How It All Began

The year was 1998. I was on assignment in Raleigh (NC). I ventured into a Latin nightclub. There I was, watching people do their thing. I was in awe with the beauty and grace with which people were moving on the dance floor. I looked across the room and saw this beautiful Brazilian girl. I figured the only way I could talk to her would be to ask her to dance. Which I did and soon found myself on the dance floor, only knowing the Salsa basic step, a step I learned that night while watching people dance.

We started dancing, looking good (I thought), doing was the Salsa basic. Well, the girl got annoyed that not only didn't I know how to dance, but I couldn't shut up. Next thing I know, I am turning and doing weird stuff like other people on the dance floor. It wasn't long before I realized that the girl had assumed my role and started leading me. People around me were laughing and I must admit it was embarrassing.  When the song was over, I left the nightclub and swore never to return until I knew how to dance.

The Journey Begins

The next day, I signed up for Salsa classes at a studio called the "The Dance Step". I got sucked into paying for an expensive lesson package. Instead of teaching me what I wanted, they made me learn other (ballroom) dances. They taught me their Salsa (that I later learned was Mambo). Fate had it that I had to leave town to take another contract in Louisville, KY.

Louisville, KY. Mark Twain once said that if the world was ending, he would move to Louisville. This is the last place on earth where things happen. I was there for a full year and I didn't take a single Salsa lesson, nor did I see a Latin Club. I left Louisville and went to Chicago (yet another contract). This is where I started getting myself more involved in Salsa. But even there, I didn't really get into it as I should. Too much work and not much time to play. Next stop: Austin, TX.

It's in Austin that I met a Cuban instructor named of Alvaro. He taught free Salsa lessons downtown at a place called "Miguel de la Botega". He is the one who really got me hooked on Salsa. I would go there every night. I never paid for a single lesson, yet I learned so much. When I left Austin, I landed in Philadelphia.

Enter the Wild One

Once in Philadelphia it took me a while to even think about Salsa. I was so busy with work. I arrived in Philadelphia in March 2000. It wasn't until June that I went on the Internet looking for a dance studio. I found many listings and I randomly chose Fortuna's Dance Studio, sent them an email with my particulars and waited. The next day, I got a call from this girl who was really nice on the phone. She told me her name that I soon forgot. She told me how to get to the studio and we booked a dance lesson. The day of the lesson, I took a cab, crossed the Ben Franklin Bridge and there I was. I walked into this studio and came this beautiful brunette with a fancy outfit, not to mention her million-dollar smile. She introduced herself then as Sonya Saamova (she is now Mrs. Sonya Elmore).  I looked at her from heat to toe, I knew right away that we were going to get along fine. She had style and good taste in fashion.

After the customary introduction and small talk, we went in one of the rooms. Once inside, she loaded a salsa CD and asked me to dance, a way to gauge my level. I did a few of the moves that Alvaro had taught me in Austin. She told me I was doing good (very polite, I must tell you). Well, to make a long story short, we started working on my Salsa. She proceeded to humble me and really teach me what dancing was all about. I must tell you that I didn't dance the way I do today when I came to Philadelphia. In fact, I thought I knew how to dance until I met Sonya. She took my dancing apart and taught me like a beginner. After a month I had to go away on vacation. I went to Paris then Yaoundé (Cameroon) to visit my family.  I came back in September to resume my training. Despite the many lessons I was taking, I still wasn't comfortable going out dancing. I would go to Brasils and just stand there. I didn't have enough confidence to step onto the dance floor. Sonya had another student called Frank. Frank and I were basically Sonya "star pupils". The breakthrough came when Frank, Sonya and I went to club called the Yellow Jacket in North-East Philly. I stepped on the floor with Sonya. All of the sudden, I could dance without thinking too much about the next step. Now, Sonya is the kind of Salsera that can follow pretty much anything you throw at her. I knew I was making a lot of "mistakes", but through her ability to back lead without making you look like a stiff, I was able to get away with murder. But that's what boosted my confidence. That night, I actually asked other girls to dance. Since they saw me dancing with Sonya, they thought I was that good. I remember one of the girls asking me if I was taking lessons, I said yes. I asked her why she wanted to know? She said because I wasn't really dancing,  I was just doing a bunch of steps, nothing else. That comment didn't really deflate my ego. In the contrary, I started asking myself what she meant by that. Then it occurred to me that I was simply regurgitating what I learned in the class, without adding much to it, no passion, no creativity. I decided that day personalize every single Salsa move I learned, to make it look different, to give it my own interpretation.

Unfortunately Sonya had to go to Paris for a couple of months. When she left I started working with Tamara and Ernesto both excellent instructors at Fortuna's. Ernesto got me back into the Cuban (really Miami) style Salsa. Ernesto is a great instructor. He really took the time to show me how a man should dance Salsa. He taught me about the posture, clean execution and tempo. Tamara taught me a lot about speed, spinning and general dance technique. You sometimes hear things like "connection" and "frame". Well, she drilled me with that stuff for a couple of months. It is safe to say that Tamara is one of the best spinners I have ever danced with. She really taught me how to spin a girl, when to spin her and how to get her out of it, cleanly.

Salsa L.A. Style

When Sonya went to Los Angeles, she came back in awe with what she had seen. She loved it so much that the following year, she organized a group trip to the L.A. Salsa Congress. When I got to L.A., I realized that I knew nothing about Salsa. I saw so many dancers, doing all kinds of crazy moves and I got hooked. I made it a point to really learn the L.A. style and be one of the few people in Philly that could dance that way. I have since taken workshops with the likes of Enio Cordoba, Jesus Morales, Alex da Silva, Josie Neglia all fabulous L.A. instructors. Jesus really taught me a lot about Salsa timing, improvisation, flirting and dipping. He is the one that showed me how to be smooth, elegant yet on time. I took an entire private lesson with him on dips only. In my opinion, Jesus Morales has the best technique when it comes to dips. Alex added to my elegance and timing as well. Enio was the first person that taught the progressive cross-body (or cross-body L.A. style). As for Josie? Well, she is Josie. If you've seen her dance or taken a lesson with her, you'll know what mean.

My Salsa Philosophy

Dancing Salsa is an Art form. I have no desire to go out there and simply regurgitate what I have learned from an instructor. I want to learn something, understand it well enough to be able to change it and/or add to it. Being tall, I can't afford to look goofy when I am dancing. Some steps are not suited for tall people. I don't want to be another Salsero. I want to be a creative Salsero, someone that won't bore you. I always tell girls that the best way to dance with me it not to assume anything. I sometimes start a step (the girl recognizes it and figures she can just back lead her way through it) and half the time, I would improvise some other steps in there before I complete the pattern she thought she knew. Whenever I do that, most girls look surprised as in "what was that"? So, the best way to pick up my lead is follow my lead. Next time you see me do crazy stuff on the dance floor, remember that dancing is about having fun, about experimenting without being afraid of "mistakes", because, there are no mistakes. You must dance outside of the box.

So there you have it. I am sure everybody has a different story, a reason why they started dancing Salsa. Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoy what I put together on this site.

From Salsa to love

Salsa has been a God sent activity in my life. I met so many wonderful fiends in the Salsa community. I met my a wonderful woman who changed my life and we got engaged and finally got married as well.