Salsa Class

I have problems following someone else’s lead. I was told that I was stubborn or arrogant, and that is true, but I also simply don’t know how.

It’s not something that will be easy to find out how if you don’t know how. Maybe someone was supposed to teach me but I was forgotten.

The first time I learned how to follow someone else’s lead, and particularly a man’s lead, is through dancing. Specifically though Salsa classes.

In salsa there are traditions and rules. The man steps forward, the woman has to take a step back, mirroring them. The man also leads with his hands, guiding the woman left or right or around in a spin.

I enjoyed dancing so even if I was allowing someone else to lead and make decisions, it was pleasant enough. Although I still got moments of insecurity when it felt that I had nothing to contribute.

But with every lesson, like with learning most things, if you stick around long enough you will learn, if not from anyone else just from yourself.

There are different dance types based on the beats of the music. There is salsa, bachata, meringue, and more. You have to listen to the beats of the music because it changes the steps you have to take and the template and form of the dance. But if you listen, you will hear an echo of a rhythm between the beats, something like the intrinsic smoothness or the pull of emotion in the singer’s voice. It is the part of the song that feels like waves, that makes it feel bachata or dembow. In between the form of the steps and the turning left and right, is the heart of the dance. It’s in the strength and movement of my hips, that carries the second rhythm, for both of us.