15 ms·

Totally. I did it not so long ago (still am) and it's a brilliant confidence boost; everyone's there for the same reason, so it's not like just going to some cl

Totally. I did it not so long ago (still am) and it's a brilliant confidence boost; everyone's there for the same reason, so it's not like just going to some club and hoping someone there will talk to you! You've got something in common, something to have a laugh about with every person there. Go into it with the right attitude and you will have fun. Don't fall into the trap that some men do and think "ooh, such-and-such a magazine says salsa classes will get me laid", cause on their own they won't. Girls there can spot the guys who go there with one intention from miles off and won't dance with them. Go there with the intention to have a bit of a giggle, meet a few new people, make a bit of a tit of yourself on occasion (something we ALL need!) and learn some sexy moves while you're at it and the world is your oyster. (Sorry for the disjointed response, I'm rushing out of the door! Will probably come back and write more later.)

davidw 18y ago
Exactly - I should clarify the "helped me a lot" in my previous post was more in terms of meeting lots of people and having fun than going home every night with some girl (although the owner of our favorite place once impressed us by showing up, spotting some girl, dancing a few songs and then heading out the door together). It eventually worked out pretty well because the woman I ended up marrying liked going dancing a lot when we first met:-)
wallflower 18y ago
> Don't fall into the trap that some men do and think "ooh, such-and-such a magazine says salsa classes will get me laid" You might go just to meet people or just because you've always wanted to learn how to dance. Salsa dancing is a meritocracy. Women want to dance with men who can lead well to the music. Why wouldn't they? To be honest, if you have the hacker mindset, the danger of taking on Salsa dancing, is it will become a pursuit and a hobby. You might get addicted. I've been for over 2 years. You might go to your first class and flail but then you will see real dancers dance and be sucked in (I want to do that). The hacker mindset of 'how can I figure this out/what is the hack to dancing' might hook you. Yes, there are tricks to become a better dancer faster (number one - start asking women to dance when the song is more than half-over as a beginner - so you don't run out of moves). The whole idea of going from canned set routines to dancing to the music is a bit of difficult hack that I'm still working on (but making progress). The hack for that I think is understand the structure of the song - (real-time Fourier analysis of a set of eight measures of 8-beats each..with your feet) It is much harder for guys to learn Salsa dancing because they have to lead (see Salsa hell link below). The look of a woman with the most bored look in her eye because you don't know what you're doing while the music is on is something you will experience many times. Can't simulate social dancing. Classes are good/bad because the woman knows the pattern exactly (simulates being a good lead w/o being one) At some point, if you get addicted, it will stop being about meeting people and joining a community of people who love music and dancing. A community where you can escape the real world 8 beats at a time. As addictions go, I think it is a pretty good one to have. As the "Magic of Time" article below illustrates, if you stick with it and continue dancing/practicing/going to classes, you will become competent (many guys will quit after several classes or two months but in two years' time, just by continuing trial and error, you start getting better by default). If you choose to take on Salsa, good luck - it's not about you, it's about her, you, and the music. "The Unlikely Salsero - Magic of Time: Last One Standing" http://www.unlikelysalsero.com/2007/08/magic-of-time-last-one-standing.html http://www.unlikelysalsero.com/2007/08/magic-of-time-last-on... "Addicted2Salsa - What is salsa hell for guys" http://addicted2salsa.com/2007/08/12/the-famous-salsa-hell-dance-graph/ http://addicted2salsa.com/2007/08/12/the-famous-salsa-hell-d...

davidw 18y ago

Exactly - I should clarify the "helped me a lot" in my previous post was more in terms of meeting lots of people and having fun than going home every night with some girl (although the owner of our favorite place once impressed us by showing up, spotting some girl, dancing a few songs and then heading out the door together). It eventually worked out pretty well because the woman I ended up marrying liked going dancing a lot when we first met:-)

wallflower 18y ago

> Don't fall into the trap that some men do and think "ooh, such-and-such a magazine says salsa classes will get me laid" You might go just to meet people or just because you've always wanted to learn how to dance. Salsa dancing is a meritocracy. Women want to dance with men who can lead well to the music. Why wouldn't they? To be honest, if you have the hacker mindset, the danger of taking on Salsa dancing, is it will become a pursuit and a hobby. You might get addicted. I've been for over 2 years. You might go to your first class and flail but then you will see real dancers dance and be sucked in (I want to do that). The hacker mindset of 'how can I figure this out/what is the hack to dancing' might hook you. Yes, there are tricks to become a better dancer faster (number one - start asking women to dance when the song is more than half-over as a beginner - so you don't run out of moves). The whole idea of going from canned set routines to dancing to the music is a bit of difficult hack that I'm still working on (but making progress). The hack for that I think is understand the structure of the song - (real-time Fourier analysis of a set of eight measures of 8-beats each..with your feet) It is much harder for guys to learn Salsa dancing because they have to lead (see Salsa hell link below). The look of a woman with the most bored look in her eye because you don't know what you're doing while the music is on is something you will experience many times. Can't simulate social dancing. Classes are good/bad because the woman knows the pattern exactly (simulates being a good lead w/o being one) At some point, if you get addicted, it will stop being about meeting people and joining a community of people who love music and dancing. A community where you can escape the real world 8 beats at a time. As addictions go, I think it is a pretty good one to have. As the "Magic of Time" article below illustrates, if you stick with it and continue dancing/practicing/going to classes, you will become competent (many guys will quit after several classes or two months but in two years' time, just by continuing trial and error, you start getting better by default). If you choose to take on Salsa, good luck - it's not about you, it's about her, you, and the music. "The Unlikely Salsero - Magic of Time: Last One Standing" http://www.unlikelysalsero.com/2007/08/magic-of-time-last-one-standing.html http://www.unlikelysalsero.com/2007/08/magic-of-time-last-on... "Addicted2Salsa - What is salsa hell for guys" http://addicted2salsa.com/2007/08/12/the-famous-salsa-hell-dance-graph/ http://addicted2salsa.com/2007/08/12/the-famous-salsa-hell-d...