La danse, c'est une langue universelle

I miss the salseros and salseras of St. Louis! But since I can't have them for a few months... Yesterday, I found paradise, and its alias is Barrio Latino. The salsa club is a ten-minute walk from my apartment, and if I ever have to miss one of these Sunday afternoon parties, there had better be a great reason, like my plane from Barcelona got lost in the clouds.

Being used to dancing at night, I initially found it strange that the dancing goes from 15h00 - 19h30, but once I stepped in the doors, I discovered that the atmosphere was electric.  The venue is incredible: a large main (hardwood) floor with a bar, DJ stand, and velvet seats; then a grand staircase leading up to three circular levels above. I found myself a spot on the stairs so I could observe for a bit before jumping in. Talented dancers were spinning everywhere I looked. Soon I joined in the fun. I had been a little worried that it would be difficult to break into a new scene if people only danced with those they knew were good, but that was not the case: I was able to enjoy most of the songs with strong leads who threw at me exciting new moves as well as the tried n' true. They were even friendly! So much for snobby Parisians. I didn't know many of the songs - they were different from the usual St. Louis favorites - but the music was lively and varied.

An interesting little cross-cultural incident happened in the ladies' room. I was fixing my hair when a salsera asked me in extremely rapid French if the back of her jeans were dirty. For some reason I couldn't understand her, so she tried, "espagnol?" "Si, un poco." I comprehended her question in Spanish, then automatically answered back in French, "non, pas du tout," without realizing the language switch until a moment later. We all find our ways to communicate when we need to...

By the time the DJ announced the last song I was sweaty and blissfully tired, and didn't feel as if my confidence had gotten crushed on the dance floor. So... success? Oui. Bring it on, Paris.