How I
Started
Dancing Salsa
After being asked countless times,
I’ve decided to tell my story. Here are the facts
for those of you who
haven’t been around the salsa scene for very long
and unaware but
curious of the history of how I started dancing.
Hope you find it
entertaining and inspiring!
I was dragged to a salsa club one
fateful night in late 2000 by a friend after
languishing at home after a
bad relationship break-up. “Salsa, what is that I
said to my friend?
It’s a dip isn’t it”? I walked through those doors
and was instantly
overwhelmed by that sweet sexy music, oozing passion
and energy with
every note and mesmerized by what the dancers were
doing on the floor.
It was like I was struck by a bolt of lightning. I
was awakened. I was
hooked.
So for about 2 months or so I
searched very carefully for an instructor to
properly introduce to me
this beautiful dance we call Salsa. In the mean time
I was doing all I
could to educate myself on the history, various
styles and evolution of
this genre of dance. I needed an instructor to
inspire me. Someone who’s
very moves on the floor would excite me to yell out
“I want HIM to be
my instructor, I want to dance like him”!
And so it happened.
One night as I stood by the bar
blissfully enjoying that seductive music but once
again frustrated, as I
was forced to be a non-participant of the euphoria
the dancers were
enjoying on the dance-floor, I noticed the dancers
were beginning to
clear away for a couple who were attracting a lot of
attention. As the
crowds parted, the couple emerged. She - was a good
dancer, HE - was
outstanding! His moves were refined, crisp and
smooth. He did
out-of-this-world moves I’ve never seen before. They
danced like it was
their last chance to ever dance again! I was
aw-struck. People around
them cheered. He had them in the palm of his hand.
Then I said it, “I
want HIM to be my instructor, I want to dance like
him”!
His name is Nicco Kuc, who in my
opinion was the best salsa dancer in Perth at the
time and unfortunately
now resides in Melbourne. Like me, he quit his job
and is now a
professional dancer and promoter, well respected in
the dancing circles
over there. To this day, I am proud to say that
Nicco Kuc is the
gentleman who taught me to dance salsa and help me
lay the foundation to
a successful dance career by fanning the flames that
were already
rapidly spreading! Happy to say we’ve been friends
ever since.
And that, my friends, is how I
began
this wonderful journey. When Nicco left Perth, I
travelled overseas to
do private lessons and classes with the some of the
best salsa dancers
in the world today like Alex Da Silva , Edie “The
Salsa Freak” Lewis,
James Cobo and Italian salsa group Tropical Gem - to
name a few of my
favourite dancers. It’s a constant learning process
and I’m always
discovering new things about the dance and the
music. Hopefully, YOU
have been bitten by the proverbial salsa bug and on
the verge of
starting this trip. Come away with me and allow me
to share this pure
passion with you. As I've always said - “ The Music Will Seduce You, The Dance Will Possess
You”!
Chris De Souza
Mission Statement:
" To spread the word of salsa through the
sharing of knowledge and beauty of it's dance and music " |
