Echnos*

11pm is a pretty disreputable time to start your Saturday night, but then La Tasca is Spanish for a disreputable gaming house or tavern. So, fortified by a half hour power nap and an extra strength Ibuprofen for my creaky toe I set out to get some sleep deprivation. I did wonder what time I was finally going to get there when I hit traffic chaos on Penarth Road, and Cardiff city centre itself was looking pretty disreputable after the big gig.

It was a while since I'd been: it takes some willpower to resist the temptation to stay in with a bottle of wine on Saturday night. On my previous visit the dance floor was fairly empty early on, but this time it was a matter of trying to carve out space among the drinkers right from the start. Cramped space is OK for close-up bachata and merengue but a bit limiting for salsa, though as the night went on I got better at fitting more elaborate moves into tiny and fluctuating spaces. Rachel told me "that was brave" after I successfully slotted in one of my trademark sequences, though I thought she was the brave one for letting me do it!

In these kind of circumstances what you really need are partners who will get on with enjoying themselves and let you take care of checking that there's space and keeping them safe from drunks and backsteppers. So it was great to dance with Sofia again - she's particularly good at dancing with style and enthusiasm in hardly any space. There were quite a lot of other good dancers there, including Sarah who turned up dressed fetchingly as a Red Indian squaw.

Andy played a good, varied selection of music, from salsa to merengue, bachata and reggaeton. Though I have to admit that a quarter of an hour of reggaeton eventually persuaded me it was time to go home at half past one. Which is probably a good thing as otherwise I might have stayed til the end and felt even more knackered yesterday.

I might even go to La Tasca again next week. I'm also looking forward to post-Christmas when there should be plenty of dancers – trying to get back into it after the break – and fewer drinkers. I must remember to take a spare T-shirt next time:
it was seriously hot and sweaty (and pretty smoky - I'm looking forward to the public smoking ban).

*Welsh for 'the night before last' .