How Did You Start Dancing Salsa?

[Matrix]

My story:


My friends wanted to go to JC Fandangos (a club in Anaheim, CA) to dance Rock en Español. I went with them. The club had 2 sections, one of them was for Salsa. We went to the Rock en Español one...

After a while, I came to the other side just to check it out. I immediately noticed that the women on this side were a little bit more appealing, were better dressed, more classy, had nice curves, and seemed to be friendly in dancing with the guys (as opposed to the other room, where you could see small circles of 3-5 women dancing together... how annoying...).

Since I was a Latino and I had been dancing Salsa all my life, then it was no problem for me to ask a girl out to dance. She said yeah and on we went.

On the dance floor, she kept on looking at me funny and after a while, asked me: "you don't know how to dance, do you?" ... I was like :shock: "what?, I've been dancing salsa all my life..." ... she was like: "no, I mean like those guys over there..." I looked over and saw these guys doing all these crazy pretzel-looking moves with the girls, and I replied to her: "no, I guess I don't know how to do that..." She was like: "mmhmmm... look, why don't you learn how to dance and then ask me again?" ... :cry: then she turned around and walked off the dance floor...

Oh man... for the rest of the night I kept on looking at 'those other guys' and wondered what in the hell they were doing! When we left, I told my friends about the incident and one of them told me: "they call that Salsa L.A. Style, they dance all weird... it's stupid" ... I was like: "dude, it might be weird or stupid, but have you seen those hot girls? F that, I need more info..."

The next day, a Sunday, I went on Google and did over 5 hours of research on this L.A. Style Salsa. I read so many articles, visited so many websites, found out about techniques, advises given by Edie from Salsaweb.com (from where I took the idea of being delicate to the woman and taking fault on all my mistakes), learned so much about the music, the initiators of Salsa L.A. Style, the Vazquez brothers, etc, etc, etc. Finally, I found lessons!! The next day, on a Monday, I was at Rudolpho's taking my first salsa lesson from Laura Canelias, one of the legendary salsa dancers in Los Angeles. Well, I found out I had 2 left feet and could not learn anything!! I was a bit down, but motivated to continue... (once I get like that, I will not give up... most of the time).

After a few months, I could already dance... little by little. I had taken about 3-4 lessons only and most of what I knew I learned from friends. I networked fast and got to know many personalities quickly.

One night, while at Papaz (what a small world!), another club in Los Angeles, this girl comes up to me after seeing me dance and tells me that she remembers me... Well, I knew who she was as I had seen her at other clubs after our first encounter. She goes: "oh my god, you dance so well now... I am so impressed, let's dance!!!" I was like: "well, I've seen you dance since that first time and I'll pass... why don't you go take lessons, get better, and then ask me to dance again?"


Somehow, I knew I had done some damage to her ego... but I did not mind.

You should ALWAYS be nice to beginners, cuz they might just get better than you... you foolios.

[DancingMommy]

Here it is again folks....

OY! :shock:

[Sagitta]

Here it is again folks....

OY! :shock:

What? :?

[africana]

Here it is again folks....

OY! :shock:

What? :?

Somehow, I knew I had done some damage to her ego... but I did not mind.

You should ALWAYS be nice to beginners, cuz they might just get better than you... you foolios.

[DancingMommy]

Don't ask..... Just don't ask..... But I get the overwhelming feeling.... of..... Deja Vu......

[BrookeErin]

almost endearing until that point

[DancingMommy]

You got what I was getting at didn't you? Smarta girl! I was all warm and fuzzy and then WHAM! Got a nice cold bucket of male ego dumped all over me.

[Houdinni]

Payback...

One of life's little pleasures...

I still have the girls who refused to dance with me when I was a beginner in my black list, the same way as I'll always cherish those who helped me improve my dancing when it was so so easy... (I didn'y know anything...) :)

[Matrix]

what's wrong with that?

Why can't you simply tell your story and add to the topic?


so... when the girl got her payback, you found a problem... but you're not saying anything about that same girl's actions and what she did to the male. Is that one-sided or what?



I can honestly say that such an experience has helped me to NEVER be mean to non-dancers or beginners. I'm always dancing with everyone, even if I do dance more frequently with more advanced dancers. There are more women then men out there, who don't dance with beginner dancers... fact.

