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Motivational Testimonials
 

Edie,

One of my friends asked how it felt to dance with you even though we danced different styles. I was silent for a minute, and then I answered, "When I danced with Edie, I discovered how it feels when the music and body melt and become one," and I mean it.

You are an amazing dancer….

Del Piero

Dear Edie,
Something happened the first time I attended a salsa dance club--that was at the Whittier Radisson on September 28th (how can I forget).  What made all the difference was the live band with all the percussions and rhythm--the music just got to my soul!  Even though I was a beginner, I felt the music and was able to dance to it.  The men were so patient; they taught me how to follow.  I danced with one guy for about five songs.  It was so slow and simple that I was bored at first, but later on something happened.  We got into this synchrony, as if our worlds became one: our movements melded as one as we responded to the music.  It was magic!  Two weeks later, I'm still thinking about that magical moment.  As I read your Stories forum, I discovered that what I experienced was a salsa "fix" or high.  It was incredible!  I had a high at my first salsa club.  God bless,

Maggie A. Eusebio

- Teresa

Edie,

Thanks for the musicality article. I have been expressing to my friends how feeling
the music is more enjoyable than obsessing about keeping on the beat. There are dancers where I live who are obsessed with keeping on the beat. They never smile when they are dancing.
I agree with every word of the article, and I’ve been thinking the same for a good while, and yes I do receive some “Oh my gosh” comments. Inspirational music means a lot
to me when I dance. Thanks again.

Love,

Chris

Hey Edie,

Couple more stories for you that you might get a smile out of.

The Pizza Story

I went to get pizza after dancing one night. I had to wait 15 minutes for my pizza. So went in the alley behind the shop where no one could see me and practiced my Bachata (invisible partner) plus any salsa moves I was (and still am) trying to improve. I have done this every week for the past 6 months. Hey, beats waiting around, and I need the practice. So I’ve been REALLY exaggerating the hip movement (circle to the left, circle back to the right) so that it becomes more natural when I am not thinking about it.

Then out comes the pizza dude to give me my pizza. I said, “How did you know I was here?” Straight faced, the guy says “powers of the surveillance video camera.”

ALL this time the whole shop must have been CRACKING up laughing at me.

Oh well. I’m still going to dance. Now that I have an audience, I will pay extra attention to my movements so I have more motivation. What else can I do while waiting?

Last week

I went to this LA style club (I dance Cuban so I do not usually go there) and I saw this tall beautiful girl standing by the side having a drink. I figure “what have I got to lose?” (My attitude when asking new girls to dance.) and asked. She said yes, so we started grooving away. She said she learned to dance in South America and asked where I learned. I said with a massive smile, “I am still learning!”

So we’re dancing away and a guy friend of mine comes and playfully bumps me as usual. He is an AWESOME dancer. He has danced 16 years or so but in different styles to me. So I smile and laugh.

So then I do this tricky flirty funny move (enchufa variation)

We keep dancing and the music changes so we change the style. Anyway, here am I thinking how lucky I am to be dancing with this beautiful girl whom I have not met. My friend comes up again and playfully bumps me. He says that I “better be careful” and looks at my partner.

The girl then says 'you know my brother'. THEN IT HITS. THAT IS my friend's sister.

I felt like I had swallowed my WHOLE foot. Immediately I felt like I was dancing with this girl in front of her father sitting and watching with a loaded shotgun. I was like “I’ve got to keep my distance” all respectable-like because I did not want to disrespect my friend.

I know he is a cool guy and all and probably would understand guys are just dancing with his sister but man, I did not want to cause discomfort or anything. That is my story of the night for sure.

• My friend is short and stocky. His ‘little sister’ is 6 feet tall with long dark hair; skinny but curvy, and has olive skin.. So now I know why he did not introduce me. 

2 steps back, 3 forward

I write this for me as much as anyone. All of us have been frustrated at some point. We have been judging ourselves harshly and unfairly. Most of the time we cannot see the forest from the trees. I think the key is for us to all remember and ask ourselves in our down time:

If you were to dance with you now and then you 6 months ago, how much better would it be now!

There are MANY times we NEED to go backwards to improve our dancing. Sometimes bad habits creep in and really need EXTRA attention to be smoothed out. During that time, you may be frustrated as you are focusing on something requiring improving and feel that you are not progressing. NOTHING could be further from the truth.

Imagine your favorite shirt. Beautiful. Looks good. Feels good. EVERYONE loves it. So you just want to put it on and race out the door. Not so fast, fashionista. How much better would that shirt look if you ironed it first? Now, you do not have to. You can still go out looking and feeling good. BUT imagine how much better you would look and feel with this perfectly prepared and ironed shirt. Wow! Plus, the process of preparing the shirt. Ironing it. Getting to know it intimately and making it your own through hard work makes wearing the shirt SUCH A BETTER AND DEEPER experience! It’s the same with your dancing. It is a process of wearing, preparing, wearing, preparing and so on. Everyone can choose how far he or she wants to go in the process. I hope that my passion for dancing and life continues so that I continue to iron out each wrinkle over time in my dancing so that my dancing will be as wrinkle free and as clean pressed as possible!

 * everything should be done in moderation though. Remember the key is YOUR enjoyment!

