Every week at Salsaholics Anonymous, we welcome dancers who are new to Salsaholics, most of whom are new to salsa dancing. The challenge of our Foundation class is to both accommodate new dancers learning the basics of salsa and enable more experienced dancers to polish up their foundational moves with a strong focus on great technique. Thanks to our new association with Meetup.com (Toronto Salsaholics Meetup), last week a few dancers joined us who, while not being entirely new to salsa, hadn’t danced much for quite a while.
What was great about the arrival of new Salsaholics (besides the fact that new Salsaholics are ALWAYS great!) is how quickly they remembered their previous skills, and how well they embraced the challenge of staying for the more advanced, Repertoire class. (And in case you’re wondering, they did really well!)
Coming regularly to an activity like salsa dancing – or any regular activity for that matter – develops into a lifestyle habit. It could be going to the gym. It could be bringing your lunch from home each workday. It could be something as simple as setting aside a small amount for charitable giving each week. All of these activities builds a sort of lifestyle “muscle memory” of participation and (to paraphrase the famous sneaker company) just doing it.
It’s not so much making a commitment, which is an overt and deliberate act. Rather, it’s a matter of making the action just part of your regular life. There are Salsaholics who have been participating in our classes for years—it’s simply part of their regular week that Thursday night is Salsaholics. When other, former regulars have been away for a while and then return, they often tell me that something had interfered temporarily, and they simply got out of the habit of coming. They also tell me that, once they have returned, they marvel at how quickly everything comes back, and just how much fun they have in our classes. Best of all, they had almost forgotten how great dancing makes them feel.
If you’ve been away from dancing for some time, whether you’re a former Salsaholic or not, it’s probably fair to say that it’s been too long, that it’s time to get back into it. Joining us on Thursday nights is a great way to rebuild that lifestyle muscle memory, particularly if the demands of work, or family-care or a way-too-busy-for-anyone’s-benefit life has put your lifestyle out of the balance that you once enjoyed (or seek now to enjoy). I, for one, am looking forward to welcoming or re-welcoming you when we…
See you on the dance floor.