[BrookeErin]

the problem was more that you seemed to be bragging about your rudeness... why not behave better than those around you? We'd be more impressed with your graciousness.

[Matrix]

the problem was more that you seemed to be bragging about your rudeness... why not behave better than those around you? We'd be more impressed with your graciousness.

Sometimes I really fail myself in trying to be a Christ-like individual and act like a complete human being made of flesh and bones. :oops: Pelase forgive me... :cry:

Wow, one day I will be as righteous as you many of you seem to be, but in the situation in question... I don't mean to brag, just make a point, which is valid and results from an experience that MANY men in the salsa scenes of the world have gone through.



SO, FOR THE REST OF YOU, HOW DID YOU START DANCING SALSA??

[DancingMommy]

Yeah, no kidding. And I'll leave it at that.

[DancingMommy]

Sometimes I really fail myself in trying to be a Christ-like individual and act like a complete human being made of flesh and bones. :oops: Please forgive me... :cry:


Ok. I'll take this on and THEN I'll tell you how I started to dance Salsa.

Why bring the God-card into the discussion? It does NOTHING to endear you to us when you act the fool and be all crazy and then go "my bad" I'm not as good a Christian as I wish I could be. PUH-lease. What was it Abraham Lincoln said? Anyhoo...

I started dancing Salsa after my dear dance teacher (Danny) tried to teach me mambo. He was pathetic. I couldn't get what he was putting down so I said screw Mambo and we'll do something else. Salsa I can learn in a club. And so I did.

Went to Sanctuary in Atlanta and hung out with my peeps. I'd watch a lot and get asked to dance a lot (newb that I was) and I learned how to follow. And it was good. Got an intermediate workshop with Edie the SalsaFreak and it too was good (if over my head).

Salsa is not an addiction for me (unless you are talking the stuff in a jar) but it's fun. It's a part of me but not all of me. I'm multi-faceted. 8)

[Ismile2you]

@ Matrix

poor you, being rejected by a woman... But I wonder. If she hadn't rejected you, would you have been inspired so much or stayed dancing your own.. old styl.. To me reading our story, she also sounds like the kick in your ace.. you needed?

But a nice story indead..

[Matrix]

@ Matrix

poor you, being rejected by a woman... But I wonder. If she hadn't rejected you, would you have been inspired so much or stayed dancing your own.. old styl.. To me reading our story, she also sounds like the kick in your ace.. you needed?

But a nice story indead..

:applause: :applause: :applause:

you are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO right!!

In a way, I owe her my salsa dancing experience! I would've never learned this new style of dancing if it hadn't been because I felt challenged. :cool:

[DancingMommy]

So the least you owed her was a dance. Not the brush off.

[Medira]

The first time I danced salsa was about 3 years ago. I went out to a club in downtown Toronto with a few friends, did a basic lesson before the night started and we danced the little bit we knew until the hard core dancers came. From that point, we spent more time watching than actually dancing. It was fun, but not something I'd go out of my way to do.

When I took up ballroom in February, my instructor decided to try me out with some salsa too. He grew up doing street style salsa, so that's the repertoire he drew from. I had a blast with it and wanted to do more, so we worked on it every couple of weeks until, at the end of June, we (a friend from the studio and I) decided to try the club thing again. When we got there, another fried from the studio was there with his dance partner. He introduced us to the "dancing crowd" and we were immediately pulled into it. After 5 1/2 hours of dancing, we left the club completely hooked. Since then, we've gone pretty much every week. It's been an absolute blast!

[tacad]

She disrespected him. This spurred him on but disrespect is disrespect and should be treated as such, not rewarded. I get rejected frequently, being a beginner, but usually I'm not disrespected. So no hard feelings on this.

It may be male ego, I don't know. But there is no shortage of female ego out there in salsa either. At least in my limited experience. But no big deal. I prefer to dance with ego-less women anyway. And yeah, a part of me relishes the future when I know I'll be better and I'll still be dancing with the nice women. Though unlike Matrix, I won't refuse a dance. But I know where my energy will go.

I had a problem with my foot. So I decided to temporarily stop my ballroom lessons. I decided to stick with social dancing as I could sit down if my foot started bugging me. I decided to explore this world of salsa over the summer. Just a little bit. Then last week at this club there were lots of ego-less people there. I literally felt at home. I had an absolutely spectacular night! And now I'm spurred on. At least for the moment.

