Life was getting monotonous, I needed a new hobby. I love to dance and I found Salsa. Despite my passion for dance, I must admit it was a little tough in the beginning. Initially, it was hard, but the beginner classes are so well designed that anybody could pick up the dance.
Due to the fact that most people refer to Latin dances as Salsa; let me throw more light on salsa.
Salsa is a popular form of social dance that originated in Cuba and Puerto Rico, with influences from various countries in Latin America. Using the name “Salsa” for the dance started in New York during the 1970’s.
You can say everyone knows how to dance Salsa in their minds not until you meet people who really dance Salsa. I used to think so myself not until I stepped at National Theatre.
I remember it was a Sunday 6th/April/2014, I was watching news on NTV Uganda and they ran a story about Latin dance in Uganda. Since I had picked interest, I had to put on my dancing shoes the next Sunday and head to National Theatre for my debut dance. It was around 7pm, I found people having a good time and it was kind of different from the Salsa that I had in mind. This was more organized with counted steps unlike whatever I used to dance calling it Salsa.
I didn’t dance that night due to the fact that I realized, I didn’t know Salsa. So I inquired about the dance lessons, and I was told Monday and Thursday were suitable days for me to learn from 7pm to 8pm at a fee of 10,000/= per hour.
I started my lessons the next Monday, my instructor first emphasized stretching before the actual dance in the studio. I was then taught the basics of Salsa, (the 1, 2, 3 and 5, 6, 7 steps, where the 4, 8 are pause steps). It was kind of tricky getting the steps right but at the end of the first lesson, I was making progress.
The next lesson was on a Thursday and I had to improve on the steps as well as listening to the music and trying to incorporate my steps with the beat. I could get off beat sometimes due to the fact my brain would want to concentrate on getting the steps right, then I end up getting off beat.
Now social dance was on Sunday, I came and tried to show off my few moves that I had learnt in the previous lessons. Due to the fact that they were playing different kind of music which was mixed meaning you had to tell which kind of dance to showcase according to the beat. I had only taken Salsa lessons at the moment, but they were playing a variety of music including Bachata, Cha-cha-cha, Merengue, and Jive.
I took lessons for like 3 months but not consistently, if there is anything I learnt in Latino dance, it’s that you can go for as many lessons as you can but if you don’t go for social dance you can never gain confidence to showcase your moves on the dance floor with a partner. It’s also better to learn from social dances if you have friends who already know how to dance.
Classes changed from being “Just a Class” to a place where you could make friends, good friends, that you would even start sharing more than you ever thought you would. Salsa is a dance, an exercise, a form of leisure and most of all, it is fun. Uganda National Cultural Centre (UNCC) at National Theatre is recommended for anyone interested.
Nassymatt 