I,m impressed ! ( but a falcons fan )

Currently living in the UK since 05.

Worked in Philly on 2 separate occasions...

Thank you terence. If I get back to the UK would love to catch one of your classes and meet you in person! I just want to drool over what I am sure is the most extensive latin music collection in the world.

My music library is not as large as many I know ( mine is very comprehensive and diverse ).

There are several styles of music in the Salsa genre, from Cuban to NY style, and several in between, and its nigh impossible to have the complete range in all styles... I tend to try and cover music, from the classic Cuban 40s thru to todays popular bands and styles .

Many of the salsa bands occasionally add a great Rumba.. Bolero.. Cha Cha, and or Guajira( a great side benefit ) .

. I also have a substantial B/room , R and R, and a small T/Arg. collection .

Good for you Belle, on all fronts!! My dear husband also, did not want me to continue dancing, it became a point of contention. And a sore point at that. Don't give up your passion and do enjoy all the blessings that are on their way!

I figured belleofyourball would have an excellent answer to the original post. On a different note, and as odd as it may sound, it is possible, especially for instructors, to never really do much dancing outside of demonstrating during teaching. The same with golf professionals who operate a public or private course. They rarely play the game for fun or competition.
I have always enjoyed social dancing, though it is getting hard to find a place nearby. It's too hard to drive 90 minutes into the city and fight traffic and parking. Getting too old for that.
Basically, I am happy just working on steps and posture; trying to incorporate something new on a fairly regular basis, and then moonlighting as an instructor when the opportunity presents itself.
I consider it an intriguing, challenging and fun hobby for the most part... and I get to the dance studio for brushups, etc. whenever possible. For instance, I will probably be working on smoothing out my Viennese Waltz until my final days! And yet, it is possible I may never do the dance in a social setting. So, go figure.
Bears fan, if anyone is wondering...and was a sportswriter by trade for many years and still do it as a freelancer on occasion.

I am an exception to that rule ( not social dancing ).. when I last lived in the States ( 5yrs ago ), I was at one period, until the last 2yrs, dancing Salsa 3/4 nites a week .( there were 2 other teachers who were as regular as I ).

The opportunities here are very limited ..

Thanks Belle,
Please do not think that in any way, that I am criticizing. I didn''t know you live so far away from a place to dance. Me, I'm half an hour at most. I think you are awesome, from what I have read you are so dedicated, you put me to shame. Perhaps you can get the fiance into a studio to learn a wedding dance. Sometimes, the hardest part to getting a guy to dance is getting them into a studio.

Ladydance,

I did not feel criticized. I felt like you were curious and trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle. I'm all good with that :~}

I am sure you are dedicated too, you sound very much so and I always appreciate your perspectives.

As for a wedding dance, no. He attempted dancing. He really did. He doesn't like it. It's okay because I don't like to play football

Even after seeing how well the pro football players have done on "Dancing with the Stars" your fiance is not interested?
When I am teaching stubborn members of the male species, the former athletes are usually the best, and they can relate to some of the movements being similar to the sport they played.
However, former hockey players are usually tricky. One once told me that there was "too much thinking" going on in ballroom dancing. I asked if he did any thinking while playing hockey, hoping he'd see how silly his comment was. But he said, "No, if I stopped to think, I'd get killed out there." So I didn't have an answer to that one.
But, hey, to each his own. I certainly can see where ballroom dancing would not be everyone's cup of tea.
I like it because of its high degree of difficulty and its fascinating and numerous layers (steps). It is more complex and has more to offer than so many of the other sports I have played or written about in the past 35 years or so.
I grew up in an era (and a family) in which dancing and boxing were favorites. Odd mix at first glance, but they have a lot of similarities.

dheun,

I love boxing. I am a huge fan so I can see the similarities.

I think that a lot of pro sports really prepare people for dance because it conditions their core and sharpens kinesthetic awareness on a number of levels. The problem with football is that it isn't really an endurance sport whereas ballroom really can be. Guys like Jerry Rice, Jason Williams and Emmitt Smith, they are runners. They have the skills and the endurance that many of the men don't. My fiance was one of the brutes whose sole job in life was to tromp other men into the ground. He can't get through fifteen minutes of very basic dance without having to sit down. He has too much muscle and even though he runs there is just something about the movement in ballroom that kicks his butt.

I have to admit that he and Charles Barkley spent three hours at dinner one night pulverizing one of the guys who had done DWTS and so if he ever danced he'd never hear the end of it.