So I suppose this is how I'm starting salsa. :wink:

[Medira]

Whoo! Go tacad! I'm glad to hear that you've found your salsa "home". :D

[tacad]

The only problem is it's too far away during the week to get to. I've been on vacation but I have to go back to work. I don't know If I'll be willing to stay late and drive home. Also it's on the same night as my ballroom class. Oh, decisions, decisions. But it was really, really, nice last week. :wink:

Thanks Medira!

[Matrix]

Go Tacad!! :applause: :applause:

Talk about your Salsa dancing experience as you continue to go through it. I certainly would be interested to know. Keep it up!

[gte692h]

I was first exposed to it during a charity event - a salsa night to benefit a south american charity. The only reason I went was to help a friend who was one of the organizing members. At the time, I didn't think much of it - i saw it as an odd hobby. (In hindsight, since the charity event was held at a non-club location, everybody there were beginners. I never really saw anybody that made me think, 'wow, that's incredible dancing! Nor was I brutally rejected. So I had no real inspiration to explore salsa.)

But my real introduction to salsa (a year later) was quite interesting. My neighbour was this very pretty girl, whose boyfriend would come by and visit her often. One weekend, they had a big fight. I hear her yelling, screaming, breaking dishes, and finally she said, 'get out'. And then I see the guy walking past my door with a mattress, and some other things. I offered him a few words of sympathy. Later that evening, after he had gotten the last of his things, he came by and said hello. And then he asked me if I wanted to see what a salsa club was like, as that was his real passion.

That night at the salsa club, I saw everything - the dancing, the ladies, everyone having so much fun. And very soon after, I began taking lessons. I haven't looked back since. Life is very different now!

[Pebbles]

so... when the girl got her payback, you found a problem... but you're not saying anything about that same girl's actions and what she did to the male. Is that one-sided or what?



To quote your own words, it is "always" the men's fault! :lol:
Looks like you may have convinced the ladies of that :wink:

[DancingMommy]

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Good point....

[Matrix]

:lol: :lol: :lol: yeah... good point.

But gosh, it felt sooo good... :?

:D

[MacMoto]

Here it is again folks....

OY! :shock:

What? :?

Somehow, I knew I had done some damage to her ego... but I did not mind.

You should ALWAYS be nice to beginners, cuz they might just get better than you... you foolios.
To be fair, this same sentiment has been expressed by various salsa dancers on this board, both male and female, many times before. Perhaps in a slightly more civilised manner ( :roll: Matrix, you are such an expert at rubbing people up the wrong way... :sigh:), but I have lost count of DF salser@s talking here about snubbing people who snubbed them/were rude to them when they were beginners... It may not be a good example to follow, but it's common enough.

And the moral of the story does hold: be nice to beginners -- you never know if they might become really good in the future. I think I said the same thing somewhere else.


OMG, now I'm *defending* Matrix... :shock: this is disturbing :roll: :lol:.

[Medira]

The only problem is it's too far away during the week to get to. I've been on vacation but I have to go back to work. I don't know If I'll be willing to stay late and drive home. Also it's on the same night as my ballroom class. Oh, decisions, decisions. But it was really, really, nice last week. :wink:

Thanks Medira!Hmmm...if I can make a suggestion, maybe treat yourself once a month or so and make the trip out. That way, you've still got your regular ballroom classes and the late night drive home is only every once in a while.

Do they have salsa nights on the weekend that you could get out to? That's always another option. :)

[Sagitta]

Here it is again folks....

OY! :shock:

What? :?

Somehow, I knew I had done some damage to her ego... but I did not mind.

You should ALWAYS be nice to beginners, cuz they might just get better than you... you foolios.
To be fair, this same sentiment has been expressed by various salsa dancers on this board, both male and female, many times before. Perhaps in a slightly more civilised manner ( :roll: Matrix, you are such an expert at rubbing people up the wrong way... :sigh:), but I have lost count of DF salser@s talking here about snubbing people who snubbed them/were rude to them when they were beginners... It may not be a good example to follow, but it's common enough.

And the moral of the story does hold: be nice to beginners -- you never know if they might become really good in the future. I think I said the same thing somewhere else.


OMG, now I'm *defending* Matrix... :shock: this is disturbing :roll: :lol:.

