The Thankful Project: November 20th

The Thankful Project: November 20th: Salsa Dancing

I never expected to fall in love, but I did. It happened so fast that I didn’t even know it was happening. Yet, almost four years later and I’m still madly in love. Latin dancing started off as a hobby and quickly became a passion and a way of life. Now if you would’ve told me in college that I would be dancing it up on the dance floor to music I can’t understand, in 4-inch heels, into the early hours of the morning I would have surely told you that you had the wrong Katlin. I’m way too shy for such things. I’m way too old-souled for such things (I go to bed around 9:00 usually). However there’s something magical about putting on a pair of strappy salsa heels, a flowy skirt and social dancing for four or five hours.

My introduction to salsa dancing was as about random as it gets. I was at the gym one day and there was a flyer for free beginner salsa dance lessons that evening; it would be a 6-week introductory course and open to all. Now what possessed super-shy me to get the courage to go ALONE to such a thing…it must’ve been God knowing I needed that creative outlet because let me tell you, that is NOT like me. Well it turns out that my university had flown in this latin dance guy from Italy who barely spoke any English, and paid him to instruct this 6-week seminar, and then he’d go back to Italy. So odd. Well, all it took was that one lesson and I was hooked. Only problem, there was nowhere to dance in Boone, North Carolina so after 6-weeks I stopped dancing and figured that was that.

God works in mysterious ways guys. Flash forward three years and  I find myself living in England completely alone and randomly decide to try ballroom dancing. While at my first ever ballroom lesson, a girl approached me and asked if I’d be interested in taking salsa classes. I went, mysteriously remembered everything that Italian instructor had taught me, and that evening I was in a car driving to some salsa-club outside of London. I’ll never forget it, The Jaguar Club, it was packed with dancers from all across England; a two-roomed Latin club packed with a couple hundred people. From that night on, I was hooked and salsa dancing no longer was a random thing I had learned in college, it was a way of being and breathing. I was a dancer.

I’m so thankful for the crazy and (what seemed) random encounters that led me to the Latin dance world. I can’t even begin to explain how dull my life seems without dance. I love the culture, the atmosphere, the community and the beauty of dance. Salsa dancing is more than high heels, flashy turn patterns, sweaty bodies and the music- it’s an unraveling of the soul; an emotional experience in which you leave a piece of your story on the dance floor but take away a morsel of the beauty and art that our bodies create without he necessity of words. You walk away with life pulsing through your veins, an understanding of the raw beauty of the world, and an admiration for the simplicity of leaving it all on the dance floor.

Keele Salsa Extravaganza

Last night was our Keele Salsa Extravaganza, where I did my first ever salsa performance with the girls. Eek! 

Dancing the Weekend Away

It’s been a dancing-kind of weekend, which is how I’d love to spend every single weekend if I could. On Thursday I went with my three new salsa-family friends to Liverpool to this cool salsa club-bar and danced the night away in a very Havana-Cuban-like style club; I loved it. Liverpool is about an hour away, so we got back to town around three in the morning, and I had to be up for a lecture on Friday morning. I knew I’d be sore and tired, but it was absolutely worth it.

Friday! Officially the weekend. I had my history seminar and although we even got done early, I swear it was the longest 45-minutes of my life; I didn’t think he’d ever stop talking. However, the professor is absolutely precious!! He is so British, I can’t even stand it. He is a short, white, balding man with an adorable British accent and wears circular-spectacles that have a slight tint of yellow. The class is Anglo-Saxon England History which, hopefully, will be interesting because he is obviously very passionate about the subject! However, the seminar was enough to send me off into dreamland. Friday afternoon was spent working on much neglected reading until I had to go to salsa lessons that evening. Can I just say, that I really do love the salsa family- they’ve all been so kind and welcoming and are absolutely CRAZY but it makes everything just that much better. In salsa the instructor taught the basic steps and we attempted a rueda dance which, how do I explain it, kind of like circular salsa dancing with other couples. My beautiful friends, Jaz and Yas taught the classes and I think they did beautifully!

Then at the last minute I decided to go with some of the gang to a salsa club that evening in Manchester, as this particular club only hosts something like three times a year. We ran out of salsa lessons, hopped in the cars, and off we went. I really think half of the fun with the salsa gang is the drives there-and-back, because they have some of the funniest stories to tell; plus they try to help me speak “English”. It was another great night of salsa and another late night (or early morning, depending on how you put it) at 4 a.m.

Saturday morning was epically rough, as I had a bus ticket leaving at 8 a.m. for York! Ugh, after 3 hours of sleep I groggily got up at 7 and somehow managed to look presentable, walk to campus, and catch the bus with my friend Bella for a day in York. HOWEVER, what they neglected to tell us was that although York is roughly about a 2-hour drive, it would take the bus 4 hours to get there because they stop half-way through for a 45-minute break at some random rest area. Bella and I couldn’t believe that we were sitting in a random rest area in the middle of England when we were supposed to be in York! Luckily we both partially slept on the bus, no thanks to the obnoxious girl three rows up who kept saying “Give me any word, and I can make it dirty in a different language”; after four hours I think both of us were ready to get off that bus!

Salsa Weekend

Good morning everyone!! It was an absolutely beautiful morning walk to the gym this morning at half past seven; the sun was just starting to take away the dew on the ground, I swear every bird in the countryside was singing, and there wasn’t a soul in sight. It was definitely a brisk morning walk to the gym, but it felt refreshingly good. The dew was still saturating the ground, and nature was just stirring, even the cows in the pasture were moving slowly this morning. If I could have picked a song to play at that particular moment it would have been the composition “Dawn” from the 2005 adaption of Pride & Prejudice. It was perfectly tranquil and still.

This afternoon I had a lecture, UN Politics, and now I’m waiting for the seminar to begin. Needless to say, I am one of the only Americans in the course and it is quite funny to hear their interpretation of the United State’s role in the UN, government, and just ‘Americans’ in general…I think I’ll keep my lips sealed :) 

Oh, yesterday I spent the afternoon in Hanley and Newcastle with Bella, and we had a delightful late-lunch at some cute cafe in Newcastle. Then we went to PRIMARK, which is kind of like an H&M clothing store and to Wilkinsons, a Target-type store. I finally bought a lamp for my bedroom and a few things to make it more cozy, quite exciting!

This afternoon I plan on heading into Newcastle to buy some essential items such as a “Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake” poster and a local cell phone so I can actually get in contact with other British students! Afterwards I’m planning on cooking one of my first meals since I’ve arrived in England- grilled salmon on a bed of arugula with a balsamic dressing. I’ve discovered that I can not solely exist on pita, peanut butter, and apples so at my parents insisting I forget about how ridiculously expensive it is to eat here and buy real food. Everyone in my block cooks all the time though- even the boys, and like it’s GOOD food. Spaghetti bolognese, beef-and-broccoli stir fry, homemade pies, fajitas, stew and soups…like these boys really know how to cook, it’s quite fascinating. We end up spending most of our time in the kitchen, just hanging out anyways, so it works out nicely. I tried my first Banoffee Pie yesterday courtesy of Liam and it was absolutely delicious. Banoffee is kind of a combination a banana cream pie and banana fosters; quite delicious. 

Tonight kicks off my salsa dancing weekend and I’m already stoked! I’m going to be dancing the weekend away by kicking off my time in Liverpool. I’ll be staying close to university tomorrow night, heading to Birmingham on Saturday, and then to Stoke on Sunday. Can’t wait to get my dancing shoes on :)

Cheers