| Contents of this page: |
I took this class two times. I would have taken it more times, but I didn't discover it until my next-to-last year. I especially liked tango and swing, but even fox-trot was fun. The women were lively, and we collaborated in learning the steps. Then we executed them in a fluid, somewhat-artistic way. Really excellent. Like skiing, but you were warm and hanging onto a woman while doing artistic movement.
I also danced a few times with some college friends who were really into country swing, or "cowboy dancing" as some called it. One friend, Linda, tried to show me some steps and teach me the rhythm, but she didn't look too happy after our (only) 30-minute session. I tried to use what she taught me a couple nights on a country-western dance floor, but I used more of a swing style/rhythm and not a country rhythm. A woman named Mary said, "You dance weird." Another woman named Mary was much more forgiving and said "I'll dance with you. You're a pretty good dancer, and a good guy." That was about the extent of my country-swing dancing during my college years. And all three of these women married other guys---a happy ending for all of us.
I still liked dancing, but the woman I married wasn't so much into it. We did it a couple times, at bars and such, but she couldn't stay on the rhythm. And when one of our friends spilled beer on her leather skirt, she got pissed and didn't want to dance any more... which was all right by me. The only other time we danced was at a church dance, where the theme was "50s Music". I won 1st prize for looking like a punk---replete with leather coat, candy cigarette hanging from my lips, and (fake) cigarette pack rolled up in my t-shirt sleeve. James Dean, you got nothin' on me!
Fast forward to 2004, when I went on a date with a lady from Boulder. We went to RedFish Restaurant, where a band named "Onda" played after dinner. They play salsa, with somewhat of a jazzy style. But it was enough for several from the local salsa scene to show off their skills. WOW!! I was mesmerized, totally enthralled by the music and the way they moved to it. Rhythms, moves, footwork, fancy arm placement... it was all good.
I finally found someone to teach me salsa dancing---guy named "Don the Dance-Man". He took four weeks
I took a few months of lessons from The Rhythm Company. Fun, but it got repetitive after about the 4th month. The teachers were great dancers...and needed some new material. About that same time, I broke up with a sweet girlfriend---who couldn't dance so well, so I decided to take a break. Then I discovered an amazing salsa club, The DNote in Arvada, CO. Even better dancers. Live music. Seasoned instructor. Wow. I had ascended into the 3rd level of heaven.
Most Tuesdays at the Rio, I saw The Rhythm Company dancers doing a fun circular dance. A caller shouted out a move, and then everyone then executed it in sync. I asked how I could learn this dance, but they said they weren't teaching any "rueda" (roo-A-dah) classes at their school. But my friend Dave Arns, at DancerGuy.com, was going to teach rueda the following month (April 2006)! Woohoo!! I became addicted to that dance even more quickly than I did to salsa.
To make a long story short, I now teach rueda to a small group of friends here in Ft. Collins. We meet every Monday evening in the rec-room of one friend's apartment. Click here for details of this weekly event.