Salsa 3. Suddenly an awareness dawned on you that you are not as great a dancer as you thought yourself to be when you first started. You learned that a spin doesn't just happen -- it's actually preceded by a prep. You realized that if you try to put that hand up just any random way that's comfortable for you, you'll end up smacking the lead in the face. You stopped memorizing any names in your class, and dreaded dancing with the leads who clearly needed to repeat Salsa 1. You also began to hear stories from familiar leads about there supposedly being a lot of drama in the salsa scene. But you didn't believe them.
5. Commitment Token
After completing one of the classes from Salsa 3 series you decided that Salsa IS something you will stick with for a while (based on the overwhelming pull you felt towards Century and Halo every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.) To make it official you decided to finally invest in your very first and special pair of dance shoes. If a follow, this was preceded by a long observation of fellow follows feet, hours of fruitless trying on of pairs at local shops and finally narrowing down to and possessing the exact style, color and fit that you wanted. The first couple months of ownership were accompanied by a significant unplanned expense: band-aids. Now that you had shoes that were actually made for dancing you found yourself staying until the very end of an event one day, and to your amazement discovered that a small group of people you were somewhat familiar with stayed as well, and either kept dancing or went out to eat after the event. Not quite being in on it yet though you skipped the polite invitation to join.
6. Wishful Dancing
After watching several birthday dances and performances you have identified people that you wished you could dance like/with. Part of your time on the dance floor was now spent observing them and dreaming about how one day they would say hello to you and maybe even ask you for a dance. You have now realized that you officially suck at dancing and started taking all classes available to improve. The rumors you heard about there being a lot of drama in the scene started seeming more probable now, but you happily assured all who told you about them that you will NEVER have anything to do with any of it.
7. Social Discovery
Perhaps by chance. Perhaps by getting to know certain people more. Perhaps by a force of fate that will get everyone sooner or later, you got discovered by one of the many socialites of the scene. That socialite and you connected on facebook and they introduced you to all their closest friends in the ballroom. Suddenly you saw your friends list go from 27 to 270 in a matter of a week and your bedtime from 6pm to 6am. Work started becoming second priority. You now happily accepted all invitations to eating out and after parties.
8. Expansion of Social Comfort Zone
You got to know more and more people. And your new salsa best friend opened your eyes to the wonders of other venues to dance salsa at that you had no idea about before. To your utter amazement, some of these venues were free! Why people didn't go out to dance every single night remained a mystery to you. Your friends list on face book grew from 270 to 450.
9. Social Comfort Zone
The people you've only admired from afar before have now became your friends. The leads/follows that you only dreamed of dancing with were now the comfortable ones you grabbed at any moment you wished. You've traveled for Salsa, maybe even on more than one occasion, and became tightly acquainted with the map of who belongs to which studio and performance team. You enjoyed knowing a lot of people and got along great with everyone. The dance shoes were now worn in enough to wear without the band-aids, but the money you saved immediately went towards cover for attending the multitude of events in abundance available via facebook invitations every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
10. The Drama
As you got closer and closer to certain people you began to realize that the rumors you've heard about there being a lot of drama in the salsa scene were, in fact, true. Heart-to-heart conversations with now close friends revealed beef that went back decades and a variety of ghost characters that were nevertheless on everyone's mind. Too late to fix anything, it dawned on you that a lot of that drama involves conflict between two or more people that you are very close with. Thus, your determination to stay out of it didn't seem to be enough to truly stay out and you were suddenly smack in the middle of it all. You also found yourself not wanting to dance with half the room because you've danced with the best -- a disgusting habit you used to judge in others but now reluctantly admitted to having yourself.
11. The Resolve to Stay Away
Tired, in danger of losing your job because of long nights out, devoid of any social contact other than with the people from salsa, and determined to stay away from the drama draining you emotionally, you decided to back off and stop going out so much. This was immediately followed by a wave of peer pressure to go out, which felt good, but overwhelming. You didn't give in, and limited your going out to social events that couldn't be missed, such as performances and birthdays of your friends. You started missing Halo and Century and the times when salsa was nothing but a dance in which everyone was nice and respectful and where there was no drama... You got invited into Salsa 4.
