Erick, as you can tell by the amount of your essay I've just highlighted, I think this is fantastic!

I used to dance. Ballet, contemporary and jazz, until mounting ill health put a stop to that in my mid-twenties. I always used to say that it was in dance that I felt most myself, the only time I felt truly free (I won't go into the childhood/teen trauma here).

It took me decades to work through the grief I felt at losing that .

This doesn't have the racial context that your story brings, but I wanted you to know that I understood that "unapologetically alive" feeling you discuss finding in salsa (which I always wanted to try and never did).

Thank you for sharing this with us at Counter Arts, I'll look forward to reading more of your work.