O.M.G. Work zapped me today and I had just about zero energy when I stopped by my house this evening. Although I felt depleted, I mustered the strength to change in to my dancing clothes and hit up my salsa class.

My instructor has made it very clear to me that I have to practice more on my own in order to take my dancing to the next level. Sometimes I dance in the kitchen (because I can turn on the tile), but I need more space and a mirror to check out my frame and practice spotting. I’ve decided to use the 24 Hour Fitness aerobics room to go through my salsa drills. I put together a practice playlist for the week, which was a wee bit challenging as I have to find fun songs with a diversity of tempo and transitions. I found myself downloading a slew of Hector Lavoe tunes – how I wish that I had discovered salsa in the 80s. In any case, these are the jams that made the final cut:

Micaela ~ Sonora Carruseles
Yo no se manana ~ Luis Enrique
Lloraras ~ Oscar D’Leon (mi papa… jejeje)
Rebelion ~ Joe Arroyo
He tratado ~ Victor Manuelle
Que locura enamorarme de ti ~ Eddie Santiago
Pedro Navaja ~ Ruben Blades
Brujeria ~ El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico
Se le ve ~ Andy Montanez y Daddy Yankee
Calle luna calle sol ~ Hector Lavoe
Un monton de estrellas ~ Gilberto Santa Rosa

(note: I’m too lazy to look for letters with acentos y tildes at this late hour)

In addition to salsa, I’m looking forward to a fun-filled weekend of kizomba. This beautiful couple will be hosting a workshop at Century Ballroom.

We’re lucky that we have an active kizomba community here in Seattle with some seasoned dancers that are great at networking. I fell in love with kizomba earlier this year. While salsa dancing is very structured and disciplined, kizomba is a bit more sensual and flojo (I don’t really pick my feet up off of the floor). The music draws me in because it is reminiscent of 90s R&B and is mostly sung in Portuguese. I’ve been studying Portuguese via Rosetta Stone so that I can understand what the hell that they are saying.

It is safe to say that dance has taken over my life in a positive way. When all else fails, I can count on the joy that I feel when I lose myself in music.