Beverly Short and Ebony were our hosts during most of the trip. Barbie and her husband Rafael of http://www.latindancefx.com also helped with setting up workshops and performances all over the city.

Teaching and performing this year was fabulous. I’ve been back to teach in Denver every Christmas for the past three years, and every time, the Salsa scene has grown larger than the year before. From only two clubs three years ago, (Los Cabos and Maximillian’s) to almost a dozen or so clubs now, with a place to go out virtually every night of the week! This type of popularity was absolutely unheard of prior to the birth of Salsaweb three years ago.

The Colorado Salsa explosion was especially evident at a place called "La Rumba", formerly 9^th Ave. West, near Downtown Denver. I’ve never seen such a big, beautiful wooden dance floor in Denver, much less so many Salsa dancers in one spot!

Friday night at La Rumba was the highlight of the week, with hundreds of people there to take the class and watch our performance. Ed Martinez was the DJ that night.  That man really knows how to play excellent music!  Conjunto Colores was the band that evening.  They're  AWESOME!!  Rafael and Barbie Ayure who teach at the Denver Swing, Latin, & Ballroom, let us take over their normal class that night. Teaching a crowd of nearly 100 people, 

We kicked off a small performance at Joseph Snowhawk’s studio in Arvada. That was "day one", where we got a taste of the ELEVATION issue for us sea-level out-of-towners. It was the first time my dance partner been dizzy and out of breath after dancing for only two minutes. The elevation reeked havoc on our small performance. I missed a beat, he missed a move, and both of us were very disappointed with it afterward. We both had to sit down. I knew what to expect about the elevation sickness, he did not. That’s when I broke the news to him.

"The reason you’re dizzy and can’t breathe, is because we’re one mile high above sea level. That means there is "very little air" to go around... so breathe slowly honey...save some for the rest of the people who live here." I quietly smiled.

He didn’t think it was funny.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him about elevation sickness before the trip… I was hoping it wouldn’t affect him, but unfortunately, it did. I hate planting negative thoughts like this in people’s minds because then they make it worse than it really is when it actually does come to pass.

So my partner found out, on his own, that sea-level people like us Californian’s CAN’T BREATHE the first few days in Colorado. It takes about 4-5 days to build up extra red blood cells in your body, so it can store more oxygen than folks who live at sea-level.

The first day, we both got dizzy, nauseated, and felt like doing nothing but SLEEP. Thank God my mom is a Naturopathist and gave us some herbal remedies for elevation sickness. They worked! Within two days, we were fine. Email me for her own home brew, elevation sickness cure.

We did most of our teaching at Joseph’s studio. The remainder of our stay was a Barbie and Rafael’s studio near Downtown Denver. Both studios have excellent dance floors, and plenty of parking. The Salsa craze has reached epic proportions in the Rockies, and I was so glad to see that it’s spreading cross-culturally.

Wade Prince and Angela drove all the way from Salt Lake City, Utah to take us to dinner!  What a pleasant surprise!!  It was so great seeing them again, and spending time with them. 

It was a shock meeting Barbie and her husband last year in Denver. Barbie and I both went to high school together at Douglas County High in Castle Rock. It’s funny that both of us ended up in the same industry, teaching people how to dance! Both Barbie and Rafael are a beautiful husband-wife team, that make a dynamic teaching team as well. They are the nicest and most sincerest people in the world. Students have told me they love taking their classes and get a great deal out of their teaching.

Joseph also has large classes of eager Salsa students as well. His teaching style is calming and relaxing. Students have told me that he is a very good instructor, very pleasant, and everyone gets along with him great. I had the pleasure of meeting his lovely wife, who is expecting a baby very soon! Congratulations, and best of luck to you both!

We also had the pleasure of meeting Karen Lee who is a veteran ballroom dancer in the Denver area. She teaches on "Two" at Karen Lee Dance. We saw her leading a group of beginner dancers, carrying the "Eddie Torres" torch into the next Millennium. You go Karen! She did a great job.

It’s so nice to see instructors getting along in the same city – a rarity indeed!

The most impressive thing about Denver was how well everyone was DANCING! I could tell that some of them had been taking lots of classes, and they were all getting BETTER!

I’m so proud of the dancers of Denver. With dance floors like the La Rumba nightclub, they can truly practice and dance better on the social nightclub floor. It’s great seeing everyone’s progress and the fun they’re having the process! We can’t wait till next year!