Salsa Reviews

Hooray! 'So you think you can dance?' has finally come to the UK.

I have followed So you think you can dance? in the US since 2005 when it started. They have had some of the best dancers I have ever seen on TV performing and competing on the show. Some of these have gone on to be the professional partners to the celebrities on 'Dancing with the stars', the US version of Strictly Come Dancing. Lacey Schwimmer and Dmitry Chaplin being the two which come to mind.

So I am hoping that the same trend will follow here, as Yanet Torres is one of our finalists this year. Yanet has won the Tropicana World Salsa Championship in Cuba 3 times with her partner Raphel Del Busto. She is a salsa and Hip Hop dancer second to none with the most amazing body isolation I have ever witnessed, and we now get to watch her perform every week on the telly, and maybe now as a knock on effect maybe we will get a really good salsa dance on Strictly.

Now as a woman who loves her Cuban style salsa dancing I will sit in awe of her technique and musicality. My boyfriend on the other hand will be drop jawed in awe of a whole bunch of other things. But if I get to put her on slow motion replay and try to work out how she moves the way she does I will not care a jot how much he is drooling. As you will gather I am a fan of Yanet and after attending several lessons with her at various salsa congresses and weekends I can still only marvel at just how good she is.

So in conclusion will I be glued to my TV every Saturday evening? - yes. Will I picking up the phone to vote for her?.you bet I will. Am I going to nag you all to do the same..Absolutely.

Cuban Salsa Dancing in a Welsh Castle!

I have just noticed that I did not tell you about our weekend of pure Cuban salsa dancing at Bodelwyydan Castle! How could I forget to tell you about one of the best salsa weekends I have had in my, somewhat short, salsa dancing career?

First the setting. What can I say? It was a great place with a mix of old style (the castle) modern design (the bedrooms, well the one I slept in) and functionality (the very spacious bowls hall we had some of our lessons in). In the odd spare moments we got to wonder around the castle and grounds and even managed to make complete fools of ourselves dressing up in the costumes provided for period photo taking. We also had the option to go swimming in the indoor pool (way to go Moe with the impromptu pool party) stream room and spa. Our room was an upgrade to a Signature, which was well worth the extra. We were in a block of modern rooms who’s main door was 15 feet from the door to the Lowther room which was the hub of all the party nights and social dancing all weekend. We had no noise but we did have the convenience of proximity to the main event and a massive king sized bed.

Now I am one of those people who go away for a salsa weekend with a tuck bag full of nibbles and choccies, but rest assured you will not need any of that here. This is a full board package with a buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner in a surprisingly good restaurant. We managed only one breakfast not just because of late nights but because we could not eat anymore!

The lessons we went to were great fun and very well attended, in fact maybe to well attended. That was my only criticism of the whole event. The only room big enough for the classes was the bowling hall. All of the other rooms were so over crowded that you could not see the teachers properly and that was just frustrating. The level of dancing was very good and the organisers are quiet particular that you grade yourself correctly (a good thing in my opinion) in order that you get the most out of the lessons and also so that you do not slow down a group.

The teachers were world class and with some of the usual faces, like Moe Flex, Yanet Torres (vote for her on So you think you can dance please), Susan, and Yersin. I was particularly impressed with Sergio & Alieva and Wilmer & Maria. I can also highly recommend the salsa for beginners which was given over 2 day by Alison after popping in to have a look we found a group of people have a blast in the Pavillion taking there first steps.

The three party night were fabulous with some brilliant dancing and topped off with spectacular shows given by a bunch of extremely accomplished professional salsa dancers. I enjoyed the magic of the Orisha dances and the ecliptic mix of Yang’s hip-hop salsa style and Son danced by Wilmer and Maria.

They even provided a hand picked group of fun male dancers called the S.W.A.T. team who were there to dance with all the ladies!

If you like cross body salsa, don’t bother looking for it here, this is purely a Cuban salsa weekend with teachers from Cuba and across Europe who will amuse and amaze you at the same time. I loved it and have already booked my ticket for next year.

Asere @ Mellor Brook Community Centre

We were invited to this at short notice but having heard Asere perform last year at Southport with Billy Cobham we had no hesitation is making sure we got there to hear this authentic Cuban band play.

This was a strange venue for such a lively band. A small sleepy village community centre in Lancashire on a Sunday night was shaken to it’s very core by the arrival of our salsa crew, and the strange looks we were getting with our rowdy behaviour told us what the locals thought of us, however as the band started with a cracking version of El Cantante and we all started to dance at the back of the hall the village folks soon started to loosen up.