 Finally, a few key points for us all about frustration:

• Frustration is PART of the salsa learning experience. A good part.
• Frustration is merely awareness of areas to improve
• Frustration is merely bad habits leaving your dancing
• Frustration is ignorance being washed away
• Frustration is merely fire to light your journey to improvement.
• Frustration is impetus and a catalyst to change/improvement
• Frustration is an invitation and crossroads to leave your comfort zone and increase your enjoyment of life!

·         Another thing about dancing that I love is that most of the principles apply to your non dancing life too!

Dancing is the celebration of life! – You never know if a bus will hit you!

If there was one way I would describe dancing, it is that dancing is truly the celebration of life. Dancing, a magic ritual of energy, danced before our time, during our time and way beyond out time. Dancing though is a way of communicating with our ancestors and predecessors which transcends limitations of time and proximity.

Appreciate this. Appreciate the moment and your dancing will always be the best it can be.

Yesterday was my new birthday. The 25th May 2007. I am one day old. The night before, I went out dancing as per usual. As usual, it was unusual. Every night is different, but all are fantastic!

I awoke that morning, looking forward to riding to work and sharing my stories with everyone on Salsa forums. I thank you all for the help in my 'improving my lead' thread as your words and encouragement truly helped and I had many compliments about my VASTLY improved lead. The best compliment of all was that a beginning lady who does not dance much and is not asked much, I imagine because she is a bit bigger, danced EVERY step I knew. Even way beyond what she had been taught herself. What started as me thinking I was doing her a favor in a sense by getting her on the dance floor, turned into her doing me a favor by dancing with me, as she was a SUPERB follower. Her improvement is astounding and inspiring. Best of all, she has the best fashion sense ever. Every week she wears THE LARGEST SMILE ever!

The night was electric and full of so much energy that on some big beats whilst I was in guapea, I found myself crouching to the floor and playing the rhythm on the wood and then springing back up keeping in time.

It was such a brilliant night that I sent this email to my head instructor before I left for work:

Dear Danza Loca,

Last night I had the BEST night ever. Just FANTASTIC. I danced salsa all night, and even did a meringue. You probably know that already and have known about that for a long time. However, I and many of your students, are quite new to dancing, thus it is an AMAZING discovery for us!

I just thought I would take the time to give a MASSIVE thanks to you and your wonderfully assembled team of brilliant instructors. You have successfully managed to assemble some WONDERFUL individuals whose synergy creates a tremendously positive and welcoming environment! Each of you is a positive character in your own right, with individual flourishes which add flavor to everyone's experience.

I truly believe that dancing is the celebration of life! Some of the other students and I were chatting about our great experiences and wonderful times dancing last night and it inspired me to write this thank you email as you and your team cannot get enough credit for the wonderful job that you do!

Thanks again for letting me, and many others, appreciate life a little bit more. I look forward to many more great classes and experiences with you and your team.

Sincerely

Me


Little did I know that may have very well been MY LAST COMMUNICATION WITH ANYONE WHILST I WAS ALIVE. Seriously, that thought chills me.

As I rode to work on my bike, I was cycling straight along a road, close to the gutter. I do this about 30 metres before the bike path begins. All of a sudden, BOOM! I found myself waking up on the pavement some 5 metres away from the road and what was once my bicycle. I got up and was thinking 'what happened' and stumbled around. Then the pain hit me. I felt like collapsing but I didn’t as I was completely out of it and could not remember how to collapse.

A bus driver pulled over and came up to me looking worse than me I imagine. Saying sorry and asking me if I was all right. I said “I do not know, I cannot move my arm.” about 3 times. Long story short, I ended up in the hospital with a suspected broken arm. I was planning my one-armed leading salsa classes at that stage :)

Otherwise I was fine. I was VERY LUCKY. I was thrown from the impact and my bike was destroyed, not me. The impact was so great that, my clip in pedals on my shoes which lock your feet into the pedals, were broken off. Literally the pedals broke off with the force I was thrown back with. As I sat there in the hospital (I had to stay for a while to be monitored because I had a concussion) and waited for my x-rays. I could not help but think 'WOW, last night (dancing) was so fantastic! If I had to have a last night, dancing is a great way to do it! As comical as it sounds, it makes sense. LIVE LIFE. Don't wait or hold back. You NEVER know. The girl you want to dance with, ASK! The class you are thinking of doing, GO! 

The x-ray was positive and no broken bones. It was a miracle, as the Doctor's said, but I am home now. Bruised up, with my arm in a sling (pulled muscle apparently) some cuts, etc. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I am ALIVE!

I’m hoping to go dancing soon; if for nothing else, than to watch.

Remember the saying; life is NOT a dress rehearsal…

thank you
Rodney

Dear Edie,
I came across your website while doing searches on "salsa".  I am so impressed with your background, talent and also your warmth and kindheartedness which comes through your published responses to letters.  Most importantly, I find that it is no coincidence that I came across your website, because I am a Christian with concerns about how to be a dancer in a predominantly secular world, especially that of salsa, where there is so much temptation.

I took my first salsa class on September 25th, only two weeks ago.  Since then I attended another class and have been to three salsa dance clubs: the Whittier Radisson, the Granada in Alhambra and Steven's Steakhouse. What incredible dancers I saw at Steven's!  Wow. I am hooked on salsa!  I love the music!