Learning to Salsa - Oaxaca, Mexico

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Mexico

The dance commonly referred to as salsa originated in Cuba, and has been influenced by music, people and cultures from most of Latin America and even some of Western Europe. Over time it has developed as a unique dance characterized by side to side movement, impressive spin moves and fast rhythms. I have been studying the Spanish language in Oaxaca, Mexico since late September and as an ongoing effort to understand Hispanic culture, I started taking salsa lessons last month. In my case, this has turned out to be slightly problematic for several reasons. A common popular culture saying suggests that white, straight men naturally cannot dance. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, I've gone into dance lessons with two handicaps, and to compound the problem, I've never danced before. So starting out, you might say I was three strikes down. But I'm never one to let a challenge stand in the way of learning a new skill, and I've been slowly improving my salsa skills. I started learning to salsa at the Instituto Cultural de Oaxaca, which is the language school where I study Spanish, a place that happens to offer free two week salsa lessons to its language students. After taking the first class to learn the basic back and forth step, side-to-side step, open break or back step, and the right and left turns, I was feeling pretty confident that I could learn to salsa. But then I started dancing with a partner, and discovered the true meaning of "two left feet". In salsa, as in most social dancing, the man is considered the leader, who dictates the pace and direction of the dance to the woman, who follows. Although salsa dancing is difficult to learn in general, it's considered more difficult for men to learn, because speaking from experience, it's difficult for the man to lead when he hardly knows what he's doing himself! That being said, fewer men learn the dance and they're almost always in demand as dance partners. Salsa dancing is made up of six step combinations preformed over eight beat rhythms, where beats four and eight are not stepped but act as very slight pauses. The most common step in salsa is called "base", or basic in Spanish, and begins from "closed position" with the man taking a step forward with his left foot (beat one), lifting and then returning to the ground without forward movement his right foot (this is known as a "tap" and is beat two), then a step back past his right foot with his left foot (three), a step back with his right foot (five), a tap with his left foot, six, and a returned to closed position with his right foot (seven). The woman starts with a step back on beat one so that her feet always remain opposite to the man's. Salsa dancing is composed of a series of turns and cross-over steps that can be chosen at random by the man, making step five the most important step in the base, since it is the step in which he initiates his move. The most basic example is that on turn five, the man might raise his right arm and his partner's left arm, and spin her to the right and back around while continuing to move his feet and end on beat seven. After the two week class at the Instituto ended, I sought further instruction at the Salon de Salsa located a few blocks from the school on Licensia Verdad and Xincotancatl. Salon de Salsa is operated by two brothers, Carlos and Jesus Varaga, who are professional dancers that perform at exhibitions when they are not teaching lessons. The walls of the modest studio are covered with pictures of the two at swanky clubs in major cities across the world. Lessons at the studio cost three hundred and sixty pesos for a month of lessons, five days a week for an hour and a half, which equals about thirty six U.S. dollars. I would recommend this school to anyone who happens to visit Oaxaca and is interested in learning to dance salsa. The Varagas are both professional and friendly, and although the class includes beginners and experts, someone starting out will be paired with a partner of the appropriate skill level. Last weekend I went to a popular Latin dance club in the city center to watch an exhibition of the best dancers in the city, and it was stunning - it reminded me of the circus, complete with flips, incredible spins, girl flying through the air, etc. If you visit a Latin American country in the future, do yourself a favor and seek out an exhibition, which seem to be held almost weekly in Oaxaca. I'm sure other large cities have similar exhibition schedules. I got there early enough before the exhibition that I had the opportunity to dance, and I was happy to discover that after a month of practicing in the evenings after school I have learned enough of the steps to be able to dance at a salsa club and not look completely out of place. It's not likely that I'll win an award for my dancing ability anytime soon, but I've mastered about a dozen step combinations, which is enough to allow variety when dancing. I plan to continue the lessons both while I'm here in Oaxaca, and when I return home to Seattle. Seattle, like many major cities in the U.S., has developed a strong salsa following. If you're interested in learning, but can't make it all the way to a Latin country, google "Salsa Dancing" followed by the name of your city and see what you come up with. Even though it's a challenge, the time and effort you put in will be well worth it. And don't worry about thoughts of not being able to dance - if I can do it despite my three handicaps, anyone can.


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