From traditional Cuban Son to Salsa and the odd contemporary ballad, Asere are proof that live Cuban music is going to be here to stay. They performed some of their own music written by band members past and present and in general rocked the building with some great rhythms and beats.

Just to give you a breakdown of the musical calibre of the band the members.

The Musicians:-

David Echevarria - lead vocal, composer and percussionist. Aged 29. Born in the capital Havana. Earns his living as a singer with Asere and in Cuba with other groups.

Juan Luis 'Luz Brillante' Alarcon - bongos, cowbell, cajon and congas. Aged 29. He is married with a little boy aged one year and seven months. Born in Manzanillo (Eastern Cuba). He works with Asere and in Cuba with pop and rock groups.

Jose Reyes 'Guajiro' -Tres (an instrument derived from the Spanish guitar) and chorus. Aged 34 and is married. Born in Yateras in the region of Guantanamo, Eastern Cuba. He performs with Asere and is also a farmer with small holding just outside Havana.

Alejandro Padron - guitarist, singer and composer. Aged 33, married, he will become a father in December. Born in Santiago de Cuba. He performs with Asere and as a troubadour in Cuba (singer/songwriter), he also writes music for a Cuban TV series.

Vicente P. Arencibia - congas, voice and hand percussion. Aged 40, married with two children; a boy aged fifteen and a girl aged three and a half. Born in Havana. He performs with Asere and also works as a mechanical engineer in Cuba.

Ivan Suarez - Bass and chorus Aged 28. Born in Sibanicu, Camaguey (Centre of the island). He works exclusively with Asere.

Michel Padron - Trumpet, chorus, composer and musical director of Asere. Aged 27, married. Born in Havana. He performs with Asere and the Havana Symphony Orchestra. He also writes music for Cuban television.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the music and the dancing, and by the end of the evening not many of the locals had stayed in their seats choosing to join us to dance and jig about in there own versions of latin dance. The applause after the final song nearly brought the roof down and the insistence of the crowd that we wanted more said it all.

If you get the chance to see them I would recommend that you grab it with both hands take you dancing shoes and go have really good night out.

The Wardrobe at Leeds Friday 20th November

We missed out last time our salsa dancing gang went to The Wardrobe for a night out and they came back with such a good report that we thought we should give it a go, so last Friday off we set with a car full. Having got lost in Leeds city centre and paid a taxi to show us the way we finally got in.

Everyone was a bit slow in getting going until Fuego Latino's Nicolai stepped onto the stage to give a beginners lesson. Now I've met Nicolai before on salsa dancing holiday in Spain so I know what a good teacher he is but some of the others with us have never seen him before and I have to say they were very impressed with how quickly he managed to get even the un-schooled salsa dancers to put their feet in the right places at the right times. He is also a very sensual dancer ladies, one of our friends said after dancing with him and I quote 'If my husband danced like him I would make love to him every day!' So if you get the opportunity ladies ask him for a dance and fellas watch him and learn that's what you need to do to get us ladies going!!!

As for the rest of the night, the music, with DJ LUBI, FABIO BAHIA & SILVAO was good, the level of dancers was up there too and the dance floor was not too busy (I suspect because GBSex was on) so we all had a full on salsa fuelled night. I loved it and if it wasn't so far away (4.30am when we got home) I would be there every time it was on.

If you go, and I can recommend that you do give it a try, I strongly suggest that you wear as little as possible as it is as hot as a cauldron down there and remember that it's not only the dance floor you can dance on, use the whole room if it's busy it all adds to the atmosphere after all.

Next event is Friday 11th December: RUMBEROS CHRISTMAS PARTY - another BIG salsa session with guest artists still tbc.

SALSA KINGDOM SEPTEMBER 2009

What a weekend!! Phew!.. it's taken me a week to recover, and this was only the second Salsa Kingdom to be held and what a good job of it they did. The 1st Salsa Kingdom held at The Park Hall Hotel and Conference Centre was a very good start to Salsa Kingdom. This year's event was held around Southport. Salsa Kingdom kind of took over Southport! The town wasn't quite sure what hit it!!.

The three party nights held in the Floral Hall, were great fun and much salsa and bachata dancing was done by all with the odd merengue and cha cha cha thrown in for good measure. Friday and Saturday were both very busy but Sunday was not quiet so well attended surprising after all the activity of previous days!) The Saturday night featured a live salsa band, The New Swing Sextet, brilliant is all I have to say. With Willy Torres and his band, and world class DJ likes Henry Knowles the music was very good all weekend and seeing not one but 2 world-class bands jamming together on stage on Saturday night was without doubt an experience not to be missed by any salsa fan and a highlight of the weekend.

