Learning to Dance

"Learning to Dance"
Written by Jose Diaz
September 4, 2001

Prior to my high school prom, I had never danced a day in my life. The lifestyle that I lead never required any dancing and when prom time came I must admit I was panicking. The thought of me embarassing myself at the prom because I did not know how to dance at all was too much to bear and I knew I would have to do something about it. In my experience it has always been best to turn to a woman for assistance in these matters. The benefits are continuous.

Enter Natalie Burgos. My ex-sweetheart hopeful turned friend was a keen example of a great latin dancer. You name it, she knew it all. I came to her with my dilemma and she was more than happy to help. We would then proceed to my room which wasn't exactly the Palladium or anything of that matter but served it's purpose. The first thing I was taught was merengue.

This latin dance is pretty basic once you have the steps down. In consists of stepping back and forth, left to right and so forth all as if you were marching. This is a two person dance and with the right music can be very nice to dance to. The difficulty with this dance however is that at times the pace can pick up so quickly that beginners can lose their footing. It took me about a good fifteen minutes to get this dance down.

The next dance was salsa. This dance is a much more fluid movement. It can be best compared as two people moving like waves in the ocean, meaning it's fast and you never know where it will go next. The stepping on this one was quite complex. This dance requires you to step out, step in, step to the left or right and then step out again. Mind you this must all be done while holding your partner and without looking down. This is the hardest latin dance that I know of to date and I'm not sure if I've even figured it out completely to this day!

Alas, there was bachata. This was a dance I took in a dance class during my senior year of high school yet I allowed myself to get rusty in. Ideally, this is a latin slow dance but at times the pace can pick up a lot. The movement here consists of swaying back and forth and the stepping around the dance floor but keeping in sync with your partner is key. Without that, this dance will look horrid and you'll both look like fools. This didn't take me any longer than ten minutes to refresh myself the concept of.

After my lesson I practiced and practiced for weeks. When the prom finally came I was ready. I don't think anyone could tell that I had never really danced a night before in my life. Mission accomplished.

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