Jaime Jesus

Leading international salsa teacher Jaime Jesus is at Music Hall this Thursday teaching improvers/intermediates. It's upstairs this week (which should mean more space and more light).

Events coming up

New stuff coming up: Misael's got an all-dayer in Newport on October 31st with some of the biggest names in Cuban salsa in the UK teaching. It's currently £35, going up to £45 on the 23rd.

Also Kate has her annual salsathon on 7th November in aid of the George Thomas hospice - 6 hours of dancing on a Sunday afternoon.

Saturday nights

Had a great time in La Tasca the weekend before last, even in Miss Feisty's absence. Made up for that by meeting up at Super Salsa Saturday, Stevie's monthly event in Bristol, this week. Good things about it: cheap, nice music, good coffee, enough light for her to read her book. (Her new tactic for staying out of trouble: read a book and guys won't ask you to dance, so you can choose who you dance with and avoid obvious idiots who will need to be put in their place. It seemed to work...) Another good thing: loads of space. Bad thing: reason for the space is that there weren't many people there, though it started picking up later. I didn't recognise any of the Bristol crowd who come to Cardiff. Apparently it clashed with a music festival in Bristol. I had lots of nice dances with Miss F, and several dances with appreciative locals (one woman who I danced with early on came up to me at the end and told me I was a 'fantastic dancer', haven't had a compliment like that for a while). It's also pretty easy to get to being in North Bristol.

Can't make La Tasca this Saturday (working in Caernarfon all day, won't be back til late) but I'm going to try and make the following weekend - Núria's in town for the weekend and should be there.

New floors and things

I was glad I went to O'Neills Friday night event - there were several people there who I hadn't danced with for ages (Lizzie, Teresa and Miranda among others). The new floor is good and the music was OK as well, though the night took a long time to get going. Next time I won't bother turning up before 10.

Not so impressed with the floor in the Music Hall: they haven't finished it so I'm hoping it will be better than it was on Thursday. I was going down with a cold (as was Andy) which was a shame - I got asked to dance by several of my favourite dancers but my dancing was rubbish. The cold is worse this week so I might give this Thursday a miss.

Good news is that Miss Feisty looks like being in the UK until at least Christmas, which should mean more nights of terpsichorean silliness in La Tasca to liven up the gloomy winter nights :)

Sabina's class

Sabina's Thursday night Cuban class has now moved permanently from Las Havanas to La Tasca, starting tonight. Classes are a bit earlier as well (beginners 7pm). So you can now dance Cuban-style three nights running in La Tasca.

O'Neills

Monthly Friday in O'Neills tonight, with DJ Fadi - glad it's on after turning up to the Music Hall last night to find out that it was closed (they were overhauling the floor). Should be back to normal next week.

974

That's the French department code for La Réunion, proudly worn on T-shirts as a badge of identity. It's a fascinating place and very diverse: the population is a mixture of Creole (people of African and French origin), French, Indian, Chinese and Arab, among others. The most popular music included the local sega, maloya (sometimes fused with hiphop), a bit of Zouk from the French Caribbean, and reggae (I saw adverts for separate gigs featuring 80s Birmingham band Steel Pulse and UB40's Ali Campbell). I didn't unfortunately get to see any dancing to sega or maloya - maybe next time.

There was actually a salsa weekender in (and named after) a town in the south while I was there, but I'm not sure I would have wanted to boast about attending the 'Tampon Latino Danse' festival. Instead I went to Tuesday night in the Trois Brasseurs in Saint-Denis. It was quite a small room but there were a few good dancers there. A couple of the younger guys were trying too hard (flashy moves with abrupt/jerky timing, looked uncomfortable to dance with). A large older guy who didn't really look like a dancer until he started dancing showed how it should be done, leading some subtle and complex moves with a brilliant woman dancer (next time if I'm feeling a bit less tired I'm going to ask her for a dance). My best dance was with a very stylish Indian woman who was an excellent, exciting follower with a great attitude. I also had a nice reaction from an improver who was very enthusiastic during the dance, and when I thanked her at the end she said "C'est moi que vous remercie!" - it's me that's thanking you :)

Miss Feisty

La Tasca was cooking on Saturday night (metaphorically and almost literally - it was particularly hot). I was very tired and only came out because I'd promised Miss Feisty I'd be there (and she has a long drive). I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't be on form but some caffeine and a couple of dances and we had liftoff. I spent most of the night dancing with her and had a great time: dance as play, improvising, exaggerating and making stuff up: the most fun I've had on the dancefloor (or anywhere else) for ages.