12. The Come Back
Now balanced in your work life, salsa life, and life outside of salsa, you settled into a happy existence with Salsa being just one of the many parts of your life instead of it being your life. You are still close, but not co-dependent on your friends from the scene. You go out enough to keep up the skill but not enough to get sucked in again. Your job became much more pleasant because you now get to participate in a marvelous activity called "sleep." As part of your settled life one day you decided to visit the good old "Halo." It worked. The friendliness and laid-back atmosphere of the place made you wonder why the heck you didn't come back faster. You smiled and accepted every lead that asked because you realized that you are now the one who will make Salsa that magical place where everyone is nice and accepting and where there is no drama...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Dance For A Cause
I'm sitting in my living room, soaking up everything that is being said around me. The conversation taking place is inspiring, if nothing less. The person in the center of it is a role model of a young professional woman doing good smack in the middle of a harsh business world. Myra is sharing the hopes and fears for the fundraiser that she's organizing for the non-profit, Adelante, on Saturday, November 21, 2009. The numbers that she's throwing out shock me to the core. "We're hoping to raise $10,000, does that seem like a lot?" No, it doesn't. "But there's SO much you can do with that money in Nicaragua!" She continues to share just how much can be done with so little money. $50 will provide a notebook, pencil, and pen for up to 100 students. $1000 sponsors a teacher for six months to a year. $5,000 raised last year fixed a roof, built a security fence around a school building that was robbed of its food and school supplies, fixed 3 outhouses with doors and new paint, and provided 480 students with all the school supplies they needed, including text books.
I tell her that her determination and business knowledge is impressive. Her response shows passionate humility. "You would do it too, if you went there. You can't come back and do nothing once you've seen the conditions that people live in." Still, the Herculean efforts the woman is putting into the fundraiser are noteworthy. Adelante is a non-profit that concentrates on building sustainable community programs in Nicaragua. Myra volunteers her time for it OUTSIDE a regular marketing job AND running Adelante's sister non-profit, Vecinos, with another friend. When she sleeps is a mystery to me.
Yes, there IS a reason why this story is on my Salsa blog. The aforementioned fundraiser is a Latin dance night, featuring performances of local talent, a silent auction, and an update from Nicaragua. It will take place on November 21, 2009 at the Sole Repair Shop at 1001 East Pike St., Seattle. Door open at 7:30 and the event is 21+. There is a suggested donation of $20.00.
We all love to dance. Many of us are known for spending a lot more money than $20.00 for tickets/hotels to various Salsa events around the country and even the world. But this time the money you spend will actually be used for something meaningful, so doesn't that make it so much more appealing? (Besides the fact that you don't even have to fly anywhere...) Come out and dance for a good cause. I rarely come out these days (hence the silence on the blog...) and even rarer do I COMMIT to attending an event. But I'm committed to attending this one. No mind-changing. I'm there :)
Fixing the Roof
Outhouses Vecinos repaired
Classroom before it was repaired
Passing out Supplies to Students
Kids playing soccer. With an orange. Because They cannot find a soccer ball.
Do her eyes really need a description?
Myra with some of the students
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Magic of Teatro Zinzanni
It's so nice to be back. Back and writing (I was backed up at work -- couldn't take any breaks to write.) But more than anything, back in Seattle -- where more than one person knows me, loves me, and wants to dance with me. Over the weekend I have almost forgotten what it is like to be asked to dance... As you may guess, "Part II" of Vancouver B.C. travels isn't coming. All I can say is that the most note worthy event of the second day was the aforementioned awesome lead taking us out to dinner at a nice place on the waterfront and showing us around town. He really went out of his way to make the city more inviting... It's only because of him that we'd ever go back there for another visit.
Seattle, on the other hand, had the luck of welcoming us back with my favorite event. Perhaps that's what made coming home so much more exciting. The monthly latin dance night at Teatro Zinzanni is an event that every Seattle Salsa dancer should attend at least once. It's truly breathtaking -- at least for individuals with a creative streak and an imagination that runs for miles and miles. There is nothing similar to it in town -- the setup has a vibe that is entirely its own.
I distinctly remember the first time I walked into Teatro. The vintage circus, with it's bright velvet decorations, the lights sparkling on the dance floor, and the live music coming from a lit up stage, made me feel like I stepped out of reality and into a 1920's classic film. I stayed in awe for the entire night. Perhaps the fact that Teatro only happens once a month makes this event a little extra special. The atmosphere calls for dressing up -- preferably in red or in sparkly (or both!)
