Salsa Insight by Tony Goh

Dear All,

Sitting in my tiny seat on a 6 hours flight to Lahore, I think the best way to kill my boredom is to write this email to share some thought with my beloved classmates and teacher. I also want some answers to my doubt. Just to share some thoughts here with you. Last week was a very adventurous for me in salsa. I visited 2 clubs and have experienced dancing salsa with a total stranger.

Club 1(Thursday)
Mystere - Ritz Carlton Jakarta (recommended by Tim in his blog).

Got the chance to visit this place because my customer canceled our karaoke session. (Apparently his wife got a stroke attack). Anyway, with nothing to do at night in a city of 20 million population, I just hopped on a taxi and ask to be driven to Ritz Carlton. Found Mystere on the lower ground floor. Saw a sign saying "Class in session about 100,000rp/lesson. However when I got in, the classes were over because it's about 11pm when I arrived. I ordered my drink and extended my "antenna" to "scan" around. The crowd can be summed up to 3 categories - beginner, advance and senior. Yes SENIOR age > 50's! Despite their age, they dance very elegantly.

I got myself up and ask someone to salsa.

Lady I - To my horror, she is in the advance category !!!
I felt 'kaku' and not knowing what to do, we ended up chatting with front and back basic. She is friendly and surprisingly taught me 2 new moves. She told me she only salsa'd for a year. Later, the bartender told me she is there every Thursday.

Lady II - Sitting down I scanned the crowd again. This time I got to ask a beginner. But unfortunately she was just about to leave. Maybe my next trip then.

Lady III - I got a senior to salsa. I think she is approximately 60. Anyway can't ask her age right? It is just taboo... Anyway I started with front back basic, underarm turn, cbl and a turn. After just 30 seconds, I forced myself to stop, because I think she is too fragile for me. She loses her balance easily and I worry she might end up on the stage where the band plays. I just can't control my strength yet. I ended up chatting with her group of 'matured' frends. They have learned for a year too. Anyway the place closes at 0045. With a few shots of Caipirinha my body started to float, so I decided to head back to my hotel and sleep. I politely decline to join them to the disco adjacent to this place. Despite their age, they are really very 'update'.

Club 2 (Saturday)
Salsa Havana KL with Derek and his friends.

Same thing, extended my "antenna" out to scan the area. It seems like there's a class outing just like ours seated behind us. We are sitting at the 'Premier' location in the club, according to Derek. Sitting there for an hour just watching others salsa, I started to get bored. I just cannot leave that place without any salsa. So I invited a lady to salsa from the group behind us. The dance was ok but occasionally, my lead signals were not received by her. I presumed that maybe my signals were just not strong enough. I'm worried to force my way through. I just don't know. The steps I observe her do, I can say that she is quite advance. She told me later she only learned for 7 months but she has been dancing every weekend in club. After that dance we left.

Conclusion.

Dancing in classes are just not enough to sharpen our skills to survive the jungle out there. In a class, it's a controlled environment. Teachers are the leader giving instructions. Out there, many things can happen. No leader to follow. Suddenly you can become 'kaku' (frozen) like me. We have to think of our next step almost immediately without our teachers giving the instructions. The best way is to learn the steps in class and then go out to the real world to practice and practice. Anyway practice makes perfect. I'm impressed with some people who can dance with just anyone and any age. I think we should have more class outings. What do all of u think? Broaden our horizon.