Away now for a couple of weeks (taking my daughter to start her year abroad in La Réunion) Not sure if I'll get to check out the dance scene there, but if I do I'll report back.

Fantastic Freestyle Friday - er, Saturday

Stevie (Salsamania) has a new monthly night starting on August 28th, a replacement for the Friday he used to run. It sounds great: guest teachers, only a fiver, and it's in Stoke Gifford (on the north of Bristol, easily reached from the M4/M32). More details on the event's Facebook page.

O'Neills

I didn't get there on Wednesday night but I've been told that the dance floor is great: they've taken away the pillars around the dance floor which means a lot more usable space.

O'Neills is back

O'Neills is reopening tomorrow night in a new regular Wednesday slot, with a rueda group from Bristol (Rueda Para Risa) helping them to launch it.

Mauricio

Last Thursday was great. Mauricio's lesson had nice leadable moves and very clear teaching. I'm tempted to try and get up to Birmingham for some more. The only real problem was that the class was very crowded, which made back-to-back moves a matter of trying to dodge flailing elbows. The dancer who provides the white powder than enhances one's enjoyment of the evening* had the right idea, having found a clear spot in the corner.

The event also brought out several of my favourite dancers. That, combined with well-paced DJing, made for a really good night with a succession of enjoyable dances (and a couple of memorable ones).

*Talcum powder, in case you were wondering

Mauricio Reyes

Popular Birmingham teacher Mauricio Reyes (Latinmotion) is teaching the advanced class and DJing at Music Hall on Thursday. Should be good.

O'Neills closing

Tonight is the last Monday night in O'Neills - it's being refurbished throughout July. Salsadiccion are launching a new (Wednesday) night in August.

Se prendre un râteau

Further to David's comment on the first Paris post, there's actually been a long thread on the SalsaFrance forum on unfriendly salseras in Paris (from which I learnt a useful French idiom, "se prendre un râteau" - to get turned down). The thread had quite a lot of harsh comments on the behaviour of some dancers in Paris (and the WAGG, which I enjoyed, came in for particular criticism).

I have to say that, while I did get turned down three or four times in Barrio Latino both times I've been there, I generally found dancers friendlier and had better interaction/eye contact than in Madrid. Personally I'd much rather be turned down than dance with an unwilling partner.

I also had a few refusals the first time I went to Brussels, though most people were OK (the second time I went to a bar where most of the dancers were Congolese, and very welcoming).

Paris practicalities

We went with Flybe who go to Charles de Gaulle from Cardiff twice a day. Eurostar is better if you live in London, and if you are able to get cheap deals and have plenty of time it's worth doing from Cardiff. From the airport you need to get a free shuttle to one of the other terminals, both of which have train stations, then it's a €17 return trip to the Gare du Nord on the RER Line B train. The hotel was Villa Fenelon - I've stayed there before, it's good value, no curfew, and conveniently located about halfway between the centre and Montmartre (it is actually within walking distance of the Gare du Nord). The nearbyHotel Monte Carlo has better decorated rooms but doesn't have the nice courtyard, prices are similar.

Drinks in the clubs are expensive (though the €12 entry to the WAGG club includes a drink, most of the drinks there being €6). You often have to pay a compulsory cloakroom fee as well.

Five go mad in Paris

So the trip to the salsa capital of Europe finally happened. Early start left us feeling a bit dazed for most of Saturday. There were a few changes of plan - the open-air salsa at Quai St-Bernard on Saturday nights hasn't had approval yet this year, which was a shame. But there was a small-scale event happening on Saturday afternoon right on the edge of the river - a salsa 'flashmob' followed by dancing. We got there to see a group of people doing a lineup to compas (the Haitian dance, same rhythm as merengue, music a bit more interesting and words in French/Creole). There was also semba, kizomba and salsa. It was really good to dance in the open air and people were friendly. I had to do the "my friend wants to dance with you, but she doesn't speak French" bit for the only time that weekend so Noemi could dance with the teacher (he has some classy bachata moves).

