"May I take your ego, sir?"

"No? Ma'am? Hmm...shame." This should be the greeting at every dance door. However the answer should be, "Oh Please! I won't be using it." But that's not exactly true, is it? We all have our pride. We all have an image we want to portray - whether we admit it or not. We all visualize ourselves as knowledgeable or good at something. And for my blog - let's say it's dancing.
       A funny thing happened on my way to the Avalon...(hee hee hee;)... I took a private lesson in Argentine Tango. Yes, you read it correctly: I took a lesson, not taught. And let's address this stigma (if you listen closely, you can hear the shudders running through people's offended natures right now) about instructors who have the nerve to take lessons- because it drives me crazy! How dare I, right? I can sum it up in three words people: Never Stop Learning! Or, if you'd like a different three: Hone Your Craft! If you can't agree with either of those, then I have another three words for you but they're not as...inspirational;)
       So, the lesson went fabulously! I impressed the instructor to the point where he actually shouted across the room to his wife, "This one's going to be a lot of fun!" And he meant it: (it wasn't a secret code for "high maintenance" - I asked him;). If you haven't tried Argentine Tango - I highly recommend it!! It has the power to transport you! 
       Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked by the time I get to the Avalon to teach Salsa. I've been there for a few years now, so I feel pretty comfortable. In general, I believe people regard me highly...except those that think I'm a raving lunatic or just mean - (if that's you, read my previous post;).
       So there I am, doing my thing, when I give instruction on the frame I want. A face I don't recognize, isn't doing what I ask, so I reiterate. This face then proceeds to offer me an education as to what he's doing. Me. He's going to teach me about salsa. The woman teaching the class he paid to take. I literally had to stop myself from making him look like a total fool in front of everyone. But if I had, what would I have looked like? A jerk.
       That's when I realized - I am a jerk. Or, more accurately, I have jerk tendencies. Shortly after coming to this conclusion I also realized - I'm a nobody!?! So I teach Salsa. So I've danced in LA, New York, Miami, the Dominican Republic, etc. So I've been in dance videos. Who cares?! I have no titles to my credit. I've never won any professional dance competitions (though, I've never had a partner, so it's like hoping to win the lottery when you don't buy a ticket). But my point is - the world doesn't know my name. There, I said it!
       As much as I would like the world to know my name - because my mission really is to get the world dancing - they don't yet. And apparently that's a good thing, because I have a lot of work to do on myself before I get any kind of famous. I'm sorry, new face, that I wanted to make you look stupid. That's not cool. In the future, I will try to check my ego at the door (and not pick it up on the way out).
       In my heart of hearts, I want to be more like Julio - the man who gave me the most amazing moment I've ever had on any dance floor. If this weren't a long blog already (silly resolutions) I'd tell you about him now. Tune in next week to find out more... and believe me,  you'll want to know more about Julio... the world does know his name!
       See you on the hardwood!