Irrespective of a person's personality, or how a person rubs you the wrong way usually, if a valid point is made it should be respected rather then simply attacked. What you say is very true MacMoto. This sentiment of Matrix's has been mentioned on df by many, though often it hasn't rubbed people the wrong way the same way. If I see women treating beginners who are polite and respectful badly I'll not dance with them. I was a beginner in salsa once, and I still am, though not so bad. I encourage beginners to dance all the time, and also am a beginner in other dances. I have experienced all sorts of rejections,rejected requests to dance, and had all sorts of stories told me. So, Ill call people out on bad bahavior and will not tolerate it with the people whom I choose to associate myself with. I have limited life energy and so I choose to share that with the "good" ones.

[tacad]

The only problem is it's too far away during the week to get to. I've been on vacation but I have to go back to work. I don't know If I'll be willing to stay late and drive home. Also it's on the same night as my ballroom class. Oh, decisions, decisions. But it was really, really, nice last week. :wink:

Thanks Medira!Hmmm...if I can make a suggestion, maybe treat yourself once a month or so and make the trip out. That way, you've still got your regular ballroom classes and the late night drive home is only every once in a while.

Do they have salsa nights on the weekend that you could get out to? That's always another option. :)
Probably. But I think it will be a different crowd on a different day. I will find someplace.

Last night was wonderful. I went to a different club that was reminiscent of a Latin American club (I've been to Peru and Costa Rica). That was just wonderful.

[yola]

ohoh! are we witnesses to the birth of yet another salsa-addict?

[DancePoet]

... And the moral of the story does hold: be nice to beginners -- you never know if they might become really good in the future. I think I said the same thing somewhere else.
Ayuh. ;) :lol:

OMG, now I'm *defending* Matrix... :shock: this is disturbing :roll: :lol:.
Your ok, MacMoto. Matrix does seem as if he's being more careful here then on some of his initial posts. Thank you!

[DancePoet]

I had my first Salsa lesson as a beginner class right before a social dance. Of course at the time, I couldn't decide whether to dance Mambo or Salsa, when the tunes came on. :oops: :wink: :lol:

Since then I've focused more on Smooth/Standard Ballroom then Salsa. I've thrown in alittle latin/rythmn stuff, too, like Cha-Cha and Rumba. Although there is this one lady dancer who has been very helpful and understandig when it comes to teaching me more salsa. ;) :D.

[RJ]

I started salsa dancing all of two weeks ago.

What got me started was this, I went out for with some friends on our "weekly its friday lets go to the club and get drunk nite" I jumped out on the dance floor and did the akward white boy dance and the night club 'grind' it was ok, yet it was kind of boring at the same time, all you did was stand on one tile and move, that was my first experiance dancing.

Overall i had fun and the next morning, hangover and all i did a search for salsa lessons and signed up. One of my friends laughed at me and thought i was joking, my reply was, "Well when im out on the dance floor with a pretty lady and you are just sitting at the bar, then we'll see whos laughing" :)

On a side note, i danced with a girl with the most striking emerald green eyes tonight, looking into her eyes everything else faded away and i just moved with the music, i quit counting in my head, quit worrying about how i was moving my feet, it was a really cool feeling it was like being 'in the zone' of dancing if you will. That really drove home to me how intimate salsa dancing can be, i danced with a couple other girls and with out that eye contact it just wasnt the same feeling.

I can't wait to go salsa dancing again! I do believe i'm hooked!

RJ
Salsa addict in the making

[Matrix]

I started salsa dancing all of two weeks ago.

Hope to see you around here more! Tell us about your progress, experiences, joys, discomforts, frustrations, everything...

HAVE A BLAST! :applause:

[Sagitta]

I started salsa dancing all of two weeks ago.

What got me started was this, I went out for with some friends on our "weekly its friday lets go to the club and get drunk nite" I jumped out on the dance floor and did the akward white boy dance and the night club 'grind' it was ok, yet it was kind of boring at the same time, all you did was stand on one tile and move, that was my first experiance dancing.