But yesterday I realized the most important thing about Teatro: it makes me relive those first few times ever that I went dancing. Unfortunately, even after as little as six months of Salsa, there is a rut that a person can get stuck in. The excitement and exhilaration of the dancing itself is replaced with the comfort of familiar leads, mixed with anxiety of not being good enough to execute an "x" amount of turns. But Teatro brings out the "first time" smile in me every time I go. Not that I don't smile anywhere else. I actually do. A lot. But this is a different kind of smile. It's the one that just naturally comes on because you're having so much fun. It's the one that you're not aware of, and are not trying to force. It's the real one.
Perhaps Teatro is also special because of the several milestones in my dance life that took place there. Like being asked to dance by one of the best leads in town for the first time. But most importantly, meeting one of my now closest Salsa friends. Who is hopefully there to stay for life. And WILL work on our friendship once the "honeymoon" phase is over ;) A combination of all these things makes Teatro almost a magic place for me. A place where a lot of good things happen in a completely different time...
Seattle, on the other hand, had the luck of welcoming us back with my favorite event. Perhaps that's what made coming home so much more exciting. The monthly latin dance night at Teatro Zinzanni is an event that every Seattle Salsa dancer should attend at least once. It's truly breathtaking -- at least for individuals with a creative streak and an imagination that runs for miles and miles. There is nothing similar to it in town -- the setup has a vibe that is entirely its own.
I distinctly remember the first time I walked into Teatro. The vintage circus, with it's bright velvet decorations, the lights sparkling on the dance floor, and the live music coming from a lit up stage, made me feel like I stepped out of reality and into a 1920's classic film. I stayed in awe for the entire night. Perhaps the fact that Teatro only happens once a month makes this event a little extra special. The atmosphere calls for dressing up -- preferably in red or in sparkly (or both!)
But yesterday I realized the most important thing about Teatro: it makes me relive those first few times ever that I went dancing. Unfortunately, even after as little as six months of Salsa, there is a rut that a person can get stuck in. The excitement and exhilaration of the dancing itself is replaced with the comfort of familiar leads, mixed with anxiety of not being good enough to execute an "x" amount of turns. But Teatro brings out the "first time" smile in me every time I go. Not that I don't smile anywhere else. I actually do. A lot. But this is a different kind of smile. It's the one that just naturally comes on because you're having so much fun. It's the one that you're not aware of, and are not trying to force. It's the real one.
Perhaps Teatro is also special because of the several milestones in my dance life that took place there. Like being asked to dance by one of the best leads in town for the first time. But most importantly, meeting one of my now closest Salsa friends. Who is hopefully there to stay for life. And WILL work on our friendship once the "honeymoon" phase is over ;) A combination of all these things makes Teatro almost a magic place for me. A place where a lot of good things happen in a completely different time...
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Life Outside Seattle -- Vancouver BC. Part I
It's 2:00a.m. and the concierge at the hotel asks us "Will you be parking with us overnight?" I am stupified, and for a good minute and a half can't think of how to answer the question. All sorts of things are running through my mind: When does he consider "night" to begin and end? Why is he asking me this? Does he know what time it is? Does he think that we'll only park for an hour and leave again at 3:00a.m.? Luckily for me, my "twin" jumps in with a ready "Yes." I start cracking up. What would the guy say if we actually answered "No?" I ask him if he's supposed to say this every time. He replies affirmatively and specifies that he DOES realize how stupid of a question this is considering the time.
We are in Vancouver, BC returning from a night of dancing at the Polish Hall -- THE venue to be at on a Friday night in Vancouver. The night was full of the unexpected: everyone's gushing about the city promised much more than Vancouver delivered. The Salsa scene was just the opposite. I definitely expected nothing good out of my night, having never stepped foot in Vancouver before and knowing absolutely no dancers there. But Vancouver salseros were quick to envelop their guests in warm hospitality.
Of course it did take a little while to figure out exactly by whose hospitality one SHOULD be enveloped. Two new follows walking into an unfamiliar venue naturally invited all the creeps to fluster to their victims like vultures to their prey. Thus, our first few dances left us wondering if there's another secret place in Vancouver where all the decent leads go. The "welcoming" was especially persistent during bachatas, for which continuous offers to "teach" us this easy dance kept coming in, even after a polite decline and assurance that we don't, in fact, dance it. (On principle.) The only way out was to dance it with each other, which is exactly what we did.
