I would define chips and salsa as a main food group. I might also include guacamole and cheese dip (or queso, for you Texans) in that group. Really, I'm not kidding. Chips with salsa (or other wonderful salty toppings) is the holy grail of all snacks. In my household, there is always an endless supply of tortilla chips. If there aren't at least two family-sized bags of Tostitos Scoops, something is seriously wrong. My roommates and I religiously eat them. Whether it's nachos on movie night, or one of us needs some comfort food, chips and salsa is the perfect way to say "Hola, te amo. ¿Querias estar contenta?"(look it up).
Regardless of my endless love for salsa, I have recently found that there is more to that word than the mere spicy tomato and pepper sauce.
I found myself stumped this week when trying to find a cheap thrill. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of ideas (I have quite the extensive list, just you wait!), but none we're speaking to me in the moment. So, while leaving the library one day, I grabbed a Flagpole newspaper. I brought it home, grabbed a highlighter and some chips and salsa, and browsed through it at my desk. Boom. There it was. Salsa dance lessons. Sold!
That's right. This week, I went salsa dancing in Athens. I imagined I would look something like this:
Well, let me tell you, I did.
Kidding! Kind of...
So, where does one go salsa dancing in Athens on a Wednesday night for only ten dollars? Read the Athens Flagpole newspaper, and you might find out that SALSAthens hosts salsa dance lessons every Wednesday night at Little Kings Shuffle Club. The offer sounded too good to pass up, so I decided to go for it.
I have never danced salsa, but I danced and cheered when I was younger so I figured I couldn't be all that bad. Of course, there was no way I was going at this alone, so I dragged my friend Kathryn to it with me (you are a saint, woman). We walked into Little Kings Shuffle Club, timid and not knowing what to expect. In we walk, only to find a group of very talented, intimidating dancers, salsa-ing their lives away. I mean, these dancers were amazing. I nearly had a heart attack. I thought that we had arrived early, but had we confused the time? Was I supposed to have pre-watched salsa tutorial YouTube videos? Was I supposed to know how to dip, flip, bend, turn, and shake like these people? Am I a life failure?
Lo and behold, I was mistaken. The intermediate/advanced class happened to be finishing up their class right before ours would commence. Hazaah! I was no longer a life failure. Kathryn and I proceeded to the check-in desk where we paid ten dollars for the class, and found out that a drink was also included in the package. We were easily the youngest people in the club so far, and needed something to ease the tension. We meandered over to the bar to get a glass of wine, and I noticed that one of the advanced dancers looked oddly familiar, but disregarded it and continued on with Kathryn.
Some time later, an instructor starts playing music and everyone jumps in. Mildly confused and flustered, Kathryn and I set down our glasses and jumped in, having absolutely no idea what on earth we were doing. The instructor started yelling out random words and phrases and people would yell, clap, and turn while dancing. Meanwhile, Kathryn and I are bumping into every human in sight. We both looked at each other in a bit of a panic, wondering when the actual "instructing" process was supposed to happen, praying it would be soon. Luckily, the song finished and everyone gathered to listen to the instructor.
Thankfully, she split us up based on past salsa experience. Even more thankfully, Kathryn and I weren't the only beginners. The beginners group would be instructed by Daniel, one of the dancers from the advanced class. As we split up into our groups and met our instructors, it hit me. Daniel was not just an above-average salsa dancer. He was also my predictive modeling and optimization professor from last semester. We even took a picture.
I must say that I did draw some similarities between his math teaching styles and his salsa teaching styles, but as you can imagine the material was a tad different. Daniel (or Dr. Yanosky, as I used to call him) taught us all about the different styles and types of salsa dancing. During our class, we learned about Cuban (or casino) salsa dancing, which is different from the ever-popular l.a. style salsa dancing. I learned how to do the guapea step, enchufla, vuelta, and dile que no. I would try to explain all of these cool moves to you but there are two things stopping me: a) it's super top secret, you'll have to show up and find out on Wednesday nights, and b) it's entirely too complicated and over my head for me to explain all of that via this blog. I would need some form of a 3D online diagram.
While you might be cringing at the thought of dancing and learning salsa with my professor, I can assure you it really wasn't half bad. I can honestly say that I had I a ball (or a fiesta), and that I might even be back Little Kings Shuffle Club next Wednesday at 7:30. Everyone that I met was unbelievably kind, even if they were twenty and thirty years older than me. I learned everyones names, and was approached countless times being encouraged to join other Latin American dance groups and clubs all around Athens. I even tried joining the Latin Athens Facebook group. Apparently they are a great time.
