Peter and I are currently taking a 5 week long salsa course, in addition to our regular dance schedule, because we're hard core like that. We thought this would be a good way to boost our salsa skills, as it's not a dance we do a lot of at our ballroom studio and salsa is one of the few dances you can find in clubs. We went to our first salsa class at the new place on Friday night and then on Sunday the group lesson at our regular studio (Arthur Murray) happened to be salsa too, so it was an interesting comparison. Our regular studio is waaaaay better, I think.

Our previous attempt to dance, years ago in Wisconsin, was a disaster compared to when we started at the fancy Arthur Murray studio in Vancouver. The big difference? In our studio group classes they teach the guys how to lead and the ladies how to follow. In the other group class in WI they just showed everyone the step and let us go at it. So the guys weren't told how to lead and the girls weren't told how to follow. Inevitable disagreements arose and things got ugly.

This new salsa class we're enrolled in is just like the previous class in Wisconsin (although this time they make you rotate partners, which is an improvement). I think that Peter and I have come along enough that we can figure things out without arguing - but I feel bad for all the other people who haven't experienced a real studio where learning to dance is not frustrating and hard! The telltale sign, if you're ever shopping around for a dance class/studio (most dance places let you drop in on one or two classes for free to check them out): in a group class, they should separate the men and women occasionally and show each their parts separately. Everyone should get a chance to do the step/pattern on their own before trying to do it with a partner. If you're paired up right at the beginning and spend the entire time dancing with partners - you may find that really really hard and frustrating.

As a lady, I find it particularly frustrating in these less structured group classes because even if I know what the step is supposed to be (or think I do), I don't necessarily ever get to dance it if I'm always with a partner, because I have to dance whatever he leads. If he leads it wrong/differently, I have to do that. If he turns me early, I have to turn. So, it may well be that I don't get to practice the footwork shown by the instructor at all, because all my partners are leading it wrong because they haven't been shown how to lead it correctly and they don't realize they're causing me to do weird things. This is the hard part of being a girl in dance - you don't get to pick what you do! [On the up side, you don't have to decide what to do.]

Anyway. Just another lesson that it really is worth it to pay a bit extra and go to a place that is really good at what they do. This salsa course is dirt cheap, but I can see why. It's too bad because the instructor is great and clearly knows his stuff. I'm sure we'll learn lots, but it will be despite the structure of the class rather than because of it.