After a little while I desperately started wishing for a Vancouver blog that has the "map" of Polish Hall. But there being none to the best of my knowledge, I decided to indulge myself in the art of observation (much to the dismay of a few rejected welcomers), and try and figure out the "map" on my own. Although the corners were somewhat unclear due to the fact that many people were, in fact, at a special event (as we found out later,) I was able to identify two or three good leads. That's all it took. After that, as if magically, they asked us both to dance on their own.... Ok that's a lie :) I did ask the DJ, and practically stared down the amazing one who clearly stood out from the crowd until he finally approached. That literally saved our night. His impeccable skill and consideration showcased our following in a much better light than warranted by reality. Other good leads took note. From then on Vancouver Salsa rendered nothing but smiles.
I'm just hoping it'll stay this way for tonight as well. But of course, it should be easier because of the thirty people from Seattle also coming up for the Salsa Showcase. And as fun as it is to explore the unknown of new venues and new leads, Seattle remains a home sweet home -- cozy, warm, and familiar.
We are in Vancouver, BC returning from a night of dancing at the Polish Hall -- THE venue to be at on a Friday night in Vancouver. The night was full of the unexpected: everyone's gushing about the city promised much more than Vancouver delivered. The Salsa scene was just the opposite. I definitely expected nothing good out of my night, having never stepped foot in Vancouver before and knowing absolutely no dancers there. But Vancouver salseros were quick to envelop their guests in warm hospitality.
Of course it did take a little while to figure out exactly by whose hospitality one SHOULD be enveloped. Two new follows walking into an unfamiliar venue naturally invited all the creeps to fluster to their victims like vultures to their prey. Thus, our first few dances left us wondering if there's another secret place in Vancouver where all the decent leads go. The "welcoming" was especially persistent during bachatas, for which continuous offers to "teach" us this easy dance kept coming in, even after a polite decline and assurance that we don't, in fact, dance it. (On principle.) The only way out was to dance it with each other, which is exactly what we did.
After a little while I desperately started wishing for a Vancouver blog that has the "map" of Polish Hall. But there being none to the best of my knowledge, I decided to indulge myself in the art of observation (much to the dismay of a few rejected welcomers), and try and figure out the "map" on my own. Although the corners were somewhat unclear due to the fact that many people were, in fact, at a special event (as we found out later,) I was able to identify two or three good leads. That's all it took. After that, as if magically, they asked us both to dance on their own.... Ok that's a lie :) I did ask the DJ, and practically stared down the amazing one who clearly stood out from the crowd until he finally approached. That literally saved our night. His impeccable skill and consideration showcased our following in a much better light than warranted by reality. Other good leads took note. From then on Vancouver Salsa rendered nothing but smiles.
I'm just hoping it'll stay this way for tonight as well. But of course, it should be easier because of the thirty people from Seattle also coming up for the Salsa Showcase. And as fun as it is to explore the unknown of new venues and new leads, Seattle remains a home sweet home -- cozy, warm, and familiar.
Monday, October 12, 2009
10 Things Found in a Salsera's Shoe bag
We all know that a woman's purse can hold all sorts of unexpected things. A lead has recently referred to mine as "Bartell Drugs" as he happened to glance in while I was searching through a myriad of very loosely organized and very miscellaneous items for some eye drops. Granted, there is barely ever a need for a Salsera to bring in her pharmacy to dance events. For one, she expects to get sweaty after a couple songs anyways, so there is no need for make-up or hair styling products. In addition, she expects to be occupied enough to be able to survive without all the wonderful entertaining items in her purse for a couple of hours. Also, her trunk presents a safer place for "valuables" than a random chair under which the purse is most likely to end up at an event. This said, there are several essentials that she absolutely cannot part with, even for a short amount of time. These she puts in her dance shoe bag (which conveniently will hold a pretty large amount of random crap.) So here are the "essentials" that you will most likely find in a shoe bag of a woman who left her purse in the trunk of the car.
1. ID
This is her passport for getting into venues of choice. Without ID the woman is pretty much helpless, or at least extremely dependent on charm and connections with owners/door guardians of the venue.
2. Money
Please do not go through Salsera's bags laying around in search of this valuable item, as the bag only serves as shelter for it until Salsera abandons Money at the door of the venue. More likely than not she brought exactly the amount required to get in, and most likely it's cash since that's the only currency a lot of venues accept.
