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The Salsa Scene

I wrote this section ages ago. The general feel is still O.K., but it could do with a re-write to include an essay on 'On1 or On2'!

 

In general

Partner dancing is back – big style! (You don’t need take one with you.) Salsa is the coolest, fastest growing, and most inclusive scene around because it is fundamentally driven by its wonderful multi-cultural music. It reaches right across the boundaries of race, age, size, colour, social background, and sexual persuasion. (In my experience, there are few places more parochial and intolerant than York! Yet, at our most recent club night we had people aged between 20 and 70; occupations as diverse as miners, shelf stackers, secretaries, fire and police officers, teachers and doctors; nationalities, apart from English, were Spanish, French, Italian, German, Norwegian, Czech, Russian, and Martinique; we had a mixed race couple and a feminist couple! This may be an unusual social gathering in York, but is the norm on the wider Salsa scene where you can expect to see as many black, and latino, faces as white ones.)

The Local club scene

The Salsa scene appeals to all those who still enjoy an endorphin-laden night out, but are fed up with the mainstream ‘meat-market’. A lady can ask a gentleman to dance in a Salsa club without it being automatically taken as a ‘come-on’! The dancing is mentally and physically demanding and provides nourishment for mind, body, and soul.

From its explosion in New York during the seventies, Salsa has spread to all parts of the globe. It arrived in London during the eighties and now there are large scenes in every major city and clubs in most provincial towns. Step into most of these clubs, and you know exactly what you are going to find: a warm and welcoming social atmosphere; a mixed evening of classes (for various levels) and general dancing; great music; and sometimes (as at Salsa ~ York) light refreshments. Classes are likely to start with a short ‘warm-up’ where you line-up behind the teacher and do your best to follow, and keep up with, their footwork. The class will then be taught, typically for an hour, with couples in a circle around the teacher. Whilst learning and practising a routine, followers will gradually move around the circle so that everyone gets to dance with everyone else.

The Regional scene

The better teachers hold extended workshops from time to time, and the better clubs have high-profile visiting teachers occasionally. Most Regions periodically have ‘extravaganzas’ where large numbers gather in large venues. These are likely to follow the same format as local clubs but will also usually include demonstrations, competiotions, and, possibly, live music.

The National and International scene

In the mid 90’s Club Cubana, run by Cressida Childs in Bristol, started organising Salsa weekends at various Pontins sites around the country. A new organisation, Seriously Salsa, have recently started to do the same at Butlins sites. There are several of these events every year attended by anything from 600 to 1500 Salseros! They are enormous fun with National & International teachers taking workshops during the day, and dancing right through the night.