November 28, 2000 (Caryl Cuizon of Toronto)
Much like
the Toronto scene, there's a place for salsaholics to get their fix
7 days a week, with regulars hitting all the hotspots.
The
Club
Unfortunately, my brief visit to London only permitted one night of
salsa. Prior to leaving for the UK, I had made arrangements to contact
a couple of Supermario's friends, Ash and Evelina when I arrived in
London. Supermario is an internationally known London instructor who
likes to test following ability by combining moves that make it difficult
for the follower to "anticipate" the next move. I was told
that the place to be on a Saturday night is Salsa Fusion (Notre Dame
Hall). It's located underneath the French Catholic Church of Notre Dame,
near Leicester Square, opposite Little Havana. There seems to be no
address for this club - I was given directions purely by landmarks.
This popular club runs on alternate Saturday's. To avoid the long queue
(characteristic of many nightclubs in London), you should try to arrive
by 9:30pm. Unable to reach the club until 11pm, I waited in line for
at least an hour (the LONGEST I've ever had to wait to get into a salsa
club).
The
Dancers
Ash introduced me to the men in the local salsa scene (who, by the way
are very friendly and approachable), and it wasn't long before I felt
like I was at home. I even ran into someone that I met dancing in Oxford
earlier that week. I heard good things about the London scene, and luckily,
I was not disappointed. Although many turn patterns were familiar, I
noticed obvious differences in men's styling; flashy spins, pauses and
level changes that are characteristic of LA, yet uniquely London. Unfortunately,
Evelina and other regular salseras were not in attendance that night
so I can't comment on women's styling. You'll find that the majority
of Londoners dance "on 1", however, dancing "on 2"
is slowly making it's way into the scene, much like Toronto. We closed
down the club at 2, satisfied that I got my fix. It was an amazing time!
One more
thing, this club does not have air conditioning… so be prepared
to sweat, whether you're dancing up a storm, or just enjoying the show.
June
2000 (Valerie Imperial from Vancouver)
Salsa Palladium - near Leicester Square
A huge place, packed with really really serious salseros - a bit too
serious for me. The music was excellent, but everyone seemed to be more
focused on comparing techniques rather than enjoying the salsa music
- it seemed like everyone was practicing new steps. I went with a friend
who was living in London at the time, and she wanted to see me dance
so encouraged me to ask people to dance, which I did. I found that the
London salseros at this club were not that open to dancing with a non-regular,
which was disappointing. The guys I asked did dance with me, but they
seemed to have that 'who are you?' attitude...The music was good, but
it's definitely the type of place to go when you are with a group of
friends who can dance.
Sunday Skool - only on Sundays (this is not the name of the club,
but of the event - can't recall the name of the club)
As opposed to Salsa Palladium, the crowd here is small but friendly,
the dress is casual, with energetic Cuban music. This place did not
seem to attact the technical minded salseros, but more of a fun salsa
crowd. There were a few good dancers, and they were friendly enough
to ask me to dance. It's a good place to relax and listen to salsa music.