Thanks to Paradise Bank for the lovely reception they graciously provided for the WEC ladies. Everyone had a blast, as the slideshow reveals. Thanks to the new members for attending and sharing the evening with their fellow WEC sisters.

             *Instructor Ashley Seijo provided the class a divine hour of fun *    

Everyone gathered at Flannigans for 1/2 priced, full bar selection of drinks and some dinner/snacks before the event. 8 brave men came along to experience some first hand merriment.

OMG, This was actual exercise! Ashley said we learned more in 1 hour than her classes learn in 3—4 hours. It sure seemed like the Salsa was easy for everyone to pick up. I saw a lot of smiling going on. Ashley said the main factor for learning was to have fun. She made sure we did. I was given some free class cards and brochures to share at the meeting for those who did not make it. Jan asked for notes to be placed in a post for the steps we learned. Ok I am giving it a whirl. From a novice, please review some Salsa steps;

(Disclaimer, Your hyper active post writer is a novice dancer, with limited private prior instruction, 2 – 3  years ago. For the ladies, start with your right foot. Men start with their left. It makes sense when you dance together. This was not taught last nite, due to large class size, and only 1 instructor. She did not want to confuse everyone. Another tip, this dance is small steps. When moving forward with a lot of these steps, you actually are supposed to move only within the length of your own foot. When you do salsa dance, you are using the ball of your foot and stepping back on the back of your foot. This helps the hip motion to be more predominant and easier to do. As you become more proficient in the dance, the instructor will fine tune your steps. Her purpose last nite was to give the bare bones basic lessons, trying not to allow anyone to become afraid to keep learning and having fun. If I have something confused, let me know).

We learned Basic, Turn, Stomp/Slave, Suzie Q, Advanced Suzie Q and Hecta, (Cuban Something or another )

Basic- Forward right, forward left, back right, back left, back right, forward left.

Turn – Forward right, left, then pivot turn to right, step forward with left, pivot left on left foot, then forward right, left.

Stomp/Slave – Keep your left foot in place, pivoting on this foot. Standing facing front, turns will be to the left. Bring right foot to 12, step in place w/ left foot without lifting the left foot. Step to 9 o’clock, then repeat left instruction, then right foot to 6 o’clock, left foot instruction again, then to 3 o’clock, with left foot instruction. You should be back to facing front again.  Lots of hip motion used with this one. Do not be shy. It is the style of the dance.

Suzie Q – Cross right foot swinging motion around the left. Then sort of a march type in place for left then right. Then cross left foot in same style motion as right swing cross, then right and left small steps. Again repeat as desired. We seemed to do each side 2 times.

Advanced Suzie Q – Cross right step, left small step, right step, small left step, total of 5 right, and 4 left, with 5th left foot crossing over to a Suzie Q. Do 2 left Suzie Q, then 2 right Suzie Q. Lastly left step forward, stepping in a forward motion to take you into a basic step.

Hecta – Think of 2 feet shoulder width apart. Step out to right, small step in place on left with left foot. Slide right foot back to left and step left with left foot. Ladies swoosh hip motion. Repeat.

Possible combination – Basic 6 or so times, Turn,  Slave/Stomp, Basic 6 or so times, Advanced Suzie Q, Basic 6 or so times, Hecta….. Have a blast. It takes practice, then your body will remember the steps. Practice without music, then play to music. Last, but not least, use your free card for more lessons. Casa Salsa has an east and west location for our convenience.