Zumba does not prepare a person for Salsa dancing

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I have recently been doing Zumba as an exercise class at the YMCA. I had hoped that it would better prepare me for Salsa dancing as I've known for about two months that my cousin and I were going to go. However, when we got to the Salsa club my few zumba moves proved utterly useless! Clubbing in Vegas is a very different scene than Salsa dancing in Minneapolis. Normal clubbing moves are easy enough to figure out and if you aren't a good dancer you just wear a cute little dress and kind of shimmy and you're fine. However, Salsa moves are much more complicated, so if you dont know what you are doing you are pretty much screwed!

Initially I was quite excited for a night out on the town and checking out Minneapolis night life. However upon arrival and seeing the skill everyone in the club seemed to possess I was intimidated. I got a beer, hoping that would help calm my nerves/give me slight dancing ability. Unfortunately before I could drink more than a sip of it my cousin's friend came up and asked me to dance. He was a married, 30 year old Mexican guy who knew how to dance. I clearly did not. After an awkward few minutes the song thankfully ended and I could resume drinking my beer. Shortly thereafter my cousin and her Mexican husband hit the dance floor themselves to show off their moves. I was left standing alone with my beer at the bar.

Enter in guy number 2. Again I explained that I had no Salsa skills, again he didn't care and we attempted to dance. Clearly I failed miserably. Finally that song ended, I picked my beer back up, and another guy came up to talk to me. (As I type I realize there probably weren't any other unmarried females in the bar, as really had any guy actually watched me dance they would not have asked me to be their partner!) However, as the guys before, this one didnt mind my supposed lack of talent. We gave it a shot and actually had fun! He was much better at slowly explaining the dance moves and was patient so I didn't feel judged, as I had by the other 2. We ended up dancing the rest of the time I was there and I was disappointed when my cousin wanted to call it a night and head home. Not sure the next time I'm going to Salsa dance, but when I do I hope I end up with a patient partner as that made all the difference in the world!