3. Dance Shoes
Duh. That's what the shoe bag was designed for in the first place. They are Salsera's most prized possession.
4. Lip Gloss
Yes, she'll be sweaty in a second anyways, but her eye make up is most likely waterproof. Unfortunately, barely any lip gloss that is wearable comes in long lasting or waterproof options, so Salsera will come back to her "jar of vaseline" over and over throughout the night to moisturize her luscious lips so that she can charm the leads with a smile and make the dance more enjoyable for both.
5. Cell Phone
This is the item that no Salsera ever parts with, or should part with. If anything happens to friends/car/self it's her only gateway to the outside world, as well as a good source of entertainment should she get bored after all.
6. Car Keys
To be able to get to her pharmacy upon return from dance venue. More often than not Salsera locks this prized possession in the trunk along with "Bartell Drugs." That's when Cell Phone comes in handy.
7. Band Aids
Dance Shoes aren't always as nice and caring about Salsera's feet as she'd hope. Band Aids to the rescue. If it's not for her, Salsera will always be willing to share with friends who are hurting either from shoes or accidents on the floor.
8. Magic Eight Ball
To be able to quickly come up with a good line when asked if she would like to dance. Just kidding :)
9. Gum
Stacks and stacks of it that make Salsera smell like strawberries. The excessive amount is for her to share with all her friend Salsera's. Luckily Salseros don't ask for it since it's fruity and girly.
10. Eye Drops
Although Salsera is not sure why exactly that's the case, she has been asked for them twice in this past week, so now she keeps Eye Drops on her at all times to be able to come to the rescue of friends whose eyes bother them because of too little sleep/too much sweating/irritating contacts/other unknown reasons.
I'm amazed that this list does actually contain 10 items in it. I hope everyone's curiosity is now satisfied. I dare you to pick up a random shoe bag at the next venue you're at and count out how many of these items you can locate inside. Just don't take anything. Especially the magic eight ball. :)
1. ID
This is her passport for getting into venues of choice. Without ID the woman is pretty much helpless, or at least extremely dependent on charm and connections with owners/door guardians of the venue.
2. Money
Please do not go through Salsera's bags laying around in search of this valuable item, as the bag only serves as shelter for it until Salsera abandons Money at the door of the venue. More likely than not she brought exactly the amount required to get in, and most likely it's cash since that's the only currency a lot of venues accept.
3. Dance Shoes
Duh. That's what the shoe bag was designed for in the first place. They are Salsera's most prized possession.
4. Lip Gloss
Yes, she'll be sweaty in a second anyways, but her eye make up is most likely waterproof. Unfortunately, barely any lip gloss that is wearable comes in long lasting or waterproof options, so Salsera will come back to her "jar of vaseline" over and over throughout the night to moisturize her luscious lips so that she can charm the leads with a smile and make the dance more enjoyable for both.
5. Cell Phone
This is the item that no Salsera ever parts with, or should part with. If anything happens to friends/car/self it's her only gateway to the outside world, as well as a good source of entertainment should she get bored after all.
6. Car Keys
To be able to get to her pharmacy upon return from dance venue. More often than not Salsera locks this prized possession in the trunk along with "Bartell Drugs." That's when Cell Phone comes in handy.
7. Band Aids
Dance Shoes aren't always as nice and caring about Salsera's feet as she'd hope. Band Aids to the rescue. If it's not for her, Salsera will always be willing to share with friends who are hurting either from shoes or accidents on the floor.
8. Magic Eight Ball
To be able to quickly come up with a good line when asked if she would like to dance. Just kidding :)
9. Gum
Stacks and stacks of it that make Salsera smell like strawberries. The excessive amount is for her to share with all her friend Salsera's. Luckily Salseros don't ask for it since it's fruity and girly.
10. Eye Drops
Although Salsera is not sure why exactly that's the case, she has been asked for them twice in this past week, so now she keeps Eye Drops on her at all times to be able to come to the rescue of friends whose eyes bother them because of too little sleep/too much sweating/irritating contacts/other unknown reasons.
I'm amazed that this list does actually contain 10 items in it. I hope everyone's curiosity is now satisfied. I dare you to pick up a random shoe bag at the next venue you're at and count out how many of these items you can locate inside. Just don't take anything. Especially the magic eight ball. :)
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