The show this year was 'The Magic Of Salsa Kingdom' performed in the theatre of The Floral Hall. Produced by Maria Torres (who also co-wrote and directed and choreographed) and Will Robinson with music by Willy Torres. Showing the story of Salsa through the eyes of a Cuban family starting in Cuba and arriving in New York, the story spanned the time frame from the 70's to present day. The show elicited mixed reactions from the people I spoke to who had attended it. Some loved it and others said they were not so sure they liked it. Performed in Spanish it was difficult to follow at times although the dancing was very good. The highlight for me was the performance by Anissa Gathers whose portrayal of Celia Cruz was a welcome fun filled performance with lots of audience participation.

The Sunday night Salsa Show case featuring Maria Torres Emerging Artist Group was better received although this Salsero did not emerge from her late evening siesta in time to see it so I cant comment! If you did see it let me know what you thought.

Which brings me onto the lessons. In the main these were cross-body and geared more to the beginner and intermediate/improvers. There were only 9 advanced lessons over the 2 days. Lessons were spread out around the town and tripping from The Floral Hall, The Arts Centre, and The Prince of Wales Hotel with only 15 minutes between lessons was always going to be a challenge! This was my only real complaint over the whole weekend, the venues were to spread out and as a consequence we did not do some of the lessons we had planned to simply because we did not want to keep traipsing across town to get to them. And this was a warm pleasant weather weekend. If it had been raining (as would usually happen during a September in the UK) I doubt we would have even left the hotel!

However the lessons we did attend with the likes of Leon Rose, Mo Flex and Maria Torres were all good lessons and we did learn some interesting moves. Some classes were very crowded and it was frustrating not to be able to see the teachers or hear them sometimes, but on the whole they were worth going to.

All in all I would recommend anyone who has not been to a salsa weekender (cause this was never billed as a congress) should give it a go. I will be back next year to see how things have been improved on. If you went to Southport Salsa Kingdom then let me know what you thought, how were your lessons and will you be going back for more?

Bring on SK10!

PALENKE AT PRESTON

We had a great night at Dancers at Preston Grasshoppers on Saturday night. What a brilliant band Palenke are. They performed 2 sets of non stop salsa for us all to dance to with the odd bachata and merengue thrown in to break things up it was non stop dancing for this salsa dancer.

The place was packed too even though there were also 2 other parties going on that same night. I was expecting it to be quieter than normal but obviously Palenke are a big draw for the crowds. How was it a at the other parties? To anyone that went to the 2009 Salsa Northwest African Fundraising Salsa Night & Adlington Community Centre, Chorley hosted in Phil's absence by Sue from Salsa Feel The Heat, how did it go? And what went on at the LATIN VYBEZ with Robero Pla & His Latin Ensemble host by the Latin Crew at Bury? Comments on our blog please.

Now this weekend the only salsa parties on in our area are the Noches De Salsa Party at The Co-op Sports and Social Club, Blackpool, Salsology party in Manchester and Salsa Cubana with Irmita in Southport. All on Friday, and nothing on Saturday for us salsa dancers to do! Suggestions please.

Hot Chilli Festival Salsa at Levens Hall

Well it's August and the sun is shining so it must have be time for some open air salsa. Twin that with the Leven Hall Chilli Festival and it is means that we are all in for a hot time.

Levens Hall is just 6 miles south of Kendal in the Lake District and is a beautiful setting. With its magnificent country manor house dating from the 16th century and it's world famous topiary gardens Levens Hall is the host to the annual Chilli Festival. With many stalls offering a wide range of chilli-related items such as jams, jellies, chocolate, ice-cream, sauces, seeds, powders, chutneys, clothing, plants, breads etc. We were able to sample foods from the Caribbean, Mexico, and India as well as many renowned products from Cumbria, some of whom went hot' for the occasion. There were also stalls selling the newly brewed Levens Hall Ancient Orchard Cider, Cowmire Damson Gin, and Pimms.

But the main feature as its centre piece is a marquee with a live salsa band and salsa dancing displays. This year's salsa music was provided by Mojito who gave a brilliant performance for an array of salsa dancers.

The salsa dancing this year was co-ordinated by good old Uncle Phil Kalia from Salsanorthwest ably assisted by Helen. Phil gave lessons all day Saturday and throughout Sunday. He also brought along his new salsa formation team whole gave us two exciting shows during the band breaks.

People from the audience were encouraged to participate in these lessons and coaxed onto the floor by all of the other salsa dancers to take there first salsa steps. We all obviously feel the need to spread our addiction to others!

