I also took one group class at the dance studio called Promenade. It's about a 15 minute walk from my apartment in San Jose and its a wonderful studio. It's made up of 2 buildings, each is fairly new with high ceilings, air conditioning, and immaculate floors (all of which are hard to find in San Jose). I stopped by the studio one day after a run, and went up to the front desk to ask about ballet classes. As I watched the advanced ballet class in the hall, a Tico who introduced himself as Billy started talking to me. He told me about his salsa lessons offered throughout the week and invited me to attend one later that night. He would be traveling, but his assistant would be there to teach the class. I showed up at 7:30 fairly nervous but excited. About 14 people were in the class, half women and half men. The teacher was Billy's partner, a gorgeous girl with excellent technique and control of the classroom. She was an amazing teacher. The first 20 minutes were improv. I didn't do so well at first because I was nervous, but I got warmed up and danced with several of the guys. After that, we all learned a complex sequence involving passes, complicated turns, and improv arms. It was so fun! It was so nice to be in a group class that was A) challenging and B) had enough guys for everyone!

I left the class feeling exhilarated and excited. The teacher, Mariela, drove me home and explained how her and Billy met. She was a student in one of his classes. His class was different than most in Costa Rica - he does salsa on beat 1 of the music. He was trying to start a movement called "Salsa on 1" and succeeded. Mariela picked up very quickly and had a lot of talent, so he asked her to be his partner. She accepted and now they teach class at the popular studio Promenade. She even offered to give a free lesson to everyone in our program! She just wants to spread the word and get people into dancing.