I asked where was the best place to go that night, and was told there were two alternatives - one in Montparnasse south of the river, and Rétro République which was near where we were staying but reserved for a special event that evening (and all-Cuban apparently). In the end we decided to save our energy for Sunday rather than trying to blag our way into Retro. Andrea and I walked up to Montmartre. We were just walking down from Sacré Coeur, got to the top of the steps next to the funicular railway, and there was a very funky band busking on the first landing, being watched by a crowd sat on the steps. So inevitably we had to dance -we went down to the next landing, started a bit of Cuban (we were on pavement and not wearing dancing shoes) and the sax player invited us up to dance in front of them. Good music if just a bit too far the wrong side of 200bpm - two long songs were enough, but the audience was appreciative and I think we appeared in quite a few tourist snapshots. We got congratulated (in a trilingual conversation) by a couple of guys who caught up with us at the bottom of the steps. On to a crowded bar, musically quite nostalgic for me (anyone remember 'Uptown Top Ranking'?) and very eclectic. The only dancing was a drunk couple who got up and did a slightly wobbly kizomba to a Malian track.



Sunday afternoon was Barrio Latino. Very busy, very hot, some very good dancers. Unfortunately even an espresso couldn't stop a mid-afternoon slump - I had a couple of good dances but wasn't at my best, while everyone else had a great time. David apparently had his best dance of the year, and Andrea was kept dancing almost continuously (and very stylishly, as you can see in the video above. The guy she was dancing with has great technique - I'm going to study it carefully.) We had planned to head out to for a picnic at Belleville afterwards where there was supposed to be open-air salsa (the 'Caravane de la salsa' but the weather wasn't looking promising and we all needed a break.

A late meal in Chartier, half a bottle of their robust house red and an espresso replenished my energy levels. Sunday's usual CBL night in O'Sullivans was off because of the world cup, which left us with the WAGG club on the Left Bank. This was great: a crowded cellar, pure Cuban salsa and nothing else, didn't get turned down once. I got asked to dance by a woman who proceeded to give me the best LA-style dance I'd had all weekend, and had several other nice (Cuban) dances with friendly dancers.

On the train back to the airport on Monday afternoon we all sat down next to a young woman with a large suitcase, who ended up in animated conversation with Noemi - not only was she Romanian, but she'd been in Barrio Latino the previous afternoon.

Thanks for advice to Alias on SalsaForums (who regularly posts English-language updates about the Paris salsa scene), and to everyone on the SalsaFrance forum who responded to my questions.

Thursday changes

Change to the classes in Music Hall/Risa. Classes will run as follows, if I remember correctly:

First class: beginners (Stellan), improvers (Kate), intermediates (Andy)
Second class: improvers (Stellan), intermediates (Kate), advanced (Andy)

The advanced class is going to be challenging with a lot of content, and if your dancing isn't up to it you won't get in. I find my concentration isn't what it should be at 9.30 on a Thursday night so I may give it a miss.

I had a private lesson with Andy on Sunday though - my first for a couple of years. I should get one more often, as it was excellent for picking up points of technique and flaws in my dancing that I wasn't aware of. A while ago I mentioned the move that only Roisin can follow; a simple adjustment to my posture in the lesson and it worked fine.

Had a great time in La Tasca last week: Ms Feisty managed to make it for the first time this year :) Stayed far too late...

Last night

Not going to make O'Neills tonight - saving my energy for Tasca tomorrow. I went to Mazu's kizomba class again last night, and then on to Risa/Music Hall. Stellan was on the decks which was a revelation: some great tracks, and he kept them short so even if you didn't like the music (or your partner) another one would be along in a couple of minutes.

Some amusing gender-swapping (I think the girls were getting bored with following): at one point Kate was leading LaLa, then Irene cut in on her, and finally Irene junior and partner joined in and the three women spent the rest of the dance swapping between the two male followers.

I had some good dances, even though Lovely Welsh Dancer was leaving just as I arrived :( As usual Andrea inspired me to improvise, which was going fine until I tripped over a loose shoelace during one particularly expressive shine...(I did stay upright, just).

Kizomba

I went to the Kizomba class last week, taught by Mazu: nice guy, nice music, relaxed class, and he dances with all the women students afterwards.

Tomorrow night at 8.30 O'Neills' monthly Friday night kicks off with an 'all levels' kizomba class with Prince Tevin. Free dancing then until 12.30.

Kizomba

Saw a poster in town for kizomba classes in Zync on Thursday nights (8.30-9.30). Does anybody know anything about this, including who's running it and teaching?

Sakhar Sherabeh

Cuban-style guest teacher (and former Scottish salsa champion) Sakhar Sherabeh is doing a workshop at O'Neills at 9pm Monday (after the normal classes).

I've googled him and he appears not to exist - I wonder if the spelling is wrong?

Congratulations

Andy and Lucy's wedding today: congratulations and good luck.

