Photo By Sgt. Dennis Gravelle | Pfc. Michael Ambrose and a class of Salsa dancers having a good time at the recreation...... read more read more
by Army Sgt. Dennis Gravelle
138th MPAD
MOSUL, Iraq (Mar 30, 2006) - Soldiers and civilians on Logistical Staging Area Diamondback spend Thursday nights learning how to dance to Salsa.
The Salsa class is divided up into an advanced group and a basic group.
"I love dancing!" said Hawaii resident Capt. Pilly Morales-Montayo, basic group instructor, and operating nurse, 47th Combat Support Hospital. "The group I have is awesome and I love teaching,"
According to a history of Salsa website, Salsa is not easily defined. No one knows for sure who invented it. Was it the Cubans or Puerto Ricans? Salsa is a distillation of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances. Each culture played a large part of its evolution.
Salsa is similar to Mambo in that both have a pattern of six steps danced over eight counts of music. The dances share many of the same moves.
In Salsa, turns are an important feature. The overall look and feel is quite different from those of Mambo. Mambo moves generally forward and backward, whereas, Salsa has more of a side-to-side movement.
"Salsa is a very easy dance to learn" said Sgt. Ivette Velez from Aguirre, Puerto Rico, and surgical assistant, 274th Surgical Support Team.
According to Air Force Senior Airman Rivera, services specialist, and assistant dance instructor, it gives one a chance to relax, a great stress reliever, and it is a way for us to show our culture.
"We get a chance to share our heritage with people who are not Hispanic or Latino decent," Rivera said.
Rivera also went on to say that "It's very rewarding to teach someone a new move, it's like teaching your child how to ride a bike. At first they are wobbly and crash, but they keep going. Once you see them take off you get really excited."
"Everyone that comes [to Salsa night] has a great time," Velez said. "Capt. Morales does an awesome job at teaching."
According to Pfc. Michael Ambrose, chaplains assistant, 142nd Corps Support Battalion, a dance instructor and reservist from Smithfield, Utah, [Salsa] dancing is really growing; it's fun, energetic and a great way to express yourself.
"It's a social outlet, you get interaction with other people and you make some great friends," Ambrose said.
| Date Taken: | 04.03.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 04.03.2006 10:12 |
| Story ID: | 5931 |
| Location: | MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 482 |
| Downloads: | 299 |
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