7 Truths I Would Have Liked to Know When I Started Dancing Salsa
Anyone can learn to dance! How many times have I heard, “I have no talent for dancing” or variations of it such as, “You won’t be able to do anything with me”, “I’m a lost cause”, “I have no rhythm” or “I have two left feet”? After 15 years of teaching many people, I can tell you that I have not seen many people gifted with the talent of dance; however, I have seen various self-conscious students grow into excellent dancers. Thus, the quality you need in order to succeed is not talent, but perseverance as the good dancers are those who practice, week in, week out, for months. In my view, this shows that ANYONE can learn to dance at any age. Of course, some learn faster than others. If they do, they are simply lucky. If you are waiting to be a good dancer before going out, you are delaying your goals. News flash: the best dancers are the ones who go out dancing early in their development. It is a matter of spending the most time on the dance floor because practice makes perfect. Don’t beat yourself up over a few missed steps. It’s counterproductive! Some people have a hard time handling their mistakes and get frustrated whenever they make one. Here is a piece of advice I give my dancers: there are two ways to get to one place. The first one consists of learning a move by beating yourself up over a few mistakes, criticizing yourself relentlessly and losing patience with yourself and with others. However, the second method will allow you to learn the move by staying calm and to pat yourself on the back for each of your [...]
