Thinking that I will soon be going to a Salsa dance and knowing that I will not recognize anyone besides my friend, Saara, frightens me.  In particular, I am somewhat shy when it comes to meeting new people, especially peers.  This alone will challenge me.  In addition, it frightens me knowing that I will be attempting something entirely new.  At the same time, it excites me that I will get a chance to learn how to Salsa Dance.  Recently, Saara and I both realized we have the same interest, an interest for Salsa dancing.  Therefore, we both choose to enter the Latino Group for our dance presentations.  We also did some research on the internet and started to learn and practise a routine off a video clip.  This was fun at first until we began to run out of room practising in our small apartment.  Therefore, we decided to take some Salsa lessons.  First, we begin to meet with Juliana, a talented Salsa dancer from Columbia, on a weekly basis to learn some of the basic skills.  After my first class, I realize that many of the steps are similar to Jazz steps.  This made me think that Salsa dancing was going to be an easily accomplished skill; I am formally trained in Jazz.  In contrast, the constant hip movement seems backwards to what I have previously been taught in Jazz class.  This threw me completely off guard, making me look very awkward at times.  Ever since my first class, there has been a lot of laughter.  The laughter arises due to my un-intentional “new” positions and movements in the process of learning the steps and style of Salsa dancing.  I have come a long way since my first class and feel quite comfortable doing the basic steps of Salsa.I also participated in a UR-Fit Salsa Dance Class.  For me this was a review to what Juliana had taught me, however being introduced to a dancing partner was new.  I was partnered up with a male in his late twenties.  At first, we had communication problems.  For example, if one of us would make a mistake half way through the routine, he insisted that we must start all over from the beginning.  On the other hand, I thought we should go over the step where the mistake kept on occurring.  After he repeated to make this mistake at a particular point in the routine, he finally realized why I was trying to get him to start from his troubled point.  Eventually we overcame this barrier and seemed to advance more quickly.  Another aspect that we struggled with was to stay synchronized.  My partner struggled to hear the rhythm of the music. As a former dance instructor, I have dealt with this before and because of this experience, I was able to help him.  Therefore, my partner and I started to feel and see progress in our form and confidence level. The night of the Salsa dance arrives.  February 9th, 2008 I enter the Eagles Club Hall.  As we pull up to the Dance Hall I get slightly nervous, questioning myself, “what on earth made me want to try this?”  I enter the hall and it reminds me of a wedding because of its decorations and friendly atmosphere.  The majority of the people are in their early thirties.  However, few of these people are dancing.  I think of this in a positive way in which there will be a lot of room for me to practise.  On the other hand, I think that everyone will be able to see me dancing like a penguin.  My second thought overrides and I head toward the tables to sit with Saara, as we both become too afraid to dance.  As everyone else begins dancing, the two of us become spectators.  In particular, I focus my attention on our instructor and her partner, Louis.  My jaw drops in amazement.  I hope that I will eventually look like that.  Their movements are very quick while obtaining smooth and flowing patterns.  Their bottom half of their body moves almost uncontrollably while their upper half remains pulled up, having a polished and confident presence.  Next, I realize almost every female on the dance floor is wearing stiletto heels.  This again amazes me because this style of dance is performed so quickly and no one seems to be stumbling because of her shoe style.             Later on, I visit with Juliana, my dance instructor.  She informs me that the music is “horrible, it’s not good dancing music.”  This comment surprises me because I could hardly tell any difference from the music Juliana used for my dance class.  Just as I start to feel settled in I am asked to dance by Louis.  I reply, with an unsure “yes.”  On the dance floor, he begins to lead me by pulling and pushing on my hands lightly.  He also starts at a slower pace adding more advance steps and turns, as I get the hang of it.  Eventually, I forget about people watching me and enjoy the dancing.  In general, dancing takes my mind off everything else that is going on in my life.  It is like a form of meditation and relaxation.  After dancing the first time, I go back and sit down to visit with Saara feeling confident with my dancing progress.  It is then that I realize that I spent much of the time looking down at my feet in order to follow my partner’s steps.  I also realize that I forgot to move my hips during most of the dance.  Although I lacked proper structure, I still progressed in my skill of Salsa dancing while having a lot of fun.               As I earlier said, the atmosphere seemed similar to a wedding.  The reason for this is that the group of people I was with all demonstrated optimistic attitudes.  For example, those who taught and danced with me never once said any words of my lack of skill.  They said things like, “you’re a good follower, you’re improving already, you’re almost as good as me and I have been doing it for fifteen years,” etc.  For these reasons, this atmosphere turned out to be an excellent learning environment.              As a result, my exposure to Salsa dancing was a very thought provoking and positive experience.  Interacting with people from another culture, in this case, Salsa Dancers from Columbia has opened my mind and eyes.  In particular, it made me become more appreciative for other cultural practises.  I have come to understand not only the basics of their dance style but also their lifestyle.  In addition, it has made me want to continue my Salsa lessons and further my own learning’s on other cultural dance forms.  In connection, living in a multi-cultural society, Canada, it is important that we learn about other cultures.  When doing so, I think it would be a more fulfilling experience if people/students could interact with real people rather than learning entirely through textbooks, magazines, the internet, and newspapers.  This was a perfect learning experience for me as it focused not only on Rhythmics and Dance (KHS U of R class) but it all focused on areas based around all four areas of the Arts:  Dance, Music, Drama, and Visual Art which I need to learn about as I am enrolled in the Arts Education program.  Beginning with Dance, I started out learning the basic steps not paying attention to my body’s style and form.  After feeling comfortable with the steps, I began to add in appropriately styled arms and body movement.  For example, I wore stilettos, moved my hips in a figure eight, and kept my arms above my waist at all times.  Salsa music is usually very fast and upbeat.  Therefore, I first learned the steps without music.  My instructor said, “Quick, quick, slow”, instead of counting the steps until I was ready for music.  For me, dancing to the music was twice as much fun than without.  It made me motivated and determined to get the steps right and on beat.Salsa dancing is known for its strong and proud appearance in both, men and women.  Thus, there is much Drama focused in the style, especially in the dancer’s facial features.  I struggled to portray the correct look as I rarely kept my chin lifted.  Instead, I did the opposite; I watched my partner’s feet to learn.Salsa dancing focuses on visual art because its style is appealing to the human eye.  In particular, each step is linked to another to produce a captivating routine.  Visually I, as a dancer, had to practise and train my body to move with a flowing and polished look.  In addition, Salsa dancers traditionally wear costumes to portray a specific mood and style in relation to the routine.  Salsa dancing was an appropriate choice for me because it took me out of my comfort zone.  In general, the style of Salsa Dancing made me uncomfortable because of its “sexy look.”  At first, I felt very uncomfortable with all of the hip movement, especially in front of the dance class.  However, each week got easier as I got better and as I understood the style better.  In relation, I better understand and acknowledge the importance for learning about different cultures.  As a potential teacher, I think it is important to be an ongoing lifelong learner.  Therefore, it is my responsibility to understand as many cultures as possible so that I can teach my students that our country, Canada, is truly proud to be a multicultural society.  Lastly, Salsa Dancing made me become more comfortable and appreciative for Salsa dancing.

What have you done to “expand your horizon” in the arts?