If you didn't make it this year do try and get there next year to join in the fun and frolics.

Bournemouth Cuban Salsa Congress

Fabulous!!!

What an amazing weekend we have had. They level of dancing was way higher than anything I have previously experienced and the teaching line up was second to none. Beginner classes were available and there were dancers of all levels but in general there seemed to be so many really good dancers that I think most of the beginners and improvers were reluctant to get on the floor at first, but over the weekend they got their confidence to do so.

The whole event took place over 3 nights of partying and two whole days of lessons, and when I say whole days I mean whole days. No lunch breaks here! The lessons started at 10.00am each day and went on till 6.00pm none stop with over 70 hours of workshops and lessons. But I will start at the beginning:

Friday night was first night party night. You know what it's like everyone testing the water to see if there are people there on their own level cause nobody wants to look foolish. But the people were really friendly the music was fab and the show was jaw dropping. Moe Flex (the best party man on the salsa scene) and Kerry Ribchester (the female equivalent of Moe) started the night off with a rousing warm up and lesson to get us all in the mood. Then we all danced our socks off to the music from Angela De Cuba, DJ Amado, DJ Richie, Fadi, William Hernandez and Yersin Rivas. The show with Iris De Brito, Osbanis and Aneta, Leandro Charanga, Idalberto Alcala and Sarah, U-Tribe and Rayda Salas and Dawes Figueroa was inspiring and really gave us a taste of what was to come. The main Pavilion Ballroom hosted the salsa dancing. There was a second room opened up downstairs after the floor show, called the Latino Room, where we could dance meringue, bachata, and reggaeton. And it all went on till 4.00am! We went home foot sore but ready for more the next day.

Saturday; after a mere 5 hours of sleep, lessons started at 10.00am with Moe Flex and his class called fast track to Cuban Style Salsa. Don't you just love Moe. He can infuse a room of weary hung-over folks to pick up there heads and dance their socks off with his beaming smile and a 'Come on, you are the hardcore people who got up for the first class so let's get going!' Our next class with U-Tribe was a revelation. I have never seen these two before and I have to say that I would now travel the country and beyond to go to any class they were giving. Based in France they even have their own range of U-Tribe clothing. Check out our videos of the three classes we had with them over the weekend and you will see what I mean. We then spilt up for styling classes with Kerry Ribchester for the ladies, and Idalberto Alcala for the men, then on to a Master class in performance techniques with Rayda and Dawes. After the next class of partner work with Yersin Rivas which was very good and great fun we finally gave in and had a break just so we could eat but continued with the hilarious bachata class give by Frank Santos followed by partner work with Fadi.

We gave the 6.00pm Cuban matinee party a miss in favour of dinner and a siesta, then on to a Saturday night Pa'ti which was as good as Fridays, and the show with all of the same people as the previous night was made extra special by the addition of 3 times Cuban Salsa Champion Janet Fuentes. By this time I was getting a bit over salsaed and was grateful for the Latino Room with some alternative music, and this leads to my only negative for the whole weekend. The salsa music in the main ballroom whilst good would have been more enjoyable, in my humble opinion, if it had been broken up occasionally with some other dances. By 3.00am we had fizzled out and staggered back to the hotel for some much needed shut eye. I am reliably informed that the party continued through till 4.00am and then carried on into the car park till 8.00am!!!

Sunday lessons continued on with Moe Flex, Richie, Mauricio Reyes, U-Tribe, Farah Portella, Amanda Maitland, and others. We had frequent breaks due to us seriously flagging and trying to conserve energy for the party to come that night. Also not helped by a blazing sun outside the windows and each time we had to go across the road to the Premier Inn Ballroom for a lesson the very inviting benches to sit and sunbath on. On the moving around for lessons subject, we never went up to the Piccadilly Hotel for any lessons because we only had 10 minutes between classes and it was a five minute walk away which would have made it a bit of a rush, especially if the previous class had over run.

Just a note on the variety of the workshops available. There was everything from a Cuban Salsa boot camp workshop which ran across the whole weekend with Enrique Perez for beginners to start off with, through to 'Pimp your salsa with reggaeton' with Yersin and 'Yambu and Guaguanco men and women' (I have no idea so don't ask, we didn't do it) If you want to make your salsa have genuine Cuban styling and wish to perfect the Cuban salsa art this is the place to do it!

Sunday classes finished off with a Rueda on Bournemouth beach which thoroughly confused the natives and gave a free half hour of entertainment for the tourists on the pier. Felt a bit like a flash mob.

