Not just two months dancing in Cali

**Warning - long soppy post ahead**

The nickname I gave this trip was "Meet, Play, Love". While yes it was bit of a joke, it also summed up nicely what I hoped to gain. What I wasn’t expecting was to find it all in Cali... here’s my story…

In case you've never seen it, Julia Roberts in "Eat, Pray, Love"

I knew I wanted to do some dancing in Colombia. I knew it was famous for salsa, especially in Cali. However, I'd never heard of bachata. I met someone in Bogota who said she loves it more than salsa and I was intrigued.

I flew to Cali a few days later and enrolled in private classes at Salsa Pura dance school, starting with a couple lessons each of salsa and bachata to test the waters.

Salsa Pura dance school

Walking in the doors the first few days I felt intimidated and shy. My first few classes were incredibly frustrating (along with many more along the way to be honest haha). The basic step of bachata didn't come easily to me. Your hips go one way, shoulders and arms another. I felt stupid and annoyed at myself. The teachers kept reassuring me that it's normal at the start but part of me wanted to quit already. Salsa was a little easier to pick up but I really liked the flow and style of bachata more so decided to focus my private lessons on bachata. This is somewhat of a crime because Cali is the salsa capital but I learnt enough salsa to dance the basics while out at discotecas so I was okay with it.

Lucia, my main teacher

The two biggest challenges for me of learning bachata were trying to follow and confidence.

All my previous dance experience was solo or in groups. I could drill the routine to memorise it, master it and feel confident. But with bachata there's hundreds of moves and the lead decides the sequence. The signals are mostly given through the hands and some of the signals are very similar to each other. I felt on edge trying to anticipate what was coming which is NOT what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to relax and FEEL it… to FEEL the CONNECTION. It was extremely hard letting go of control and just going with it.

Dalia - her saying was "hmmm suspicious"

I found it very vulnerable to dance with a partner as a beginner dancer. But you literally have to learn by dancing with people. Of course, everyone has to start somewhere but it always felt so scary to dance knowing I will inevitably make mistakes (hellooo perfectionist!). The only time this fear subsided was the few times I had a couple drinks at social events. Those were my best dances by far.

The ever smiley Mayra

My teachers were so awesome. They giggled with me and tried to help me relax when my body wouldn’t do what my brain was telling it. One of my teachers, Didi, could see how much my lack of confidence was holding me back and he tried to gently push me past it by dancing quite fast without stopping after mistakes. By the end of the two months, my confidence had grown a lot and I’m excited to keep growing it.

Didier (Didi), one of the Directors and always so much fun

Another awesome thing about dancing in Cali was the sense of community. At the many events or social nights, many faces (both tourists and locals) become familiar and over time I got more confident talking to them. I felt like I was starting to come out of my shell in the last few weeks which made leaving really hard. I also cemented my travel buddy Sarah through our love of dancing, another connection I am grateful for. Plus Salsa Pura became such a fond and familiar place. I will never forget the superstar receptionist who was always so friendly and happy to help. How she managed so many diaries is beyond me (there were something like 8 teachers and hundreds of students, 6 days a week of scheduling!).

The wonderful Monica! Such a beautiful soul <3

Lastly, one of the surprising things I discovered about dancing, is how it forces you to be present in the moment. You really have to focus on what you’re doing and what your partner is signaling (that was my experience anyway!). There’s no time to worry about the past or the future. Imagine going out dancing for 4-5 hours and not even thinking about your phone except for a few snaps of course! It was awesome!

So, I met awesome people, experienced so much joyful play through dance and felt renewed love of life (and of course, myself).

Sometimes when you discover a new hobby, it isn’t just about the skill you learn. I will be forever grateful for these two months dancing in Cali and everything it gave me on a personal level. A huge thank you to Salsa Pura (especially Mayra, Maikol, Lucia, Dalia, Didi and Moni) and all the lovely people I met along the way.

See you in July ;)

A sign in the bathrooms at Salsa Pura... Dream, Dance, Love, Live, Laugh, Travel