Asian disrhythmia

At some point in our lives, we discover that people have some kind of affinity for various activities of the world. Some people are naturally book smart, others are street smart. Some, like Johnnie are natural dancers. Myself: climbing and video games (wish it were something more marketable... but I'll take what I can have). Of course, the opposite of this is true - some people are naturally retarded about things: some just don't get chemistry, others can't grasp how the internet works. Myself: dancing.

Last Friday night was a night out to the local salsa club at the Mariott Hotel, near UCSD. Lessons at 8:30 for beginners (ooh ooh pick me pick me!). Anticipating my natural talent for clumsiness and lack of dancing skills, I took up Johnnie's offer on some basic salsa steps. I love that girl - if not for her, I would have had to make do with the evening just sorta standing there in place kicking wildly at the other patrons and buying a drink for every other person I managed to bruise and back-kick during my "dancing" ordeal.

Still, I've learned that I'm retarded with movement sequences involving my body. Recent experiences with my friend's Wii also made me realize I like things at a slower pace than others (hence, my painfully slow climbing style and my slower-than-jesus crawl of a hiking pace). Dance lessons were something like "left, right, left... turn... right, left right". My brain would interpret that as: "left, right, left, turn, turn, right right right right... wait... why am I dragging my feet around in a circle without my partner???". Attempt 2: "left right left, spin... ". My brain: "spin, left, right.. spin, wash, rinse, repeat, throw in dryer, dry for 40 minutes on high". *sigh*.

Johnnie and I have figured out a few things why I have such a hard time with salsa:

1. I have little to no dancing experience. I've never gone to prom, junior prom, school dances, done much wedding dancing, never competed in ballroom dance and did my best to avoid the clubs during college.
   
2. The Japanese make no distinction between "butt" and "hips". As a result, I'm about 15 years behind (no pun intended) discovering my hips and seeing how they move...
   
3. Salsa beats are hard to isolate. I also have no sense of rhythm (see Asian boy disrhythmia)
   
4. I have little to no experience "leading" in dancing (see #1)
   
5. Sensory overload. brain goes boom.
   
6. I have sticky rubber soles on the bottom of my dress shoes. Mental note: Good for climbing - bad for dancing i.e. turns, slides, spins.
   

I'm determined not to let this get me done though. There's enough structure in salsa that I think I can grasp that like a life saver in a stormy ocean. Till then I've been "training" for my next salsa experience by buying a salsa cd and trying to follow the beats in the songs... (hopefully I won't bump into other cars while concentrating like I do at the salsa clubs...)