Hi Artysalsera !
I don’t know if I am too late to give you a few answers to your Parisian salsa questions but It should still interest some.
I am French and live in Paris, so I hope I am able to give you good tips.
I truly think that going to Paris purely for salsa is an excellent spot, across Europe, we are quite a good place to practice.
About the style, you can find all kind of salsa dancing. But if we talk about the global public, portorican salsa on 1 is the mainly danced (forget about the 3, it’s not that much practiced), followed by Cuban style.
If we talk specifically about “good dancers” and professionals, then both portorican on 1 and on 2 (palladium and NY) are equally danced.
Don’t worry about the style and / or not being invited. I think French salseros have their own specificities, but as everywhere else in the world. Each place just develop something salsa their way. But the basic following and guiding is the same everywhere, so no problems to connect.
About being invited, I would tell you 2 things :
- don’t worry, you will be invited during the night anyway !
- but, I must admit that you shouldn’t expect good dancers to do so. I’m hearing you from France, don’t get nervous, I explain !
Good dancers mostly won’t invite you, because they don’t know you and moreover have never seen you before. Salsa scene in Paris is huge, but considering the hardcore of passionate salseros, we all know each other, at least by view. So, from that, we already have a lot of good partners to dance with, which doesn’t incite to invite an unknown person (which, in this case, implies that it is, in the best option, a non Parisian salsero, or, more frequently, a neophyte).
Anyway, NEVER HESITATE TO INVITE good dancers, you will NEVER be refused a dance, and it is the way to make yourself seen and recognised as a salsera.
To finish on that point, I must say salsa crowd in Paris is globally very warm and friendly. You will have an excellent time dancing here and meet very nice people.
If you ever want a contact in Paris, just email me (or any other interested international salseros), and I’ll try to welcome you as I can. (
[email protected])
About clubs, here the list of my favourites (I mostly dance on 2 palladium, and PR on 1, so goes the musical playlist of these clubs) :
- La Coupole > Tuesday from 9.30 to 4am
100/102 Boulevard du Montparnasse, 75014 Paris, Station : Vavin (Subway number 13)
- Les Etoiles > Friday from 10 to 2 am
Rue du Château d’eau, Station : Château d’Eau (Subway n° 4)
# attention : this club is usually excellent but I would advise you not to go there on your own, this is a place only for dancers as the place is really not nice to stay (old place, kind of cold). Consequently, mainly proper dancers go there and so you will certainly have to invite first to be introduced. But don’t care, people are really nice.#
- Le Barrio Latino > Sunday from 3pm to 7.30pm
Rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine, Station : Bastille (Subway n°1, 5 or 8)
These 3 places are, for me, the best weekly spots. You have a lot of others places to dance for every evening (some are very good), just check
www.salsafrance.com.
Other places I would highly recommend but not weekly are :
- Salsa Nights at the O’Sullivan pub, on Sunday, every 2 weeks (excellent), from 9.30 to 2am.
Boulevard de Clichy, Next to The Moulin Rouge, Station : Blanche (subway N° 2)
- Salsa Nights at the ENST, one Saturday a month
Rue Vergniaud, Station : Glacière (Subway N°6), from 9.30 to 5am
I hope I have helped you in your French salsa research. Don’t hesitate to contact me for further information as this is only the essential information.
About the Congress, I do think It is worth coming and experience it. This year it will be held the 9/10/11th of June if I remember it well. Just go and check on
www.salsabor.fr or email me for précised information.
See you and enjoy.
Sophia.
