Whatever the reason, there we sat riding through the city looking out at all the skyscrapers of Beijing. We passed the "pants" building, it basically a building designed so that it has a hole in the middle and look
Even though we had a stinky ride over to the Salsa congress it certainly didn't put us in a crappy mood. In the front lobby of the hotel there was only one booth for the Salsa Congress. "Is this where we buy tickets for tonight?" I asked the two ladies manning the table. "No, take the escalator downstairs and buy them down there." As we descend to the bottom floor, more and more salsa gear came into view and I couldn't help but feel a little flutter in my heart. To me this was like having a little piece of home, of something familiar with me. This is one of my favorite things about salsa dancing, no matter where I go in the world I can always find a place to dance and people who love it just as much, and many times more than my self. It is comforting and brings people together. Without knowing the language of another person, all their culture, their past, their future, or anything about them we can still come together and communicate in this completely different and beautiful way. It is one of the blessings in life. After reluctantly turning over our 200 yuan we went were able to watch all the performances of the night.
The basic layout of the night was 8 couples were competing to be the Chinese Champion Salsa couple and go on to compete in the World Competition in Orlando later this year. After they had the 8 couples dance, then there are many special performances by people from around the world and also from around the area. My favorite dance of the night was from these performances. It actually was not all salsa dancing either (maybe, you are a little surprised?). A dance company from Shanghai performed a dance which was mix between tradition Chinese dancing with fans and salsa dancing. The fans added an element of visual and auditory excitement as whenever they opened the fan it made a loud noise and the red flashed in front of your eyes in an intriguing way. After the performances, they cleared the floor and had a live band and everyone who came could dance. They were all really good dancers. We only stayed for a little bit of this time, because we knew it would be wise to get back (much to my dismay though). At the bottom of the post I have three videos of some of the dances from the night.
Overall, the whole weekend in Beijing was really amazing besides just salsa dancing. The whole IECS team was FINALLY together. We were able to encourage and hear one another's stories. We also celebrated Peter's, Tony's, and Tony's little one's literal birth day (well to be in a day or so). In the Pearl Market we all were able to get the items we were in need of for the winter, like nice warm coats! Emily and I also bought jeans. This is of course after we tried them on in the back of a small open booth as the Chinese worker held up two white shirts while we dropped drawers. It was a little humbling and drafty. The weekend was a great finish to a holiday to get us ready to teach and be with our students again!
1 comment:
I smiled SO MUCH when I read this one Amelia. Ah Salsa Congress....how amazing is that...I'm still in shock. I'm so so SO glad you got to go. Any black beauties sweep you off your feet?
Love you SOSOSOSOSO much! You fill my thoughts daily:o)
-Laura
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