The crazy people

A question for other salsa/mambo crazies:

Does every obsessive dancer have moments where it occurs to them that they might just be mildly insane?

In the run up to the New York congress and my first escapade out of the UK in two months, my mind is completely preoccupied with the event on the horizon. I'm so excited that I can barely think of anything else. Don't get me wrong, most of the time, I'm much more balanced, but after a particularly great night out or before a congress that will undoubtedly be amazing, I cannot fail to get this huge buzz.

And in feeling this, comes the feeling that somehow, indulging in my hobby to the extent of travelling far and wide for it, may be just a little bit unhealthy. While I understand that dancing is not actually physically unhealthy, as no one will deny the health benefits of a little/lot of harmless exercise, I am aware that most of society probably regards my activities as akin to some pretty serious over-indulgence.

Why do mere mortals (i.e. the non-dancing folk) shake their heads when they hear we are going to yet another salsa night/party/congress? How do you separate a hobby and from an obsession? At which point do you become actually become addicted? And why do we often get more disappointed looks for planning a weekend around salsa than a binge drinker does for planning yet another pub crawl?

Firstly, who are these judgemental folk whose thoughts make us feel like we're toeing the line with regards to "crazy"? Mere mortals aka the "normal people" are emotionally balanced. They approach things in a measured manner. And they certainly are not salsa addicts. Normal people are not only those who do not dance, they are those who do not dance regularly. Those who can dip in and out of the salsa scene once every three months and profess to being satisfied with a basic level of ability. They are those who are more interested in developing a breadth of knowledge across a number of activities than the depth of knowledge that others (like myself and the other crazies) are seeking.

Ultimately, being a "crazy" does not depend on your ability. I have an old friend who recently became addicted and she's only been dancing for 12 weeks. It took less long than that for her to catch the bug. It doesn't really depend on your activity of choice either - you could be crazy about kizomba, about tango, about skiing, or kitesurfing or anything else. What defines us is the unflinching ability to focus on one activity and pursue it relentlessly. Most "crazies" from other disciplines understand the "salsa crazy" people - if not for their interest, then for their focus.

Perhaps everyone has a proficiency level they are aiming for or will ultimately be satisfied with. Once reached, maintenance is all that is necessary and depending on your skill sufficiency level, this may not be very much at all. According to this theory, the "breadth" dancers set themselves a sufficiency goal early on and once there, they accept that they have reached it and move on. The "depth" dancers on the other hand operate with rather more flexible goal posts. Once a goal is reached, a new one is set. This supposedly continues until there are either no new goals, or none that are reachable within reason. Is our progress ultimately capped by our ability? Or is it capped by our attention span?

Thus far, my abilities have proved insufficient to capture more than temporary satisfaction, my focus is unflinching and my addiction lives on.