Fully caffeined up we carried on to Sunday night and the live Cuban salsa band the name of whom I am sorry I was to shattered to make a not of. They were great whoever they were. Just wish the tracks were a little shorter because the first time I got up to dance it went on for 12 minutes and I could have managed it on Friday but by Sunday that finally did me in and I spent the rest of the evening avoiding eye contact so nobody would ask me to dance anymore marathons! Still I loved it all (every minute).

Will we be back next year?..you bet ya we will!! Are we going to recommend that you go too??. Absolutely. Get yourself there and have a blast, be amazed at the professional dancers, be shocked by what you can achieve with the proper teaching, and go away shattered but enthused by the very vibrant Cuban salsa scene that has been on show for 3 unstoppable days and nights. You will love it.

A truly fabulous weekend. Thanks to all involved.

Party night 18th July with Salsa Northwest.

Civic Hall, Longridge

We set off on Saturday night for Longridge for a full-on night of salsa dancing with Uncle Phil Kaila expecting to have a lesson with Farid who was to fly over from France, but Phil seems to be having bad luck with his guest teachers recently. Unfortunately Farid had injured his ankle the previous night and was unable to make it. Still his misfortune was not going to stop Salsa Northwest from giving us all a good night. Phil had arranged stand in teachers in the form of Ces and Kerry from Latinxces. Ces and Kerry have regular lessons in Halifax, Bradford and Leeds and having had an hour with them doing a very good shine class I would recommend any Yorkshire folk in the area to seek them out pronto. Their website is http://www.latinxces.com/ for further details about them their classes, and events.

They both have a cool smooth style of salsa dancing which looks great on the dance floor and they made the lesson instructive and fun. It was just a shame that so few people were there to enjoy it. Where has everyone gone? Was something else on the same night? If so you missed out on a good night with Phil and the gang. Mind you we all had plenty of room on the dance floor to practice what we had just been taught and enough dancers to have plenty of tries to get it right.

DJ Barry of course did a brill job as usual ably assisted by Ces who took over the decks later in the evening.

Next Salsa party night at Longridge is 15th August, guest to be advised. In the meantime Salsa Northwest has teamed up with Salsa Kingdom to bring DJ Henry Knowles over from the USA for what will be a amazing night at Next Generation, Moss Lane Chorley on Saturday 1st August. See Phil's website at http://www.salsanorthwest.co.uk/events.htm for more info on this one.

See you all there!!

July at Horwich with Salsafix

Round at the RMI Club

Yet again another good night was had at Horwich with Martin Cross and the Salsafix team. DJ Gillian (she of the Bejeweled fame on Facebook - give me some tips Gillian - how do you do it??) gave us all a fabulous night spinning the discs and the dizzying array of photos and videos which she also manages to take during the course of an evening show the ultimate skill in the female art of multi-tasking! Well done Gillian.

I danced my socks of as usual as did all of my mates. The level of the dancers at Salsafix parties is always a source of joy to me but there was some noticeable absenteeism from some of the regular faces. Credit crunch or swine flu fear I wonder? However the new faces made up for the lower numbers.

Next one is Friday 21st August at Horwich but don't forget the 26th July at Sizzling Sunday Salsa @ Roper Hall, Friargate, Preston, with DJ Barry and Thanassi. Also Wednesday 5th August 2009 at The On2 Lounge Manchester. This is a monthly mid weeknight for Manchester salsa and mambo dancers... (the 1st Wednesday in the Month) At The Methodist Church, 1 Central Buildings, Oldham St, Manchester. Social Dancing is from 10:00 - 11:30 for just £2 There are classes (On2) with Mushi at the same venue beforehand see the www.salsology.co.uk for more info. Comment on both of these to this site are of course welcome, be good to hear from some of you.

In the mean time I'm of to Longridge for the Saturday party night with Uncle Phil at Salsa NorthWest, bring it on!

Salsa Feel the Heat Summer Salsa Weekender

Haydock Ramada Eclipse, July 2009

We had a great weekend at the Summer Salsa Weekender that Sue and Salsa Feel the Heat organised over the first weekend in July. The organisation was very good; the venue was ideal, and the teaching of the highest standards.

Sue and her team of helpers made the weekend run smoothly and were on hand at all times for any questions and to help direct folks to the classes. They had booked some of the best Cuban salsa teachers on the circuit which included, Rohan Brown, Leandro Charanga, Moe Flex, Rafael De Busto and his dance partner Yanet Fuentes Torres, Susan & Jim, Yersin Guillen Rivas and Damarys Farres. With DJs Hot Pepper, Doctor Jim, and Flecha running the decks it was a sizzling, fun packed salsa feast for us all.

