London people...

This might be early to ask, but is there this well known party on Thursday before SOS festival on January 27th? I could book flights a day earlier and meet y'all.
 
Smejmoon said:
This might be early to ask, but is there this well known party on Thursday before SOS festival on January 27th? I could book flights a day earlier and meet y'all.
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Do you mean Tuesday 27/Jan or Thursday 29/Jan? Either way there should be salsa (Boston on Tues, Pexava on Thurs).
 
MacMoto said:
Do you mean Tuesday 27/Jan or Thursday 29/Jan? Either way there should be salsa (Boston on Tues, Pexava on Thurs).
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I danced with a few followers from Tokyo. At the breakfast, I asked if they knew you. They said you are very famous in Tokyo :) One of them said that she came with you to the last SF congress you attended (2009?).
 
I'm quite capable of using the interwebz but for whatever reason, there seems to be very little info online on SOS. Call me old fashioned if you will, but I prefer to know what hours a night is on before I go there. Anyone?
 
Thanks! Perhaps SOS could hire you as head of promotions. (Or perhaps they don't want outsiders coming to their nights.)

Unfortunately I had assumed it was on til late, so I probably won't be able to make it. (11 is an early start for me, not time to stop.)
 
DJ Yuca said:
Here is a link it's true. A link to a page that doesn't have the times on it.

I should have considered FB - I'm old enough to remember ye olde days when promoters had a website or page as well as a FB presence.
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The times are listed near the bottom of the page. (Not the best presentation, I know)
 
Anyway it's a shame I'll miss it. (Despite my negative comments about the strength of the London scene in general, this is one night that does sound good to me.)

Fortunately I will probably be able to make it to Cafe Boheme on that afternoon (28th Dec), where the Sugar Kings duo are playing superb son and salsa (for free).
 
WessexSalsero said:
Add to that the Colombian party scene in SE London, including Tito's which caters to the Latino/Cali party crowd every Friday night.
Add to that the various local parties and smaller gigs e.g. in my neck of the woods you got the Pexava socials in Ealing and a variety of busy nights in places like Kingston.

So when you say there is 'not much on in London', actually we're doing alright.

Meanwhile I am happy to gorge myself on the irresistible offerings of the Best Salsa Scene in the World.
(Outside the Americas. Probably. Helps if you know how to use the Interweb thingy.)
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I am just bringing a bit of different point of view, or maybe some realism, Or maybe it's just my own biased opinion ;-)

Over the last 5 years I have lived in Colombia, Spain, Miami, Dublin, New York, and London. As well as travelled a bit around the Carribean, France and the Balkans. I dance salsa (En linea (i.e. whats called crossbody in the uk) , cuban and colombian), bachata, reggaeton as well as other latin dances and normally go dancing around 4 nights a week.

Of all the places I've lived, and most i've visited I've found, I have found London the most challenging to get good nights. This I believe is for the following reasons:

- distinct lack of sabor/tumbao in the venues
- the songs and subgenres tend to be of a kind suitable for middle aged northern europeans as opposed to younger latinos/latinophiles. Also there is not enough musical variety to create flavour and stop people getting bored of the music.
- there are not many nights - on a saturday night, normally there is only one place to go salsa dancing - however some of these can be very big. Much smaller european cities have much more choice.
- very few latinos at venues - other cities like Dublin, French cities get a lot more latinos at the salsa nights. This is eventhough there are quite a few latinos in London
- hip movement - women don't really move their hips to the music - if seems to be taboo to teach this in classes in london - they should, they teach it everywhere else i've been. Once the dancers start focussing on their hips and the rhythm/tumbao, their musicality starts to grow, and they get less interested in doing turn patterns without consideration to the music.
- most people at the venues seem not to be used to latin music - all nights are mainly beginners/improvers, and some of the more advanced dancers still have poor musicality.

