Dancing in Antigua - Salsa and introducing Guaguanco!

So as soon as I arrived in Antigua - on the second day I was looking for Salsa to improve my ability to follow moves. Looking back I think I have improved a lot!!! Also Erin and I tried a Cuban/African rhythm class with 'Manolo" at "Salsa y Mas' - was so much fun and really different!!!

Meeting Victor – my Salsa teacher. -- (14 July 2011) It was one of those moments where I followed my instincts. On the way to find the recommended salsa school in town, I followed my ears into a shop not far from my homestay and thoroughfare to the Spanish school. It was a small bar named, … with a groovy checker tiled dance floor and a wall of reused books. Luckily there was also another Guatemalan girl sitting at the bar, a friend of Victor’s who spoke great English and a current dance student. She helped me communicate given my limited Spanish and his lack of confidence with his English and encouraged me with her positive experience of classes with him. Victor, 30 year old Guatemalan man who has travelled the world to Salsa congresses, Japan, Paris, US etc, specialising in Puerto Ricon and Cuban salsa. His dance partner got married 3 years ago and so this affected their dance partnership (like 4-6 hours of training daily!). His philosophy is to respect the connection and interaction between himself and his dance partner and having fun (machismo). When I handed over the 80Quetz as a deposit for the 5pm lesson, I was a little uneasy about the trust I had placed in him, a stranger. But in this case I ‘felt the fear, and did it anyway’, and was pleased I did!

The lesson today was fabulous, he did everything right to gain my trust, was there on time (also another girl was there “Linda” from Norway who was a dancing friend and who I coincidently met again that night), listened to what I wanted, invited me to solo so he could guage my level (I politely refused! was too shy!), identified and corrected me quickly about ‘following’ techniques to improve, taught me new stuff (‘Shining’ meaning when woman or man choreo a solo!) and spent time chatting afterwards in mix Spanish and English as best could to communicate. However we since realised that we both spoke a little Japanese - so thats how we continued to communicate - was very funny our broken Japanese!!!!