Kate will be running Andy’s intermediate classes for the next fortnight while he’s away on honeymoon. I like her intermediate-level teaching - very usable moves, well taught.

Anoche

Last night in Music Hall was the best couple of hours I'd had dancing for ages. I meant to go to Rafael's class but got back from work too late. Probably a good thing as it meant I had stamina for the free dancing which was terrific. Some lovely dancers there and great music. I had one of the most exciting Cuban dances I've had for a long time with Debbie (on a largely empty upper dance floor) and then joined in Rafael's cool ruedas and 'linea'. A couple of neat dances with Roisín who's one of the most exciting and fun dancers around. I can't think of a better way to spend election night.

Rafael and Loreta

Quick reminder that this is on tonight at the Music Hall, and that Rafael and Loreta will be teaching the intermediate class as well as giving a show.

I hope that the Music Hall don't show News 24 on the screens as they did for the debate last week. When I'm dancing I want to forget about the election.

Zero

A shame that Zero Degrees has closed - I went last Sunday and really enjoyed the lesson. There were some nice dancers there who you don't see anywhere else. Last Sunday Laura was there - I think I dance with her about once a year, and each time she tells me what a terrible dancer she is because she's so out of practice, and then proceeds to demonstrate that if you have her natural ability lack of practice doesn't really matter.

I hadn't been to Zero for a while, basically because of the zouk. Nothing against the dance, but it's ideally for people who are young, lithe and Brazilian, and I don't fall into any of those categories. I was hoping that it would revert to a pure salsa night now that zouk has its own night (Wednesdays in 10 Feet Tall).

Hoping that La Tasca's going to be as good tomorrow night as it was a couple of weeks ago.

Another Sunday night closes

Sadly Zero Degrees have ended Andy's Sunday night salsa class. Just as I'd decided that I was going to start going regularly. Let's hope Andy finds another venue soon; or maybe this is an opportunity to start Sunday afternoon salsa somewhere? It works very well in Paris and London, how about trying it in Cardiff?

Rafael Del Busto & Loreta Juzenaite at the Music Hall

On election night Rafael del Busto and Loreta Juzenaite are performing at the Music Hall. Rafael is two-times World Open Salsa Champion. The show is from 10.30 onwards.

Andy and Lucy at the Capitol

Andy and Lucy at the Capitol, originally uploaded by tomcardiff.

Saturday in the Capitol centre. The camerawork is a bit flaky (I should have shot some cutaways to cover the changes of camera angle) though I like the low wide angle shot - getting in close captures the excitement of their dancing.

New and old

It's been a very busy couple of weeks so I didn't make Risa/Music Hall or La Tasca last week. It was about time I tried some other nights though. In O'Neills last week I had one of those magical 'dances with a stranger' (oops, that's the title of a film about something very unmagical) where you click on the first dance. This week I couldn't get out Monday so I tried Tuesday at the Live Lounge (formerly Bar Cuba) for the first time in years. I got there just after 10 only to learn that free dancing only went on until 10.30. Apart from Rhodri and Helen doing their dazzling stuff (good to watch them somewhere with space and light) there weren't many people there, despite the vastly improved floor. So I went on to Shahid and Leanne's night at Las Havanas. Not a lot of people there either, but it was friendly and I had some really enjoyable dances with a couple of dancers I'd never met before. Good music, and the sound system was good as well: clear enough to hear the music, but balanced so that you could still hold a conversation. (I even managed to hold a conversation in French and understand most of it!)

Last night in Risa/Music Hall I danced with someone very unexpected: Charlotte, my first ever dance partner, who's back in Cardiff after five years away. It was great to dance with her again, bringing back memories of very late nights in the Toad. Looking forward to the next time.

Pobol y Cwm

Newydd clywed bod Misael yn dawnsio ar 'Pobol y Cwm' nos yfory. Wps, yfory mae'n dawnsio, y 31ain y caiff y rhaglen ei darlledu.

Just heard that Misael is dancing on tomorrow night's Pobol y Cwm (the long-running Welsh soap opera).
Correction: he's dancing tomorrow, it's being broadcast March 31st.

Fight

Couldn't make Misael's thing last Friday as I was going down with a cold. Was there really a fight, as Anna comments on my previous post?

Update: Apparently there was. I wonder who the other person ("a teacher from outside Wales") was?

Update: 'Anonymous' in the comments gives an explanation - thanks.

Update: a second 'Anonymous' gives an alternative explanation, which is uncannily close to the explanation guessed at by someone who hadn't seen the incident...

