In the airplane, sitting about five rows up from us, was a Middle Eastern-dressed husband and wife who were also on their way to Amman. Because the flight would be six hours from London, I decided to dress comfortably in sweats, T-shirts and tennis shoes. However, the Arabic couple in front of us was dressed in traditional "Arabic"-wear. He, was in a long, white robe-like outfit, with a red-checkered cloth headpiece, topped with a small black rope crowning the top of his head. His dark complexion accented his dark brown hair and thick mustache.

His wife, on the other hand, was dressed literally from head to toe, in a long, full-length thick, solid black robe. She wore black gloves, black shoes, a black scarf covering her entire head and face, and another black scarf covering her nose, mouth.

The only thing you could see was her eyes.

We got off the plane, and noticed many women dressed the same. I was told later on that these women were more than likely from Saudi Arabia. In Jordan, most women wear a simple scarf wrapped around their heads, but are allowed to show their faces. They also wear long coat-like robes, not showing their figures what so ever. Jordan is a bit less traditional than most Arabian countries, but a woman is still not seen showing her legs in public by wearing a dress, nor bare arms. In private parties, yes, but in public, it is a rarity.

One of the first things my dance partner noticed was that all the men had mustaches. The Customs officials at the airport kept attempting to talk to my dance partner in Arabic, but realized he wasn’t Arabic when he failed to answer them back in their own language, and of course, didn’t have a thick mustache.

Arabic handwriting and the way they read is literally from right to left. Bookstores are lined with books opening from what we Westerners know as "the back cover". English / Arabic Magazines are printed with the English language in the front (what we know as the front), and the Arabic language is printed from what we know as the back of the magazine.

Just flying in from London, where everyone drives on the opposite side of the street, and now visiting the Middle East, where everyone reads and writes in the opposite direction was making me dizzy! 

Lobo, the schools’ top instructor and performer, was discovered by Rio in 1998. Rio saw him perform in a Russian dance show, and recognized his amazing dance talents. Rio introduced Lobo to Salsa music, and taught him how to dance to it. Lobo has since become one of the best Salsa dancers in the Middle East. Because of the studio’s growth, Rio is now expanding the Salsera Studio to double its capacity. He has purchased more mirrors and floor space, and added and an executive office and reception area, making the studio larger and state-of-the-art.

Public acceptance of the studio and its patrons is still "if-fy". When my dance partner and I taught classes in the new 2nd floor studio with open windows, spectators from outside storefronts set up chairs on their sidewalks to watch in fascination as the student dancers inside danced "together, holding hands". Rio, in his embarrassment, put up newspapers on the windows to keep curious onlookers …. "wondering". "I don’t want to have the religious leaders of this country all over me." He said in annoyance - which made us realize that he is "breaking ground" in this new territory. Partner dancing has always been forbidden. Going against the grain, and against an ancient religion is not easy.

What gave me the feeling of truly being in an Arab country was the religious prayers chanted at the Arabic houses of prayer, called Mosques. They are located all over the cities and villages, each with its own loudspeaker. Religious Arabic chanting from these loud speakers can be heard for miles. The chants are sung by a man, and usually occur in the morning, at around noon, the afternoon, in the evening, and between three and four o’clock in the morning….

…every day, and every night.

Surprisingly, the chants had a hypnotic and calming affect on me. I didn’t mind them after the first few nights… especially the one’s at three and four o’clock in the morning.

The times are changing, and so are the people. With the Olympic Committee now accepting Ballroom dancing as an Olympic Sport, more and more countries will want to participate and compete. Rio’s studio, the first ever in the Arab world, is paving the way toward that goal.

Salsa music is much like Arabic music. If you’re a lover of Salsa, listen to contemporary Arabian music. It’s absolutely beautiful. It’s got Congas and the Clave sounds, along with accompanying violins and accordions. Every time I listened to it, I kept going into this energized semi-hypnotic state, much like hard-core Salsa does when you listen to it with your eyes closed. When the violins come on, and the melodies sway like ocean waves at sea, I feel a rush of excitement and a quiet peace at the same time (if you can figure that out). It is for this reason, Salsa can, and is very much accepted, and the reason why Salsa dancing is becoming more and more popular here.

I had seen how people dance to Arabic music on TV and at various shows in the USA, but now this was the REAL DEAL. The women became beautiful Arabian dancers, with their arms and hands flowing like snakes above their heads and over their bodies. The men raised both arms in the air, and shimmied their shoulders to the ancient rhythms. It seemed that EVERYONE in the ROOM knew how to dance this strange and beautiful Arabic music –

….but me.

