The rules of dancing

Salsa. Latinos eat, breathe and live it. Before my arrival I thought this was an exaggeration portrayed by countless movies and stereotypes. I was sure not everyone fueled themselves on the rhythms of Salsa in the vogue discos. Well, I was wrong. Everyone DOES dance salsa and they’re damn good at it too. Actually, they’re quite intimating if you aren’t the natural dancer as many here are. Most locals grow up listening to the music as a baby. During my homestay, and various parties at Ana´s house, I would see babies who would barely stand moving to the music with much more success then me.

Slasa to a foreigner can be quite a confusion form of communication and entertainment. Although it is all in the spirit of good fun, the very essence of the dance art is sensual and at times very intimate. It is common to see a couple dancing in what appears to be a very provocative and suggestive matter, only later to find out they are siblings or cousins. When it comes to dancing with girls you’re interested in, the confusion continues. The following is my first experience. It was around 11pm on Saturday night in Granada. Some buddies and I from the hostel headed to the disco. After a few Fora de cana (local rum) I got the courage to ask this cute girl to dance. The girl accepts and we head to the dance floor. Things are going good. The disco is pumping, the floor is full enough for me to subtlety filter in and utilized the few hours of dance classes I took. The girl is feeling the music, lots of body contact…things are good. The song finishes, the DJ spins another and this progression continues. After a few songs the DJ takes a break and everyone leaves the dance floor headed for a rest, or the bar. In my head although little words, English or Spanish were spoken I felt I could at least buy her a drink get her name, blah blah. As soon as the song finished she sat down at her original table with no vacant seats and that was it. All is good when it comes to dances, but man I was confused. But it was a good lesson, people down here just love to dance.