Havana nights

There is nothing like a good dance. Last night I had four great dances.

The scene: A brand new night spot in Buckhead called Havana Club. The premise: Opening weekend, free drinks before 11. Salseros invited by two of the top dance teachers in Atlanta.

The reality: crowded! So, when a dance floor is crowded, it's more important than ever to dance small. And controlled. Some guys may be good dancers, but don't know how to rein it in. But in a crowd like that, you have no choice.

My two favorite dances of the night: Merengue and a salsa with a Puerto Rican dance instructor. He's the dance teacher the teachers learn from. He knew exactly how to dance in the crowd and still express himself -- and he never ran me into anyone else. We had three songs of bliss in the middle of all those sardines.

The other dance? Salsa with my good friend who dances On 2 (basically Mambo). About our third dance, we hit our stride. We danced in a slot right next to tables and other dancers and never hit anything. We had a really good dance connection. We were stopped afterwards to ask if we were teachers. Now that's salsa satisfaction.

Also had a great merengue with a salsero -- he's a merengue expert somehow. It's always fun dancing a goofy merengue after serious salsa. Also had a great salsa with a guy who normally tosses me around a bit much but was able to make smaller movements in this setting, which made for a much better dance. He has great rhythm and moves, and I like dancing with him in general, but this was much better.

It was hot and crowded, but so awesome. Nothing makes a girl happy like wearing a new dress, going to the "it" club, and dancing nonstop. Feet don't fail me now!