I was so impressed with the dancing, that I decided to try it for myself. I stumbled around at first, and tried to mimic the women’s arms and body movements. It was very similar to belly-dancing, except without the wiggling and jiggling.  My dance partner tried it too. I was cracking up at his cross between techno, hip hop, and Arab-guy wanna-be. He was cracking up at my awkward hand and foot positions!

Eventually, I "got it", and frankly, could not get enough of it! Whenever an Arabic song came on, I was right out there with the best of them, "jamming" so-to-speak to their way of dancing. It was absolutely euphoric dancing with our new friends from the other side of the planet…

We went out virtually every night, and turned many evenings into virtual performances. One in particular was at the famous Dunes Health Club. This club is enormous. It is more state-of-the-art than any classy, plush, and very expensive Health Club I’ve ever seen in the United States. It literally tops the classiest of classiest.

What is so wonderful about Salsa, is that there are no real "rules", just "styles". None are wrong, nor right… just different. The style is set by the teachers that teach in various parts of the world. And, like a great Pyramid, the instructor’s style flows down to each generation of students, from student to student.

Whether one dances on the "One", "Two", "Three", or "Four", or whether you do a side-to-side basic, a forward-back basic, a tap-step basic, or dance with the right foot forward, your Salsa dance style is indigenous to your part of the world. As long as you can follow or lead your partner, and both of you have fun dancing, dance styles shouldn’t matter, and are not worth stressing or arguing over.

As most languages are different, so are most Salsa dance styles. I deemed it important that the Salseras of Jordan maintain their beautiful Arabic-style of dancing in their female styling techniques.

This made me realize one very important fact. When doing a front-back basic (as is done in most Puerto-Rican, Cuban, New York, and LA styles), the woman has the "freedom" on the back three steps to add in her own styling. The guy has control of her on the front three steps (for turning and other moves), but on 75% of the back steps, the lady can do almost anything she wants with her feet. If the guy lets go of her arms, she has even more freedom to do what she wants with her arms and hands. If they are in solo, she can display all the styling she wants, both hands and feet.

So I figured, that since the back three steps that the woman takes are basically hers to do with whatever she wants, she should add her own "Native" culture to her styling, that is indigenous to her region. For Amman, Jordan, it was the beautiful snake-like movements of their arms and hands that I witnessed the night before.

To demonstrate, in a solo (LA) or shine (NY), while dancing on the "One", the ladies would step forward on the 5,6,7 (men’s timing), and back on the 1,2,3. On the 1,2,3, is where their beautiful Arabian arm styling would come in. It wasn’t hard teaching them this at all.

The students styled – Arabian style, as if they had been doing it all their lives…
I was so proud of them!

When teaching the ladies styling techniques, I wanted them to retain their roots. I’m such an avid believer in maintaining a culture, and am firmly against trying to impose "my style" on individuals. I wanted the ladies of Jordan to add flavor and spice to their shines, which needed to be shown and demonstrated to them by a woman who knew their style of Arabian dance. So, I had an obligation to figure it out by watching, observing, and trying it out for myself. To apply it to Salsa, we mimicked it exactly, staying within the conservative realm, and danced our shines with class,

….which is what the Salseras of Jordan are all about.

…Very classy and very sophisticated.

The greatest lesson of history, is that the interaction of diverse cultures enriches all cultures, elevates all civilizations, and adds to their vitality and prosperity.  Remember, the ancient Egyptians excelled at science and engineering and were one of the first to profess monotheism.

The Babylonians gave the world the alphabet, Phoenicians mastered the art of navigation, the Arab civilization preserved Greek philosophy, and Edie, The Salsa FREAK decided to keep and teach Arabic dance tradition in her Ladies Styling Salsa class. 

The Dead Sea is a miracle healer for people with skin problems and diseases. The mud is placed all over the body, dried then washed off in the Sea. Many skin products are sold all over the world from the Dead Sea. My dance partner and I couldn’t get enough of that place!

Another interesting sight to see in Jordan is a place called "Petra". It is featured in the November, 1998 issue of National Geographic. It was also made famous by the movie "Indiana Jones Last Crusade", filmed in 1986. Petra is the "city in the rock", where the supposed "Holly Grail" rested. It was so cool realizing that we were actually there.

We climbed rocks, took every tour there was, and rode camels from spot to spot. Getting up on a camel is easy – easier than a horse. It sits until you’re on it, then stands up from its knees. They are incredibly strong. The tour guide told us that camels store their food in their humps, and water in their feet. This way, they can go for days without eating or drinking in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Overall, it was a fabulous trip, and a fabulous experience.  I'd like to thank everyone involved who helped us arranging the trip and our stay.  Special thanks to Rio, my very dear friend, for making this dream into a reality.  All the best, to all the dancers in Amman!!!

Love,

Edie, The Salsa FREAK