The Hotel Ramada Encore at Haydock was the venue for all the classes and party nights. The bedrooms were extremely comfortable and this writer wanted to take her bathroom home with her it was so good! Most of the action took place in the air-conditioned lounge and main room (called the Hub for the event) and since the weather was some of the hottest this year the air-con was greatly appreciated. We took over most of the hotel but there were some other guests who all seemed somewhat stunned by the barmy bunch of people throwing themselves about with wild abandon.

The classes covered all levels and we found that the guests were very adept at grading themselves into the correct classes for their levels of ability. We also liked the classes on styles which we had not tried before, in particular Orishas and Salsa Suelta.

The Orishsa class with Yanet turned out to be a real education. The Orishsa is the collective name for the Santa Ria gods or idols, each of which has there own dance, character, colours, and piece of music. Starting with a 5-year-old boy through to an old man and a feisty female, the dances show how Santa Ria has influenced the mix of salsa that we see today. Salsa as you all know means a mix of ingredients into a sauce, and from learning about the ingredients that make up the salsa which we dance like the Orishsa dances, Rumba, Son, and Afro-Caribbean you can develop your Salsa dancing to the highest possible level. We had no idea what it was when we walked in but Yanet made it fun and educational at the same time and left me wanting to know more.

Suelta is the Cuban Salsa version of a shine and the lesson with Yersin was a great introduction to this. We had such a laugh learning this routine. And I cannot sing praises enough to the abilities of Yersin as a teacher. He was so enthusiastic we were all infused with a desire to get it right.

We also had lessons with Moe Flex who, of course, was his usual hilarious self even though he had been travelling back from the African continent for 3 days and was still trailing his suitcase full of dirty washing with him! Leandro's Son class and Damarys Timba classes stretched or abilities to the max but were well worth the effort. Ladies Rumba with Susan and finally Rafael with advanced salsa finished me off completely. I must also make a note of the stunning performance of Satine Di Monte with her burlesque dances which included a class performance at the Sunday night party and Yanet and Rafael with their world class dance routine at the Saturday party night.

The Friday party was well attended and set the high level of dancing for the rest of the weekend. Saturday party night was packed and a full on night in all senses. Sunday night was of course more subdued as we were all shattered and ready for home but still lots of dancing done.

My only criticism was that at the party nights, because only guest resident in the hotel could stay after 1.00am, the parties were stopped for non-residents to leave and the DJs stopped playing music. It all fell a bit flat and never got going again after that and left us all feeling a bit let down. There was a general air of confusion as to what to do next and because the party was not picked up again soon enough it just petered out each night as people wandered off to bed.

But over all a really good weekend. I can recommend it to all levels of Cuban style dancers. We will definitely be back for more next year.

Well done Sue and the Salsa Feel the Heat team.

PARTY NIGHT WITH SALSA NORTHWEST

AT LONGRIDGE, PRESTON ON SATURDAY 20TH JUNE 2009.

Well what a cracking night that turn out to be!

It did start off a bit slow with some disappointment. The featured teacher Alfredo Torres, a Cuban born dancer who now lives and teaches in Hungary, was stopped at Munich airport by customs. Despite having the correct visa and the best efforts of Uncle Phil Kaila, who tried to negotiate with the relevant government departments of both the UK and Germany, they refused to let Alfredo continue on his journey. So we all missed out on a master class with one of the best Cuban salsa teachers in the world. How annoying was that!! I will be having a rant on the frankly daft rules on the travel of Cuban artist at a later date.

However, Uncle Phil contacted Moe Flex and arranged for one of his posse, Fadi, to come up to satisfy all the Cuban style salsa dancers who converged on the venue, and a darn good job he did too. Fadi's Rueda class was great fun with lots of new moves for us all and some good oldies too - good old moves that is; not referring to the age of the dancers there. While we are on the subject I have to say that it's about time somebody came up with a definitive guide for names of rueda moves. It does cause some confusion when different teachers use various names for the same moves. Something else for a later date.

The rest of the night went with a swing as Barry G started off the dancing from the decks and then handed it all over to Mehmet (a.k.a DJ Salsero) and Fadi for the rest of the evening. 3 DJ's in one night, who could ask for more.

Mehmet had come over from Cyprus to promote the Cyprus Salsa Jam in September, more details of which can be found on the web site at www.salsajamcyprus.com

Have a look at the nights on these clips:-

The only negative was that not as many people turned up as usual. A lot of our local regulars were missing and I can only assume that they were at the other party which went on that same night. Anybody got any comments on how the Summer Salsa Ball hosted by Salsa Pa'lante went at the tennis club at Fulwood? We had a fabulous night how was yours?

