About Walter - Becoming a Salsero
Hi and thanks for visiting my blog.
I am Walter. I'll be your host today.
Born and raised in Amsterdam I have made my way to a tiny little village on the coast of Holland. I took a bit of a detour getting there though as I went via London (UK), Almere (NL), several towns in Luxembourg (L) and Igel (DE) .
Here is the short version of how I got into dancing (for the longer version click this link instead)
I first learned dancing when I was still a wee boy. My mom was a former A class ballroom dancer in the Netherlands and she thought that dancing was a basic skill that everybody should learn.
Maybe it is just because I heard it so often but I agree. Dancing is great fun and aside from that it has great health benefits. But as you found my blog you probably agree.
When I became a teenager I stopped dancing altogether though. Instead I focused on martial arts which I enjoyed doing for over a decade. Looking back it is amazing how many similarities there are between the two. Even though I did not realize it at the time I guess I never really stopped dancing until I was 26.
Then came nothing. For a for a couple of years anyway. I made use of all the usual excuses. "I have too much work", "my partner does not want to go", "I don't have time" etc.
Then about 6 or 7 years ago, I saw a couple dance salsa. I have been hooked ever since even though it took me a long while to get started properly I am now on my way to becoming a Salsero.
How long is 'a while?
Well, after 4 tries over a period of 6 -7 years I managed to finally finish my beginner's class in spring of 2008. That is 'a while' ;-). I am glad that I did eventually go through with it though as now I am having lots of fun again. That said, "beginner's hell" was just that, hell. But like everybody else I have made it through and now am now enjoying dancing again.
If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or email me at becomingasalsero@googlemail.com
But tell me, who are you?
I am Walter. I'll be your host today.
Born and raised in Amsterdam I have made my way to a tiny little village on the coast of Holland. I took a bit of a detour getting there though as I went via London (UK), Almere (NL), several towns in Luxembourg (L) and Igel (DE) .
Here is the short version of how I got into dancing (for the longer version click this link instead)
I first learned dancing when I was still a wee boy. My mom was a former A class ballroom dancer in the Netherlands and she thought that dancing was a basic skill that everybody should learn.
Maybe it is just because I heard it so often but I agree. Dancing is great fun and aside from that it has great health benefits. But as you found my blog you probably agree.
When I became a teenager I stopped dancing altogether though. Instead I focused on martial arts which I enjoyed doing for over a decade. Looking back it is amazing how many similarities there are between the two. Even though I did not realize it at the time I guess I never really stopped dancing until I was 26.
Then came nothing. For a for a couple of years anyway. I made use of all the usual excuses. "I have too much work", "my partner does not want to go", "I don't have time" etc.
Then about 6 or 7 years ago, I saw a couple dance salsa. I have been hooked ever since even though it took me a long while to get started properly I am now on my way to becoming a Salsero.
How long is 'a while?
Well, after 4 tries over a period of 6 -7 years I managed to finally finish my beginner's class in spring of 2008. That is 'a while' ;-). I am glad that I did eventually go through with it though as now I am having lots of fun again. That said, "beginner's hell" was just that, hell. But like everybody else I have made it through and now am now enjoying dancing again.
If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or email me at becomingasalsero@googlemail.com
But tell me, who are you?
Hi Walter:
I'm sitting here, over in S.Korea where I teach English now, waiting for somebody to visit me in my VoIP conference room. I don't suppose you'll see this comment in the next hour but I plan on being 'in here' until 11pm our time.
If you or anybody who reads your excellent blog would like to pop in and test the cool new web conferencing tool with me, it would be great.
Go to http://atw4.vereconference.com
Log in using your name as the ID and the word 'guest' as Password.
Once you're in, it'll be pretty clear what to do. You can talk to me, see my browser, record it, and even draw on the white board.
Matter of fact, something we ought to do soon is meet, in here sometime, and you can talk about your salsa scene over there. I'll be able to upload the MP3 of it onto my Audio Acrobat audio player and put it on my blog for the world to learn more about your community over there.
Note: go up to 'file' and you can record it on your computer too.
Best regards,
Art Williams
the WanderingSalsero
p.s. thanks for putting me on your blogroll. Your site is a bit more advance than mine with that kind of stuff I think.