Salsa is a wonderful form of fun and relaxation. After suffering various sports injuries last year through playing tennis and jogging and getting bored of just swimming and doing weights all the time , a private banker friend of mine suggested I try Salsa. He said not only would I work of loads of calories but I would have great fun dancing and meeting lots of interesting people.
Well ever since I saw Clive James' documentary where he mentioned that you could go to any capital city in the World and walk into a Tango class and dance with some of the most beautiful women in the city, I had added doing the Tango to my bucket list.The wise-cracking Aussie even spent £200,000 having the top floor of his London penthouse converted into a giant ballroom so he could indulge in his favourite new pastime...the tango. But, since I hadn't quite plucked up the courage to do the Tango yet I thought I would start with Salsa.
So last August I did some research on Google and I found myself booking a private lesson with Thomas from Spirit Salsa. He was very understanding and made me feel relaxed as we went through the basics. After mentally blocking out any anxiety and nervousness or images of me looking like a total invalid dancing salsa,the hour long lesson flew by and I turned up to his beginners class a week later. Tom teaches Cuban salsa as opposed to New York or Miami Salsa. Cuban is more flowing and rounded in it's movements.
When I first started there was only three of us. Two guys one lady. On one occasion I turned up and there was no one so Thomas and I just went through the basics. After a few sessions the numbers grew and I was finding myself enjoying it and hankered after more. As I got better I started joining the improvers class. I have to admit I am now addicted and on some nights up to 40 people turn up to the beginner session.
The basics... The Mambo, the side step, the Cuban open..., then you learn basic turns and the cross body lead. Master that and you go on to The En Chufla, The Setenta, The Sombrero, The Siete, The Suzie Q, and then onto sequences like the Dedo,The Titanic, The Coca Cola, The Kentuky, The Ochenta, The Peek-a-Boo .
On some nights we would do some Bachata or Merenge, the rhythms of the music almost hypnotic as you became totally lost in the moment.
Anyway where am I heading with this you may ask? Well I approached Thomas in February and explained that I was raising money for a charity and would be climbing mount Kilimanjaro in June. " Would you do a charity salsa night for me " I asked him. Thomas agreed in principle and so I went off and started making the arrangements.
Finally after sounding others out and coordinating the venue and designing the posters I managed to organise the event for Sunday 21st March at 6 pm in The Loft Lounge in China town. The word is now out, so if any of you fancy a real fun night out, come along on the day... There is a real danger that this could be too successful and too many people, mainly women will turn up. But Thomas is up for it and says not to worry as he will just lay on more sessions...... Thanks Thomas
I hope to see you all there together with the Kilimanjaro team.
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