Lisa McGuire

Probably I was introduced to salsa in '99. Most of you know the fabulous Sylvia - we all want to dance like she does when we're her age. Well, she introduced me to Latin Night at the Jazz Kitchen.

The salsa scene sure was different then. There were very few Anglos at the Jazz Kitchen. It was the only place to go at the time, at least that we knew of. Most of the dancers didn't speak English. If they wanted to dance, they just held out their hand and waited.

I loved the music; it was so energetic and uplifting! And the Latin women dressed up in feminine looking clothes. This was a far better scene than places like the Vogue, where people in flip flops, tee shirts and jeans kind of rocked back and forth to depressing music while slugging beer out of the bottle.

Then salsa came into vogue on the American scene and younger Anglos started coming to the clubs and learning to dance it. The first dance studio to teach real salsa, Red Brick, opened. Yang and Erin were involved in teaching there, and eventually opened their own studio, IntoSalsa. There were other clubs having Latin dance nights and the scene just grew.

It's great to come out and know there will be other people who love to dance at the various locales. With some fellow dancers, we become friends outside of dance world. With others, we connect only in our dance world, but appreciate being in the moment together.

Many people have thought Erin to be my daughter (the nice ones say I could be her older sister), so we've had some fun with that. Many of my hoochie dance outfits have been relegated to her closet - she is younger and thinner.

A few remarks in closing: Let us all share the joy of moving to music. Be gracious and remember where you came from; the place of not knowing. Try to say yes when asked to dance as it takes courage to risk being turned down. Be respectful by not overdancing either a partner's current ability, or the floor space available to all. Know that you, I and all other dancers want to be in the same head space; losing oneself by going to the place of being lyrically beautiful and strong through the act of dancing.

Love and gratitude to everyone in Dance World!