 Ay Carumba! There I was,
innocently strolling along the aisles of the Odyssey Pavilion,
pushing my way through the Saturday night glitterati (all of whom
were queuing for the usual night of drunken frolicking to pop music
galore) and secretly wishing I was one of them, when I noticed a
strangely curious party happening inside the Hard Rock Café.
Now,
The Hard Rock Café - by nature of its name alone- is not exactly the
type of the place you would expect to see people celebrating Spanish
dance culture and music, but there it was - Salsa Belfast had come
to town and brought with it a hint of Mediterranean summer sun to
brighten up our grey northern skies.
Now this wouldn't be my
usual choice of Saturday night entertainment, in fact I'd never been
to a Salsa lesson in my life (sorry, Richard, I lied…), but, priding
myself with an adventurous spirit, I was willing to give it a go.
So before you could say Speedy Gonzalez, I'd grabbed myself a
light alcoholic refreshment and started watching the eight piece
Cuban band Havana Che set up and get ready for action. To their
sizzling beat little Latino chicas with frilly skirts, platform
shoes, rose-studded hair and brimming smiles practiced their steps
in anticipation. It was as though I had stepped into a Latin
American fiesta! As for the men, well, they looked like gay
caballeros and as camp as a row of tents, but, as funny as this
might sound, it was pretty sexy.
With a brief 'bienvenido!' From
Richard Turner, the culprit behind this party, Havana Che kicked off
the night with a pulse-racer of a tune.
Now for the science -
concentrate! Salsa music is considered to be a group of Latin
rhythmic styles that contain the Clave beat, according to dance
instructor and co-organiser of the evening, Jeff Irvine. Apparently
the most popular dances in Salsa these days are Son, Mamba, Cha Cha
Cha, Rumba and Merengue. Whatever, if it respects the Clave, it's
salsa!
Anyway, just to show us mere mortals how it's done, up
popped a few members of Salsa Belfast Rueda Group (all accomplished
dancers) demonstrating La Rueda. Now I know what you are thinking,
this all sounds very cultured and well-read, but believe me, in six
or seven minutes of watching the dance I received the quickest
education of my life. If an uncultured swine such as myself can
understand the basic dimensions of passion and rhythm then surely
the rest of you lot can appreciate the pleasure in watching these
passionate electric dancers shake their 'thang' to the salsa
beat!
Looking down at my black winkle-picker 'bitch' shoes and
straight black trousers I was beginning to feel tremendously out of
sorts. I mean I consider myself to be a bit of a groove-manuve on
the dance floor, Okay, so I don't possess any flashy dance studio
choreography or routines and I may not dress the part, but damn baby
I can move! As if he were reading my mind along came another
instructor, Rhami Akyol, who grabbed my hand and swung me on to the
dance floor. By the time I realised what was happening I was being
twirled back and forth (yo-yo style) to the beat. Rhami being the
wonderfully witty teacher that he is made sure I understood the
timing of weight transfer by the end of the dance! What a laugh!
These people are just in it for the Salsa and the pure
unadulterated fun of it all. In the end it was a battle to wipe the
smile from my face and get me off the dance floor, I have to say we
danced to the pulse and I loved every minute of it.
Walking - or
should I say waltzing - back through the aisles of the Odyssey
Pavilion at the end of the evening I found myself transformed. Yep,
this gal is getting her dancing shoes at the ready and signing up to
Salsa Belfast dance classes, as Bacardi so rightly put it; there
truly is a Latin spirit in everyone - even me! Vinnie Jones watch
out!
Visit www.salsabelfast.com for further
information.
Elizabeth McManus. |
