We arrived at Synergy and all the men lined up on one side and the women on the other. Most of those in attendance were much older than we were but it didn't matter. There were also many couples but they were all very friendly. We then learned the basic steps to the Hustle. Due to a lack of men, everyone rotated partners and I got to dance initially with the instructor, Mark. I did very well with the first part but struggled a bit with the second part, but it was not bad for my first attempt!
As I moved through partners, I mostly improved although the leading of the men was crucial to that success (some were great and made it easy to follow while others were not skilled at that). Still, no matter how badly I messed up, they all did not mind trying again.
The lesson came to a close (how we wish we had more time to learn!) and the dancing began.
What was amusing to me was how easily everyone just picked partners and danced with pretty much anyone. I was asked several times to dance and each man (with the exception of one who took me saying I "know very little Salsa" to mean that I was being overly modest) was overall quite patient since I was such a beginner. Although I don't remember every dance, I do remember I danced the Rumba with an older gentleman who had several great tips for me and learned basic Cha Cha moves from my best friend's older sister.
He and I danced the Waltz. Perhaps because he is actually an instructor, it was much easier than the salsa and these other dances I had done! (To my amusement, my friends commented on this in the video!) It was lovely!
I also danced with two sisters (as I said, there were not enough men) and we just did basic moves and had fun spinning around and making our dresses twirl.