I love Latin music and have fancied learning salsa dancing for a while, but unpredictable working hours and a naturally impatient nature led me to a one-day intensive course. In theory, this would enable me to learn sufficient skills to dance at a club by the end of the day, even if I was a complete beginner (I was!).
Like many women, my thoughts about learning salsa also involved a small fantasy of myself and other half sexily slithering around dancefloors together, but in the past he has constantly and flatly refused to join me for lessons. I persuaded him that, as a wholly reluctant participant, his feedback would be important in the name of impartial journalism. So along he came, sulking all the way.
There were about 40 students, with one main teacher and four extra helpers on standby. This meant we could be given extra assistance whenever needed, which was good for morale and ensured the class could move along at the necessary pace. There were equal numbers of men and women, again important so that you learn in the correct 'role' (females follow, men lead, surprise surprise).
Although the dancing during the first half of the day was quite reserved as we learned the basic steps, I still felt myself getting pretty warm – it definitely gets your circulation going. Quite a few of the men, presumably due to a combination of terror and physical exertion, were sweating like horses.
We swapped dancing partners regularly, which, while slightly disconcerting, enables you to cope with the range of standards (and, erm, personalities) that you would encounter in any salsa club situation. By lunchtime everyone felt they had come a long way from the morning's clumsy beginnings and I even caught my own man beaming happily as we shared a sexy little dance together; the die-hard reluctant had been converted!
Different moves were added during the afternoon, making for more physical exertion. By the end of the day, excluding breaks, we'd been dancing for five hours and everyone's legs were feeling it. Although many of us felt we had the ability to go straight out and dance at a club that night, no one actually had the energy! But it was definitely worth the effort.
Salsa dancing is good as an overall fitness booster. It gives you a reasonable aerobic workout without making you horribly breathless, although more experienced dancers can work up a serious sweat. It also helps tone up the legs in particular. Dancing at a reasonable pace, you can expect to burn around 360 calories an hour - just think how many doughnuts you could eat after dancing the night away at a club!
Class details
Siobhan attended a one-day intensive course in London. Both intensive and weekly classes are available. For more information contact www.streetbeat.co.uk, tel: 020 8444 3723.