GBSEx 20008 winning weekender/congress of the year

as voted for by thousands of UK dancers.

And well deserved it was too. I loved my two days and three nights there tremendously. It was a revelation. This is how it should be done, in style, with good organisation and lots of forethought. They even had a gourmet chippy from midnight for those late night munches to keep you going till 4 in the morning. Emma and Kate Moore certainly know how to put on a fabulous event.

It started with the booking process which then gave you access to the lesson program to reserve your place in the lessons of your choice, and with over 80 hours of lessons available that took some sorting out I can tell you. It was a bit complicated but worth it as it meant that they were able to balance the male and female dancers in each class and limit numbers so each class was manageable. It covers everything from beginners level to master classes with some of the worlds best teachers.

The venue was Manchester Town Hall. A magnificent building which has 7 large venues, including the spectacular Great Hall, all under one roof and with beautiful wooden flooring. It has a Clock Tower with its 24 bells, vaulted ceilings, rich decorations, mosaics, stain glass windows, statues and stunning, sweeping stairways. It was like a salsa fantasy land, awesome. It is ideally located in the middle of Manchester's City Centre, surrounded by bars, cafes and restaurants, and has excellent accommodation and travel connections.

There was a pre congress party at the Chicago Rock Café, which I missed, but reports have said it was really good fun. I won't be missing that this year. Are you listening other half? We will be doing it all this year to the fullest possible extent, and I will make sure I don't do it with the flu this time!

So we get there on the first night, Friday, for registration and party night. Well, wow is all I can say. The standard of dancing was brilliant. Mainly cross body on 1 and 2, we Cuban style dancers were a bit few and far between. But as I needed to try and master the cross body style I could see this would be a good baptism of fire. Dancing took place in three rooms one of which was the Great Hall. This was also the location of the first of the showcases.

The showcases across the three nights had some brilliant displays of the salsa art from local performers like Salsology to performers who came from across the world, like Eider and Caterine from UAE who did a stunning argentine tango. But I am not going to spoil it for you. If you want a glimpse of what they were like click on these videos below.

The inimitable Rohan Brown who added his usual fun element to the proceedings ably compered the whole thing.

We staggered back to our hotel in the early hours only to be woken by the alarm clock 5 hours later. We staggered back to the venue to start or first lesson at 11.00. I did have the presence of mind when booking the classes not to do the 10.00 lessons and over the next few days I was very grateful for that. I strongly recommend if you like to party then don't even think of doing the early morning lessons, you won't make it.

Over the next two days we had lessons with Leon Rose, Los Hermanos, The Cobo Brothers, Robert Charlemagne, and Femke and Manoah, to name but a few. The standard of teaching was exceptional. The only question mark I had was that the bachata class was very basic and not challenging enough for my taste, however that should be corrected this year with the addition of Frank Santos to the proceedings. Overall we learnt a great deal and came away buzzing with moves and tips.

The other thing I liked was that we were permitted to video the teachers at the end of each lesson going through the routine they had just taught us. It was a bit like a paparazzi press pack lining up, but with 10 lessons over 2 days there was no way we would have remembered all of the patterns. So remember to take your camcorders for GBSex 2009 you will need them. We have gone over and over ours to perfect the moves we learnt and now have them to go back to for reference if we need them The teachers were so friendly and approachable, and happy to answer any questions we had at the end of the lessons. Nothing was too much trouble for them all.

The Saturday night party was absolutely packed with dancers of every level and style. I spent some time in the great hall watching the professional dancers just having fun. Seeing the whole dance floor stop at the musical pauses like a freeze frame and continuing on dancing with the next musical phrase was something else. The musicality and interpretation was stunning to watch. Whilst through in the other rooms us lesser mortals danced till 4.00am in our usual club fashion. The pro dancers and teachers were happy to dance with anyone who asked them, so if you want to dance with the top dancers and teachers just ask, they will rarely say no.

If you then expect Sunday night to be a quieter slower night after 10 hours of lessons and 2 party nights back to back totalling over 14 hours think again. It was not quite as busy as Saturday but that was the only difference. Another brilliant night which started with me thinking noooooo I can't do anymore make it stop now, and ended at 03.00am with me shouting I am soooo coming back next year!!!

This was a fabulous experience and this writer is happy to recommend it to all salsa and Latin American dancers at all levels. Your dancing and confidence will be improved. You will have new moves to take back to your own clubs and spread amongst your partners. But best of all you will have had an amazing weekend with like-minded folks who will help and encourage you to be the best you can be.

