Salsa Time!

No, not the kind in a bowl with chips, but the dance.

Two blocks from the apartment there is an open park. Not grass and trees and flowers, but a large concrete area with a covered walk where people hang out during the day. Under the covered walk, people play cards, sit, read, and visit. In the open areas, there could be roller skaters, roller blades, skateboarders, kids with dogs and that sort of thing.

But at night – it transitions into the Dancing Square!
Usually, there are three groups. Each group begins to assemble around 07:00 PM. A leader sets up a large boom box, some speakers and a wireless headset microphone. One group plays very traditional Chinese music, one group plays waltzes and such and the third group seems to focus on Salsa, Tangos, Meringues, and other Line Dancing. The leader instructs the group and teaches in a large group format and occasionally will stop and provide individual instruction.
This is a hoot. Young people, old people, and really old people all show up and for 2 hours, the park is a cacophony of music and movement. The skill set ranges from those who could compete on “Dancing with the Stars” to some people who just sort of flail their arms around. Nobody cares how good or bad you are, they just come to dance and talk and enjoy the evening. Right now, the weather has been excellent, so the evenings have been perfect for this activity.

Mike, Jonathan, Rebecca and I had seen this from a distance a few times as we were walking to dinner, so we stopped the other night to watch. One group was playing a waltz and Jonathan and I spied these two middle aged women dancing together and after some mutual prodding, we decided to cut in. Not knowing how private all of this was, we weren’t certain what kind of reaction we would get, but were pleasantly surprised when they smiled and split up to dance with us. It was pretty funny since not only



have I not really waltzed in a long time, but my dance partner, while seeming to enjoy it, would not look me in the eye. I tried to talk to her and all that, but she would only look over my right shoulder. I think she might have died if she made actual eye contact. Jonathan said he struggled

a bit with his dance partner and we think maybe she wasn't accustomed to someone else leading. We finished the song, thanked them, and they smiled and said something (my partner still not making any eye contact), and we stepped back and watched some more. The photos they took of



me were terrible (thank goodness), so these photos and videos were the ones I took. Several people saw me filming and came up to see the film. They were so excited, pleased, and kept thanking me for both filming and letting them see it.

As we headed off, Mike started goofing with some kids, and then we all got in the act. I was showing them the old high 5 trick of "Up High, Down low, In the Middle - Too Slow!" when I noticed Mike started dancing with them so I shot the funny scene of him that you see below.

We didn’t really see any other foreigners out there, which I thought was odd, because it could be a neat way to meet some of the locals, and dancing doesn’t require us to know any Chinese, so I am in favor of going back again. Jonathan and I are up for it, but I think Mike thinks we are a bit 'odd in the head'.

Maybe, but it is free entertainment.