It seems that over the last 1 - 2 years, I have become a "rebellious" participant in the majority of salsa classes that I've taken. While I don't try to be disruptive or troublesome to the instructor, or to my partner, I oftentimes find myself "doing things my way" in a class or lesson. Out of respect for my fellow participants and for the instructor, I always get or stay in the back of the class during lessons. However, when it comes time to "pair up" and practice the routine/pattern just taught, it becomes a bit trying for my partner because she wants me to mirror the routine/pattern exactly as it was taught. Unfortunately, it is against my nature to do it "that way". I always feel compelled to take and use the parts of the routine/pattern that compliments my style of dancing....that resonates with me; I don't believe in mirroring anyone else's approach to a move, pattern/routine because its not me...my spirit can't own it (if that makes sense).

I believe that salsa (and all dance) classes are important because they teach us "THE DANCE". By that I mean that these classes give us the basic footwork, the basic turns, the basic steps that drive the dance and that make us "good leaders". I know that this might sound like simple "semantics", but dance classes aren't designed to teach us "HOW TO DANCE". The "how to dance" is very individualized and comes from our unique experience with the beats and rhythms of the music. It is what happens when a specific instrument makes a specific sound that strikes a specific cord in your essence and leads you to make a very specific move, step, twitch, etc. It is a response that is "uniquely and all yours".

Unfortunately, it appears to me that dance instructors often overstep their bounds and not only teach us "THE DANCE", but attempt to teach us "HOW TO DANCE LIKE THEM". Really!!!!! In a unconscious way, many instructors CLONE their students to hear what they hear, to have the beats and rhythms resonate with their students as they resonate with their own spirit, have the students respond to the music as they respond to the music, etc. Isn't this a possible explanation for why so many students have a very low "dance-esteem" or "dance-concept". How often do we hear the statement...."I can't dance well; I can't dance like my instructor". While I'm sure that there are those out there who are "dance-challenged", we were never meant to "dance like our instructors" because we are not them....we are not their clones....we have not had the experiences (life and dance) that shaped them.....we are our own uniquely, individualized, selves. Though we may all know the same fundamentals, our individual personalities will resort in our dance looking like that of only one other person.....ourselves.

Again, being fair to instructors (who are very skilled at what they do), I'm not 100% sure that their intention is to produce their own "dance clones", but you can see it in every club that you attend. Not only is the dance style mimicked, but you can also see students mimicking the instructor's dress and their attitude. Man, that is really going "over the edge". Dance students, it is really time to put things in perspective. Learn the "basics", but find YOUR essence and be who YOU are on the dance floor. At that point, you will acquire a far deeper appreciation of the dance (and of the music) and you will find yourself and your spirit transcending to a higher level of physical, mental and spiritual fulfillment/satisfaction/enjoyment by salsa.