Well done Emma and Kate for a fabulous salsa event and I shall see you in November 2009.

Edie the Salsa FREAK - You are the BOMB!!

Fabulous weekend with the American Lady

The bank holiday was fast approaching, there are many options that are vying for my attention this weekend. DIY obviously will never win unless it's absolutely essential - like the practice mirror that had to be put up a few weeks back :-). There is a free dance festival down the road on Blackpool Promenade which could be worth a look, especially as Vincent and Flavia are performing on the main stage. Erm, maybe. Or I could do nothing and hope that the weather is nice so that I can laze in the garden.

But there's another option - local dance teacher Phil Kaila has been promoting an event that I nearly went to last year but declined to attend. Speaking to those who took part last year made me think that I'd missed something special so this year I made the last minute decision to go to Edie the Salsa Freak's 2-day beginners salsa boot camp held over the saturday and Sunday of the late May Bank Holiday with a bonus Friday night party.

Now I could see what the others were telling me about first hand. Could it be as good as they had said? Would I get anything out of it as I'm no longer a beginner? (I've been dancing 3 years nearly). Is she a real freak? If so, how freaky and are the salsa dacers of the North West of England ready?

A short clip of Helen Walker dancing with guest teacher Peter Fige.

Further investigation after paying for the weekend tells me that the Saturday is very much a beginners day with Sunday being an introduction to musicality techniques with guest teacher the excellent Peter Fige from Hungary.

Yes, Saturday was a return to the basics, for me at least, but Edie has a great teaching style which is very inspirational and the day jollies along at a very decent pace with countless high tens and regular compliment encouraged by ad for the students. Edie is attentive to all the students and is very quick to help with specifics as and when needed. Motivational is a word I would use to descibe the day in general. I went home tired but happy.

Sunday starts with bright sunshine so it's outside in the open air to practice some leading techniques which confuses the steady stream of people looking for the boot sale that is usually held in the hall we are using. Then it's inside to practice our spinning techniques - now I see what I've been doing wrong all this time. Oh, just a quick word about Edie's method of getting up after a dancefloor fall - it is hilarious - a must see!

When Peter arrives we get straight into practicing musicality moves - something he is exceptional at - number one in the world according to Edie and I won't disagree.. Several demonstrations follow and after much practicing we are all still looking a bit 'special needs' as we try to co-ordinate bits of our bodies that don't want to co-operate. Not a pretty site but plenty of smiles all round.

The smiles are still on our faces as Edie finishes up with a group discussion and a 20 minute question and answer session. You probably want to ask me was it worth going to. I can only respond with a resounding YES. Beginners may struggle with day 2 and advanced dancers might see day 1 as a bit steady but overall a fantastic 2 days of dancing and learning so it's a high ten to Edie and a 'you're the bomb' from me.

Pontins Cuban Salsa Weekend April 2009

Numbers are down but spirits are high

I'm a mainly cross-body dancer and have been dancing about 2 years now, but a new partner is trying to 'Cubanise' me. I know it sounds painful but I'm throwing myself into it with total hip swinging abandon :-) Cuban dancers are cool and they enjoy the dancing more and they have more of a laugh and.. we have all heard this, right.. I want some of it even though it seems to me that not all the above is true. Maybe more on this topic at a later date. So now its dilla ki no this and enchouffle that; which I still don't know how to say (or spell, I suspect).

The latest installment of the Cubanisation programme is the Pontins Cuban Salsa Weekender in Blackpool. So we pack the car with the essentials - dance shoes, towels, water bottles, some booze, not much, and pillows because we hear that the provided ones leave a lot to be desired. Then out on the road for the 2 mile trip to the holiday camp - yes, we're local. At least if it gets too much I can escape back home to safety..

And indeed the accomodation is basic.. but the dancing should be good. We are here with a contingent of local salseros from Noches De Salsa intent on having a good time. There is even a karaoke machine brought along for the non-dancing chalet entertainment - this turns out to be more fun than it sounds! We even get complaints from reception about the noise - and we are right at the back of the camp.

I must say that the dancing and classes on the Saturday and Sunday were excellent with special mentions for Moe Flex, Rohan Brown, Frank Santos and Kerry Ribchester for some of the best instruction you will find anywhere. Truly world class!

They tell me that numbers were down from the previous year - credit crunch affecting all areas of life it seems - but I thought that it generally rocked along nicely and the party nights were full enough to provide a fantastic atmosphere. The professional shows were great, the competitions all went well (a third place in the Bachata for the author), and the full monty show left me chuckling and impressed with the performances

Overall a fabulous weekend, well organised, good food, good facilities. Can't wait for next year..