Friday, September 05, 2008

It’s salsa time!

This past month my husband and I tried something new—took salsa lessons. We both enjoy dancing. Especially me. (Just ask anyone at the annual Harlequin party.:-)) But we’re not a good dance team—he can’t lead and I’m terrible at following. Because of this problem, until recently he wouldn’t even consider dance lessons. Thanks to a change of heart (and a push from our oldest daughter, a salsa fanatic), he agreed to try salsa.

Our three private, one-hour lessons were taught by a woman with amazing patience. After the first lesson we could execute a few basic steps and turns. By the third, we'd learned several more. We still need to work on the getting the rhythm down. As we practice at home, we realize we’ve already forgotten some of what we learned. Which is why we'll probably take more lessons, both private and group. Our daughter and our teacher assure us that the group lesson is a great way to learn, because you get to dance with a number of partners.

What do salsa and novel writing have in common? Beats me! No really, there is a connection. Stretching your skills and/or challenging yourself to try something new is never a bad thing, and colors all areas of life. Plus, dancing generates all sorts of story ideas, those what ifs that demand exploration. What if a dark, sensual but for some reason shy man becomes an alpha male when he salsas? Or a quiet, unnoticed woman changes drastically when… Think of the possibilities.

Until next time and wishing you all rhythm and a good time on the dance floor,
Ann Roth
www.annroth.net

5 comments:

Christa said...

So we'll be seeing you in a few seasons down the road on Dancing with the Stars:-)

Anonymous said...

Oh, Christa! I read your post while sipping coffee. Big mistake! Thanks for a huge smile. :-)

Anonymous said...

Ok Ann...i'm expecting a book about a Salsa dancer...LOL -- I think its a great idea!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Tara, and thanks for visiting. :-)

Jenni said...

Ann, I can soooo see you salsa dancing. How fun! You'll have to pass along the skills you have learned to the rest of us. :)