Team sport or social dancing is purported to be great exercise for our brains. We started the paid Salsa course tonight. It certainly feels wholesome, and so, so good cognitively. The people that can lead and the instructors said that it takes time to get the steps, and within a few months of practice it becomes second nature.

I could tell how much progress I have already made when we moved from practicing the step turn back to the basic three steps of this wonderful dance form. It was so rewarding to notice that I have developed muscle memory for those three steps already.

But yeah. it was humbling to observe just how difficult I found it to pick up the first step turn sequence. It made me think later that much of learning is the process and willingness to suck at something at the beginning.

My friend had exactly the same problem, and the instructors were quick to say that everyone was spinning on the third beat rather than the fifth. They also said ‘take your time’, ‘you WILL get this.’

Hopefully, this storming is just part of the process, and with the lessons they are going to send us each day we will be able to practice enough to ‘get’ it! It is especially important to practice alone, since with many of the leads, it was the blind following the blind.

It makes sense, I think. Learn how to make the moves on your own, and THEN dance with someone else.

One of the best motivators is going with a friend. A non negotiable cognitive, social and physical stretch. I am here for it!