Update - we've actually got a comment from someone who saw the incident - thanks!

Noches Cubanas

Now this looks good: Friday 19th, Misael's Cuban salsa party with Yanet in Venue (next to Cineworld):
Alain and Misael are DJing, classes as follows: 8.30 Beginners/Improvers with Misael / Rueda with Alain; 10.00 Ladies Styling and Reggaeton with Yanet; Party until 2am, with a 5-minutes solo show from Yanet. £10 all night, or £5 after 10.30.

Misael is also doing a special early Valentine's event tomorrow (Wednesday) at La Tasca: in addition to the usual beginners' class at 7.30, he's doing bachata at 8.30 (followed by half an hour's bachata freestyle), and then rueda 9.30-10. Misael's ruedas are the best around so I'm aiming to get to that.

Thursday temporary venue change

Music Hall (Risa) isn't available this Thursday, so salsa is at Centro, the new UWIC student union off Cyncoed Road. Tony Lara is doing a bachata class (8-9) before the usual 9-10 salsa class. It's only for this week, back to normal next week. You can get there on the number 52 bus (though obviously you'll need to head back before they stop running, last one is 2253). Bus timetable here.

Latin and non-Latin

Thoroughly enjoyed the first 'Latin Music USA' on BBC4 on Friday night. This one looked at the Afro-Cuban origins of Latin music in the USA. I didn't see as much dancing as I'd hoped, but the style of some of the dancing from the 40s and 50s was gorgeous.

One of the key points in the programme was how influential Latin music was, even on the rock that supposedly superseded it. The classic example is the Louie Louie riff which is based on a chachachá. I've got another example where a cover version makes explicit the unacknowledge Latin roots of a song. Africa Boogaloo) has a great track called 'Quiero Wapacha' by Charles Lembe which combines Afro-Latin music with surf guitar. It sounds strangely familiar. Trying to find out about the singer I came across a review which pointed out that the track is actually based on the The Ventures' early 60's song "Walk Don't Run" - clearly the Congolese musicians recognised it as a Latin track and repurposed it with their own lyrics.

Next week's programme is devoted to salsa. It's repeated on the Sunday night.

Claverton Rooms all-dayer

This looks very good, on 27 March - an all-dayer and evening party at the Claverton Rooms in Bath with an impressive set of teachers. I swore I wasn't going again after getting back at 4 in the morning last time and being ill for days from the chips and salad I had on the way home, but I am tempted.

Latin Music USA

Just a reminder - if you can't get out partying tonight, BBC4's new 4-parter 'Latin Music USA' starts at 9.

Cardiff salsa wishlist

What I'd like to see on the Cardiff salsa scene:

Andy - please have another go at running advanced workshops like the ones in Fahrenheit the year before last. Not performance workshops and routines, but classes that focus on a single aspect of partner dancing and perfecting the lead. My dancing has never been better than it was when I was doing that course.

Misael - regular intermediate/advanced rueda classes.

Everybody - more salsa at times when normal people with day jobs can go. How about Sunday afternoon salsa? It works in London and Paris.

No more new dances. To keep dancing all night in La Tasca you need to know salsa, bachata, merengue, reggaeton, kizomba/lambaba zouk/samba gafeira - I don't have time to learn any of the last three, I'd rather get better at the ones I can already do.

Tap water

Just a quick reminder to everyone: if you only drink tap water when you go dancing, the venues lose money on the bar and eventually they kick salsa out of the venue. It's just happened to Sabina's night in Barocco. You don't have to drink alcohol but you do need to buy drinks!

Stevie (of Salsamania) once estimated that if they aren't getting a hire fee, a venue needs a dancer to buy around £10 worth of drinks to cover their costs. I don't think many of us buy that much, but at least you should buy something.

I also think venues could help themselves by charging more for soft drinks - eg I'm happy to pay the £1 that La Tasca charges for a pint of lime squash, whereas some other venues charge 50p or less.

The other way to support venues is to go there when you aren't dancing - get a coffee in La Tasca on a non-salsa night, buy a pizza in Zero Degrees, etc.

Happy New Year

Sabina's Tuesday night class has now moved to La Tasca and dropped the rueda class (though there will be rueda in the freestyle afterwards).

I've added details of Alain Hernandez' Sunday night in Zync to the list of classes.

Stevie (Salsamania) is running a Haiti benefit in Bristol on December 3rd - 100% of ticket sales go to the Disasters Emergency Committee. Includes classes, only a fiver, at the Eton Bar, 28 Baldwin Street.