While Little Kings doesn't maintain a large profile on social media accounts, they are not obsolete. Instead, they maintain the townie/classic city/hipster appeal, and don't necessarily care to appeal to the student crowds. As of August 2015, Little Kings Shuffle Club officially began prohibiting anyone under the age of 25 to enter on Friday and Saturday nights, in order to maintain a more established, tidier profile. They are frequently written about in the flagpole Athens newspaper, and also post regularly to their Facebook page, hosting many different events throughout the course of the year.
So, my friends, I will leave you with these final words. Are you sitting on your couch? Are you eating chips and salsa? Is it Wednesday? If you answered yes to any of the above then I highly recommend that you get off that couch, and get salsa-ing! You can even bring the chips and salsa with you. Grab a friend, and spend that ten dollars on a great time and some good dancing (instead of the Wendy's you know you don't need anyways). Here is a picture of Kathryn and I being adventurous and trying new things. I hope it inspires you.
I have never danced salsa, but I danced and cheered when I was younger so I figured I couldn't be all that bad. Of course, there was no way I was going at this alone, so I dragged my friend Kathryn to it with me (you are a saint, woman). We walked into Little Kings Shuffle Club, timid and not knowing what to expect. In we walk, only to find a group of very talented, intimidating dancers, salsa-ing their lives away. I mean, these dancers were amazing. I nearly had a heart attack. I thought that we had arrived early, but had we confused the time? Was I supposed to have pre-watched salsa tutorial YouTube videos? Was I supposed to know how to dip, flip, bend, turn, and shake like these people? Am I a life failure? Lo and behold, I was mistaken. The intermediate/advanced class happened to be finishing up their class right before ours would commence. Hazaah! I was no longer a life failure. Kathryn and I proceeded to the check-in desk where we paid ten dollars for the class, and found out that a drink was also included in the package. We were easily the youngest people in the club so far, and needed something to ease the tension. We meandered over to the bar to get a glass of wine, and I noticed that one of the advanced dancers looked oddly familiar, but disregarded it and continued on with Kathryn.
I must say that I did draw some similarities between his math teaching styles and his salsa teaching styles, but as you can imagine the material was a tad different. Daniel (or Dr. Yanosky, as I used to call him) taught us all about the different styles and types of salsa dancing. During our class, we learned about Cuban (or casino) salsa dancing, which is different from the ever-popular l.a. style salsa dancing. I learned how to do the guapea step, enchufla, vuelta, and dile que no. I would try to explain all of these cool moves to you but there are two things stopping me: a) it's super top secret, you'll have to show up and find out on Wednesday nights, and b) it's entirely too complicated and over my head for me to explain all of that via this blog. I would need some form of a 3D online diagram.
While you might be cringing at the thought of dancing and learning salsa with my professor, I can assure you it really wasn't half bad. I can honestly say that I had I a ball (or a fiesta), and that I might even be back Little Kings Shuffle Club next Wednesday at 7:30. Everyone that I met was unbelievably kind, even if they were twenty and thirty years older than me. I learned everyones names, and was approached countless times being encouraged to join other Latin American dance groups and clubs all around Athens. I even tried joining the Latin Athens Facebook group. Apparently they are a great time.
While Little Kings doesn't maintain a large profile on social media accounts, they are not obsolete. Instead, they maintain the townie/classic city/hipster appeal, and don't necessarily care to appeal to the student crowds. As of August 2015, Little Kings Shuffle Club officially began prohibiting anyone under the age of 25 to enter on Friday and Saturday nights, in order to maintain a more established, tidier profile. They are frequently written about in the flagpole Athens newspaper, and also post regularly to their Facebook page, hosting many different events throughout the course of the year.
So, my friends, I will leave you with these final words. Are you sitting on your couch? Are you eating chips and salsa? Is it Wednesday? If you answered yes to any of the above then I highly recommend that you get off that couch, and get salsa-ing! You can even bring the chips and salsa with you. Grab a friend, and spend that ten dollars on a great time and some good dancing (instead of the Wendy's you know you don't need anyways). Here is a picture of Kathryn and I being adventurous and trying new things. I hope it inspires you.
This could be you!
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