No TV Weekend: Couples find their rhythm at Salsa workshops
People who had always believed they had two left feet were left pleasantly surprised on Friday, as they picked up saucy salsa moves at a workshop held in Thane.
People who had always believed they had two left feet were left pleasantly surprised on Friday, as they picked up saucy salsa moves at a workshop held in Thane.
From stepping on each other’s toes to tuning into the other’s rhythm, the couples had a morning full of foot-tapping and Latin music, bringing in the HT No TV weekend in style.
The workshop was conducted by Chetan Bhayani and Namrata Pokar.
Bhayani began by explaining the nuances of salsa and the basic moves.
“Salsa is all about grace. There is no verbal communication, partners must follow each others’ signals,” he said. “Salsa works best when you let yourself go with the flow of the rhythm. If you think about it, the momentum is lost.”
The participants began with simple foot-tapping exercises — first one foot, then the other.
“We’ve never done anything like this before,” said a giggling Nandita Sawant, 41, a teacher, who was on the floor with her husband. “It’s a good way to spend quality time with each other. We are planning to rope in our children for the next session and turn it into family fun.”
Also on the floor were bashful couples who were certain that the fancy twirls were out of their reach. Happily, they were proven wrong.
“I never thought I would be able to master the grace and technique of salsa at this age, but I am clearly a better dancer than I thought,” said homemaker Varsha Ogle, 45, chuckling. “The truth is, I loved to dance but never got the time to take a class, what with housekeeping and caring for my children. I had studied Bollywood and folk dance as a girl, but I was scared to even come here because I was so out of practice. This workshop has reminded me of my old hobby.”