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.