Salsa in Belfast?

Can anyone recommend a good club/teacher for a (one-off) Monday and/or Tuesday night in Belfast? I'm being sent there for work, so would like to sample the local scene.

If there's a choice of venues, my order of preference is line style on 1, line style on 2, then cuban, but I'd be happy with any...

Thanks!

J

Check out "Kan Kan Dance" group on Facebook - don't know have they classes on Monday/Tuesday but if you get in touch with them they should be able to point you in the right direction. There's also the "Salsa In Ireland" Facebook page, you might find something there.

Yay - a question I am best placed to answer!

Monday nights, there are classes in the Kings Head organised by SalsaBelfast - Marinko Leka comes up from Dublin to teach intermediate level Salsa (XBon1) and Bachata.

Tuesday nights, Chris takes class in the University Students Union, Improvers level from 8pm. The level is pretty mixed, but a lot of people go an there's a good atmosphere.

There's also a weekly club on Tuesdays in "Victoria's" in the Victoria Shopping Centre run by Tony & Carolina - free dancing from 9.30 onwards. I haven't made it down to this since they switched nights and venue from Wednesdays a few weeks ago, but by all accounts, its still pretty well attended.

On the 1st Tuesday of every month, Rosie and Andy run a post-class social from 8.30pm. Andy is a superb mambo/salsa dura DJ, and this night tends to attract the hardcore crowd of dancers and salsa music lovers. It's probably your best bet of serious dancing on a weeknight - but its also the least well advertised. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll get you directions, contact details etc.

Awesome, thanks

I'll definitely be looking for something Tuesday next week - I just realised that my flight's arriving later than I'd expected on Monday, but if there's anything still running from about 9.45pm onward, I might be able to get to it.

I recently switched from cuban to line style, so I'm not sure 'serious dancing' is a fair description of me. I'm keen to improve, but basically back to being a beginner

No problem Jinksy - I'm sure you'll get a friendly welcome wherever you head to (beginners welcome)

Mondays - I'd say that 9.45 is probably pushing it. The intermediate class starts at 9.30, and its not really a social afterwards, just a wee bit of music before people head home.

But you can have your pick of social dancing on the Tuesday night - Tony & Carolina's in Victoria's (with a mix of Salsa Moderna music, Latin Pop, Bachata etc) or Rosie & Anndy in Temple Golf Club (Salsa Classica, Cha-Cha, & a bit of Bachata). On the one hand, Victoria's is easier to get to (city centre vs a few miles outside Belfast), but on the other hand, numbers might be a bit down with people going to the Temple social.

I'm probably going to the golf club myself - if you're interested in giving it a go, let me know I'd be happy to give you a lift. (Can arrange by P.M.)

Shame you're not staying to Wednesday - there are rueda classes starting back on Wed, and we'd be glad of a visiting Cuban salsa enthusiast

Hm, I can't PM you since it's saying message isn't long enough. I'll just repost it here and edit out my number later:

Thanks for the tips. What time do the two things on Tuesday start/finish? Temple sounds more my thing, but I might have to come back too early for it to be worth troubling you for.

Where is the thing tonight btw, just in case I arrive earlier than expected?

My mobile's (removed), if you want to give me your number that way (not sure how much web access I'll have for the rest of today).

Thanks,

Sasha

Good good, pleasure to be of help Sasha.

Monday evening (tonight):
Venue="King's Head" on the Lisburn Road.
7.30pm - Beginners & Improvers Salsa
8.30pm - Bachata (all levels)
9.30pm - Intermediate Salsa

Tuesday evening:
Venue = "Victoria's". Beginners class at 8.30pm for £4, free social dancing from 9.30pm til late (midnight I think).

Venue = "Temple Golf Club". Class at 7.30pm, social dancing at 8.30pm til people get bored. £6 for the class, £3 for just the social. (I'm going for 8.30ish. If I hear back from Rosie about the time it typically finishes at, I'll let you know!)