Necesitamos mas amigos qui son salseros y salseras.

Eeee, I hope my Spanish is still coherent.

This past weekend was the very first Calgary International Salsa Congress; a labor of love for our favorite dance studio and its instructors. T-Girl and I would have been remiss to skip on the event.

Friday night was the pre-congress party held in the ballroom at the Hyatt downtown. I have not gone dancing in months so seeing all the fantastic dancing had me quite intimidated at first. I knew I would be able to hold my own if only I could find a partner who could lead. Unfortunately, the one partner I ended up getting -- a friend of T-Girl's who must have felt bad for me standing solo -- could not keep the beat. I did my best to be gracious and follow his lead and ignore the music, but it just killed the moment for me. My fave partner who is also a TA at the studio was busy getting ready for his performance so no luck there. We'll call him Salsa Boy. When I get the chance to dance with him I feel like the most amazing salsera in the room because I know what I am doing and I am with someone who know what he is doing. It's enough to cause a gal to develop a little salsa crush, 'tis. Salsa Boy gave a fantastic show with his group. Unfortunately, with not much luck in the dance partner department and with Civic's stomach growling we soon bailed after the performances in search of food. It was just as well. I was starting to feel like the little wallflower in junior high.

Saturday night was one of the big shows being held at the Telus Convention Centre. More amazing dancing yet again! Sadly, T-Girl and I were even worse off for partners. More to the point I should say that I was worse off for partners. T-Girl is an incredibly sweet girl who seems to encourage guys from all walks to approach her. I, as you know, can be a veritable ice queen depending on whether the guy in question is even worth a minute of conversation. It was just as well that her partner this evening didn't try including me on the dance floor. He gave me the creeps.

Creepy and pansy guys aside, I could not help but wonder if T-Girl and I would ever break into the social circle that is the Calgary salsa scene. Every salsa event we attend has the same people there. They all seem to know one another really well and that helps them all look amazing on the floor since they know one another's cues and styles. What I would give to have friends like them with whom I could hone my skills, learn, grow, and burn up the night! But even though we recognize them it is often really intimidating to break the ice amongst their groups. However, it would be so fantastic to have a steady group of people to dance with. People we know and who love the latin scene as much as we do. I'm not looking for a romantic partner I just want a dance partner.