Thursday, August 31, 2006
We got our first comment - well actually a comment and a question for Dancing Blonde. So, I will answer it.
Funny how this works, 3 of us were out dancing and I have just returned now. Dancing here in the DR is a national passtime. For those of us women originally from North America, it is frustrating the lack of men to dance with. Not so here in the Dominican Republic. It is culturally ingrained. Little boys and girls from a very early age are dancing up a storm.
It is the exception to find a man here who cannot dance! What a joy for Dancing Blonde, that's me.......LOL Tonight I lived up to my name. First let me set the stage. Iwent with Bathroom blogging blonde and another blonde who will guest blog at a later date. We arrived at approximately 8:45 at a local club. It is a fairly large club, La Canita. It was recently refurbished and re opened about 4 weeks ago. They play amazing salsa and attract a fairly large salsa dance crowd. It always attracts attention when we walk in - 3 blondes.
The dance floor is in the middle of the club and seats are arranged all around. The walls are actually 1/2 walls and allow for some air flow with a full ceiling (didn't used to be full) We usually try to get there early enough to find a table right under a fan. That is the best. The seats are plastic and you either have a short square plastic table or a slightly higher round wood table. Spare no expense here......LOL
Drinks are almost always the following: a small bottle of Brugal White Rum (12 ounces), a bottle of 7 up, a bottle of Pepsi and a carton of orange juice. The price 240 pesos or about $8 US. This would do me for about a week!
Once we sit the fun begins. For those of you reading who know Dancing Blonde, I go dancing 3 times a week. It is my excercise, my stress reliever and man it is just damn fun! The other two hardly dance at all. In fact the non blogging blonde only dances in her chair, rarely gets up on the dance floor.......
Well I dance to everything. The evening will follow a music pattern. 5 to 8 merengues, 5 to 8 bachattas, 4 to 6 salsas and then 2 reggaeton (yuck). Merengue got its start in this country and is definately the most favoured and the easiest to dance to. Dance lesson: one two. repeat......LOL Throw in some turns and you are good!
Bachatta is a little harder and can be quite complicated depending who your partner is. It is great fun.
My favourite is Salsa!!! And at La Canita they will play 4 or 5 or 6 in a row. The other clubs you are lucky to get 2 or 3. And I have plenty of partners to dance with.
In answer to Anonymous's questions. They don't dance on the 1 or the 2, they just dance. Heck some of them don't even dance salsa but they think they are dancing salsa........ it is some version of mambo.
So, salsa in this country is danced backwards! Yup backwards. In North America and most of Europe salsa - for women - the basic is danced right foot back, left foot forward. In this country it is dance right foot forward , left foot back.
That might not seem like such a big deal. Well trust me it is. I have had highly proficient male dancers (foreigners) say to me - the women here can't dance and they tell me I can't.... well they dance backwards. Basically everything goes the opposite way of what you would have learned elsewhere in the world. I have learned to adapt.
Actually I am pretty good, if I do say so. Well it is quite the neat deal for me to be a foreigner, blonde and good dancer here. I love it.
Tonight I danced lots and lots. It is quite hot and humid here this time of year, probably 82 F still while I was dancing. Air conditioning you ask............?? NO just fans. By the time Iam done for the night, I am soaking wet. But happy.
So there you go. Hopefully soon we will get Bathroom Blogging Blonde to tell us all about the bathrooms at La Canita.......
For anyone who wants a dance lesson - come on down....................
Funny how this works, 3 of us were out dancing and I have just returned now. Dancing here in the DR is a national passtime. For those of us women originally from North America, it is frustrating the lack of men to dance with. Not so here in the Dominican Republic. It is culturally ingrained. Little boys and girls from a very early age are dancing up a storm.
It is the exception to find a man here who cannot dance! What a joy for Dancing Blonde, that's me.......LOL Tonight I lived up to my name. First let me set the stage. Iwent with Bathroom blogging blonde and another blonde who will guest blog at a later date. We arrived at approximately 8:45 at a local club. It is a fairly large club, La Canita. It was recently refurbished and re opened about 4 weeks ago. They play amazing salsa and attract a fairly large salsa dance crowd. It always attracts attention when we walk in - 3 blondes.
The dance floor is in the middle of the club and seats are arranged all around. The walls are actually 1/2 walls and allow for some air flow with a full ceiling (didn't used to be full) We usually try to get there early enough to find a table right under a fan. That is the best. The seats are plastic and you either have a short square plastic table or a slightly higher round wood table. Spare no expense here......LOL
Drinks are almost always the following: a small bottle of Brugal White Rum (12 ounces), a bottle of 7 up, a bottle of Pepsi and a carton of orange juice. The price 240 pesos or about $8 US. This would do me for about a week!
Once we sit the fun begins. For those of you reading who know Dancing Blonde, I go dancing 3 times a week. It is my excercise, my stress reliever and man it is just damn fun! The other two hardly dance at all. In fact the non blogging blonde only dances in her chair, rarely gets up on the dance floor.......
Well I dance to everything. The evening will follow a music pattern. 5 to 8 merengues, 5 to 8 bachattas, 4 to 6 salsas and then 2 reggaeton (yuck). Merengue got its start in this country and is definately the most favoured and the easiest to dance to. Dance lesson: one two. repeat......LOL Throw in some turns and you are good!
Bachatta is a little harder and can be quite complicated depending who your partner is. It is great fun.
My favourite is Salsa!!! And at La Canita they will play 4 or 5 or 6 in a row. The other clubs you are lucky to get 2 or 3. And I have plenty of partners to dance with.
In answer to Anonymous's questions. They don't dance on the 1 or the 2, they just dance. Heck some of them don't even dance salsa but they think they are dancing salsa........ it is some version of mambo.
So, salsa in this country is danced backwards! Yup backwards. In North America and most of Europe salsa - for women - the basic is danced right foot back, left foot forward. In this country it is dance right foot forward , left foot back.
That might not seem like such a big deal. Well trust me it is. I have had highly proficient male dancers (foreigners) say to me - the women here can't dance and they tell me I can't.... well they dance backwards. Basically everything goes the opposite way of what you would have learned elsewhere in the world. I have learned to adapt.
Actually I am pretty good, if I do say so. Well it is quite the neat deal for me to be a foreigner, blonde and good dancer here. I love it.
Tonight I danced lots and lots. It is quite hot and humid here this time of year, probably 82 F still while I was dancing. Air conditioning you ask............?? NO just fans. By the time Iam done for the night, I am soaking wet. But happy.
So there you go. Hopefully soon we will get Bathroom Blogging Blonde to tell us all about the bathrooms at La Canita.......
For anyone who wants a dance lesson - come on down....................
