Nashville, TN: I just returned home from my latest exercise craze. I spent FOUR hours sweating, my legs and feet ache and it's 2 in the morning.
And I did it all in heels.
This was my second attempt at my newest and most exciting endeavor... latin dancing. I went into it thinking I would do a little salsa (which, in actuality, I was confusing with the cha-cha... who knew?) and figured I'd pick it up fairly quickly since how hard could it really be? Luckily, my past dance training helped me catch onto the steps, but it was still a challenge to not only DO it, but to make it look somewhat smooth and dare I say sexy?
Also, I didn't realize how many different types of latin dances there are! Here's just a few (of which I did all tonight, thank you very much!):
Bachata: Originated in the Dominican Republic. Fairly slow and romantic. Basic idea is step-together-step-touch (right foot), step-together-step-touch (left foot).
Merengue: Also originated in the DR. The tempo can vary, but usually it's a pretty mid-level feel. Basic idea is moving your hips & your feet back and forth (right and left).
Salsa: Cuba gets credit for this one, though it's the most popular Latin dance around many parts of the world. Basic idea is rock back and forth (right leg), rock front and back (left leg). This one also has the option of lots of cool spins and twirls!
Cha-Cha: This was created in Cuba but got it's name in Haiti. This one is my favorite since I really did think THIS was Latin music. One-two-cha-cha-cha... you've heard it before. Basic idea is just that... and it was nice to not think about the steps so much and just dance.
So now, thoroughly exhausted, I will put my workout shoes (aka heels) up for the night and look forward to next week's class. THIS workout might be one I actually stick to this time around.
