I am considered a reasonable dancer and have had some lovely experiences in Bristol, Bath and Oxford where I found the standards and the atmosphere good. At the moment, I find Bristol the best (check out Fiesta Havana, Wednesdays), as it is energetic with some great dancers, who are technically sound, fab to look at, know the basics and have lovely routines. I also think Bath is excellent, with some great venues like the Claverton Rooms (party this Saturday 23rd) and generally on a par with Bristol. Both are very friendly, with no obvious bitchiness etc...
I have good friends who dance in Cardiff and they say that it is very cliquey, but also that they are pleased to be part of it and do try to dance with everyone and anyone. What is also apparent is that the Cardiff dancers are good (tho mostly Cuban... CBLs can be interesting) and usually up for a good time, BUT they can come across as arrogant, as they really do believe that they don’t need to take classes anymore, have nothing to learn and some are overly fussy about who they dance with. However, this is not a fault unique to Cardiff dancers, as I occasionally hear and see this from other parts of the country too... but not as ‘in your face’ as from the Cardiff peeps. Something must be wrong there, as my friends are travelling even more than they used to in search of their next fix and generally slag off the teachers in Cardiff, Newport etc., as lacking in imagination and skill?... but then again if they don’t do classes...
As for the social scene... wake up mini... every time I go out socially in Cardiff (which is reasonably often), it is buzzing with both men and women up for a good time, who afterwards go home to their partners as if nothing has happened, so it’s no surprise if salsa has become like this, since the people are the same. It is a shame tho, because if all you want to do is dance, have your fix and go home happy, sometimes this is spoilt by guys demanding your phone number and pestering you for a date, even if done in a jokey way. It is usually obvious that they are in a relationship and when they fail, move on to the next victim! By the way this doesn’t just apply to the guys from what I’ve seen and heard!
As for me, I just love to dance and if I’m in the mood, the music is in my soul and the guy I’m dancing with is on my wavelength, I’m very expressive and dance in a kind of trance... remember the feeling!!! But I also recall my massive disappointment when one guy I was dancing with in this way (from the Newport area) got soo heavy when he thought I was coming on to him and the girl he was with got irate with me AND both of them turned out to be married, but not to each other! It knocked my confidence for a little while until I realised that it was not me! Unfortunately, this also extends to some of the Cardiff teachers (now ex teachers I believe), who also try it on and I had the embarrassing experience of having to leave the dance floor for the first and only time, when one of them tried to grind himself into me against my will.
Oh and by the way I sweat for Britain... always have, always will... and I am very very fit... so if you Cardiff guys don’t like it TOUGH... it goes with the territory!
At the end of the day salsa is supposed to be fun and provided everyone is respectful of everyone else, no harm done... both men and women should ask for a dance and regardless of the outcome (skill-wise), should be able to say thank you and move on... get a life!
I’m coming to Cardiff soon with a few mates and we intend to visit each of the venues over a few weeks and plan to have a jolly good time. Happy to update you on how that turns out.
Ps Hugh... is that your real name or an alias? Hope to bump into you, if you are hovering near the dance floor!