Overall i had fun and the next morning, hangover and all i did a search for salsa lessons and signed up. One of my friends laughed at me and thought i was joking, my reply was, "Well when im out on the dance floor with a pretty lady and you are just sitting at the bar, then we'll see whos laughing" :)

On a side note, i danced with a girl with the most striking emerald green eyes tonight, looking into her eyes everything else faded away and i just moved with the music, i quit counting in my head, quit worrying about how i was moving my feet, it was a really cool feeling it was like being 'in the zone' of dancing if you will. That really drove home to me how intimate salsa dancing can be, i danced with a couple other girls and with out that eye contact it just wasnt the same feeling.

I can't wait to go salsa dancing again! I do believe i'm hooked!

RJ
Salsa addict in the making

Woo hoo! :banana: This is what I like to hear. Keep at it you lucky you.

[Houdinni]

In my case, I went with a friend to a salsa club with no ideia where I was stepping in...

Half way though the night a beautifull girl and coincidentally one of the best dancers (I had had time to notice by then...) came and invited me to dance, after seeing me looking at the dance floor. And there I went (Couldn't say no to a beautifull inviting me, could I??!!)

I liked it so much, that a month later I was starting classes, and a few weeks later I adopted the girl from this story as my salsa godmother. Up to date she is still one of the few people that gives me feedback after many of our dances so that I have a clue as to how to improve my dancing!

Once again, the moral is... Be nice to beginners... Who knows... Someday they might actually learn how to dance... Even how to dance better than you... ;) (This wasn't the case in this story...) :D

[MacMoto]

I decided to go to a local salsa class because there were no flamenco classes in my area :roll: -- true story. I needed to take up some form of exercise to lose weight, and I prefered dance to aerobics or gym. I wanted to do flamenco, but the only classes offered locally were salsa, bellydance and Scottish country dancing. Salsa somehow seemed closest to flamenco... (tells you how little I knew about salsa!) :roll: :lol:

I did enjoy it right from the start, but it took me 8 months before I discovered the joy of social dancing and a further 4 months to get completely hooked.

[Ismile2you]

Salsa somehow seemed closest to flamenco... (tells you how little I knew about salsa!) :roll: :lol:

One of my friends is dancing flamenco... The way she enters The moves into salsa.. great.. And last congress.. Hamburg. I followe a workshop by Manuel Mascarel. But a cool story...

How I started?!

I just wanted to be inspired by something new. I was dancing in clubs a lot. A friend of my suggested salsa.. So there we went to the trial-evening.. I didn't really like it, but I decided to try. After two lessons I couldn't stop..

and see: The addicted was born

[Matrix]

Hey, there's a lot of dancers merging some Flamenco positioning and Flamenco arms and hands to Salsa dancing.

I was dancing with Liz Lira (www.lizlira.com) at Rio, here in L.A., and when I took her back on 1 from a pattern, she extended her arms outward and did some Flamenco hand movement! I was like: "Woooow girl, you're putting Flamenco into Salsa now?" She told me all about it and about the workshops she was having soon. It truly looked beatiful the way she did it... 8)

I love Flamenco and know a bit about it cuz one of my ex-girlfriends was a Flamenco dancer. She's very good and likes to talk about it, so I learned just a little bit here and there.

I've also seen performances by ............. JOHNNY VAZQUEZ (I will make sure you guys don't forget that name) ... where he does a lot of Flamenco movement. It's actually pretty cool! I learned some of that stuff at the WCSC in L.A., but it was too minimal to even remember to apply it when I'm dancing. I would look dumb... not my thing.

[Medira]

I started salsa dancing all of two weeks ago...

I can't wait to go salsa dancing again! I do believe i'm hooked!

RJ
Salsa addict in the making

Welcome to the salsa world and to DF, RJ! :D Be sure to keep dropping by to let us know how it's going! :)

[kdogg]

Well, one summer night I had a strange dream. An angel appeared before me and gave me a pair of golden shoes. "It's your ticket to heaven," said the angel. I asked the angel what I'm suppose to do with it. "Wear them to dance salsa, what else? Those are holy salsa shoes that God himself wears at the salsa party in heaven," the angel answered. "What's salsa?" I asked. The angel said, "you'll find out tomorrow." The next day I ended up going to a salsa party and I'm hooked on it since then. I'm still looking for those golden shoes.

