About the Dance Class Challenge

I belonged against the wall at clubs and school dances.

But having three left feet didn’t stop me from watching what I considered “good” dancing: So You Think You Can Dance was the only show I followed on TV.

With the advent of daily deal sites, I started giving dancing a shot as an adult. Buying unlimited month passes to various Vancouver studios let me get a taste of different dances. But I always had to leave just as I was starting to not completely suck at a dance style. I HAD to leave to use the other deals I’d bought. :P

I discovered salsa and ballroom dancing last summer at Robson Square. And I learned that I can follow a good leader pretty well (at least in partner dancing).

Two months ago, I started taking proper salsa dancing lessons at World Dance Co., a dance studio with classes taught by World Champion salsa dancer Diego Sanchez and members of his professional dance company, Grupo America. Among other classes, the studio offers eight levels of salsa, and while taking Salsa Levels 1 and 2 concurrently there, as well as other dance classes, I saw my dancing become two to three times better than it had been previously.

In two months, I got rid of a pesky bounce in my salsa step that I feared would never go away, incorporated smooth salsa hips into my step, and learned the most essential salsa moves.

I was only supposed to stay the two months and then move on to other deals, but I decided I couldn’t leave, after falling in love with a Zouk class they offer, and starting a spinning class that promises I will be able to spin by myself at least three times (maybe even four times!) in a row by the end of two months. Since I can’t stand to leave, I have come to a decision, and one of the biggest commitments I’ve ever made in my life:

If football players and actors can learn the quick step a la Dancing with the Stars and ballerinas can transform into Krumpers via So You Think You Can Dance,
I want to see how much an ordinary girl like me (with no childhood or teenage dance training) can accomplish in one year of dance training.