[tacad]

ohoh! are we witnesses to the birth of yet another salsa-addict?
:oops: :roll: We will see. I think it would be a good addiction to have. :wink:

[tacad]

The only problem is it's too far away during the week to get to. I've been on vacation but I have to go back to work. I don't know If I'll be willing to stay late and drive home. Also it's on the same night as my ballroom class. Oh, decisions, decisions. But it was really, really, nice last week. :wink:

Thanks Medira!Hmmm...if I can make a suggestion, maybe treat yourself once a month or so and make the trip out. That way, you've still got your regular ballroom classes and the late night drive home is only every once in a while.
This sounds like a good idea. Maybe twice a month. :wink:

There is a local place on Thursdays which I guess I should start going to. All in good time. :)

Do they have salsa nights on the weekend that you could get out to? That's always another option. :)
I definitely will be salsa-ing somewhere on the weekend. 8)

[Ms_Sunlight]

I just started. And why not?

[gte692h]

Well, one summer night I had a strange dream. An angel appeared before me and gave me a pair of golden shoes. "It's your ticket to heaven," said the angel. I asked the angel what I'm suppose to do with it. "Wear them to dance salsa, what else? Those are holy salsa shoes that God himself wears at the salsa party in heaven," the angel answered. "What's salsa?" I asked. The angel said, "you'll find out tomorrow." The next day I ended up going to a salsa party and I'm hooked on it since then. I'm still looking for those golden shoes.

lol. I'm gonna use that one :notworth:

gold shoes! damn! i need to find me a pair too

[gte692h]

On a side note, i danced with a girl with the most striking emerald green eyes tonight, looking into her eyes everything else faded away and i just moved with the music, i quit counting in my head, quit worrying about how i was moving my feet, it was a really cool feeling it was like being 'in the zone' of dancing if you will. That really drove home to me how intimate salsa dancing can be, i danced with a couple other girls and with out that eye contact it just wasnt the same feeling.



beautiful! ;)

this little 'side note' is the philosophy I live and die by, when it comes to salsa. you're lucky you've discovered this so quick. many folks get obsessed with patterns and never get time for these simple joys.

[Medira]

Well, one summer night I had a strange dream. An angel appeared before me and gave me a pair of golden shoes. "It's your ticket to heaven," said the angel. I asked the angel what I'm suppose to do with it. "Wear them to dance salsa, what else? Those are holy salsa shoes that God himself wears at the salsa party in heaven," the angel answered. "What's salsa?" I asked. The angel said, "you'll find out tomorrow." The next day I ended up going to a salsa party and I'm hooked on it since then. I'm still looking for those golden shoes.

lol. I'm gonna use that one :notworth:

gold shoes! damn! i need to find me a pair too
The shoes I usually dance in ae 3" gold heels...I guess I'm all set! ;)

[Sagitta]

Well, one summer night I had a strange dream. An angel appeared before me and gave me a pair of golden shoes. "It's your ticket to heaven," said the angel. I asked the angel what I'm suppose to do with it. "Wear them to dance salsa, what else? Those are holy salsa shoes that God himself wears at the salsa party in heaven," the angel answered. "What's salsa?" I asked. The angel said, "you'll find out tomorrow." The next day I ended up going to a salsa party and I'm hooked on it since then. I'm still looking for those golden shoes.

lol. I'm gonna use that one :notworth:

gold shoes! damn! i need to find me a pair too
The shoes I usually dance in ae 3" gold heels...I guess I'm all set! ;) Now dearie I dance barefoot. You trying to scare me with those spikes? :wink:

[Medira]

The shoes I usually dance in are 3" gold heels...I guess I'm all set! ;) Now dearie I dance barefoot. You trying to scare me with those spikes? :wink:Not at all Sunshine. ;) I'll tell ya what though, I'll join you barefoot sometime.

[Shooshoo]

I'm quite reserved by nature so I was going through this phase where I have agreed with myself to face my fears; one of which is dancing in public.

I started ballroom dancing classes which I enjoy, but find it very slow to progress. I was out in practice night and then the more advanced started dancing Salsa Reuda. Seeing it for the first time is really something. So I thought I should start lessons do that I can particpate in some sort of dance until I get better in ballroom.

And it just went off from there, after picking the beat and basic step and with reuda moves, I started dancing salsa, of course with more advanced salsa dancers.

What I like with Salsa is that it's a free dance and I like watching the way people dance it differently. I still like ballroom alot, but it's just slow in progressing and you have to take lessons all the time.