I appreciate that my opinion is probably biased with a latino slant, and that salsa nights are not just for latinos, they are for everyone, and I also see from other peoples posts on this topic that most of the London posters are quite pleased with the London salsa scene.

So, I was wondering if you think my above points are true and if so do you think they are important. I would love to understand better the feelings of the London salseros/bachateros/etc. Thanks
 
Similar to what I've observed elsewhere in the UK (although personally I haven't noticed the hips thing). Elsewhere in the UK there is also often a distinct indifference if not disdain if not animosity towards classic salsa music. (Hopefully that is not a part of the London scene.)
 
amsbam1 said:
the songs and subgenres tend to be of a kind suitable for middle aged northern europeans as opposed to younger latinos/latinophiles.
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I don't think classic salsa and mambo is of much appeal to middle-aged Europeans or younger latinos.

amsbam1 said:
Also there is not enough musical variety to create flavour and stop people getting bored of the music.
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This is what so few people get. Just because a DJ plays the sub genre someone likes, that person thinks that makes the DJ good. Personally I want to hear someone who plays interesting music - which means variety plus tunes of a generally very high musical standard (rather than obscure and completely forgettable).
 
amsbam1 said:
I am just bringing a bit of different point of view, or maybe some realism, Or maybe it's just my own biased opinion ;-)

Over the last 5 years I have lived in Colombia, Spain, Miami, Dublin, New York, and London. As well as travelled a bit around the Carribean, France and the Balkans. I dance salsa (En linea (i.e. whats called crossbody in the uk) , cuban and colombian), bachata, reggaeton as well as other latin dances and normally go dancing around 4 nights a week.

Of all the places I've lived, and most i've visited I've found, I have found London the most challenging to get good nights. This I believe is for the following reasons:

- distinct lack of sabor/tumbao in the venues
- the songs and subgenres tend to be of a kind suitable for middle aged northern europeans as opposed to younger latinos/latinophiles. Also there is not enough musical variety to create flavour and stop people getting bored of the music.
- there are not many nights - on a saturday night, normally there is only one place to go salsa dancing - however some of these can be very big. Much smaller european cities have much more choice.
- very few latinos at venues - other cities like Dublin, French cities get a lot more latinos at the salsa nights. This is eventhough there are quite a few latinos in London
- hip movement - women don't really move their hips to the music - if seems to be taboo to teach this in classes in london - they should, they teach it everywhere else i've been. Once the dancers start focussing on their hips and the rhythm/tumbao, their musicality starts to grow, and they get less interested in doing turn patterns without consideration to the music.
- most people at the venues seem not to be used to latin music - all nights are mainly beginners/improvers, and some of the more advanced dancers still have poor musicality.

I appreciate that my opinion is probably biased with a latino slant, and that salsa nights are not just for latinos, they are for everyone, and I also see from other peoples posts on this topic that most of the London posters are quite pleased with the London salsa scene.

So, I was wondering if you think my above points are true and if so do you think they are important. I would love to understand better the feelings of the London salseros/bachateros/etc. Thanks
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Thanks for sharing your experience and opinions. While I do have not visited as many salsa scenes as you, I was very disappointed in the London scene as well when I visited there for a week a couple of years ago (I am open to the possibility that things are better now, but from what you are saying it sounds like that is not the case). Here are a few of my posts about it (I am a little more "blunt" than you :p)

http://salsaforums.com/threads/salsa-school-suggestion-for-london.14816/#post-223751

http://salsaforums.com/threads/salsa-my-new-york-adventure.20919/page-5#post-232851
 
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Sabrosura said:
Thanks for sharing your experience and opinions. While I do have not visited as many salsa scenes as you, I was very disappointed in the London scene
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Haha, wow you criticism was tough Sabrosura!... but I understand your frustration. For some reason the pattern monkey has become the most respected type of dancer in the London salsa scene. I do not know why this came about...perhaps it's the ballroom influence.

It's a pity, because sometimes when you're watching dancers here, you see them do something perfectly with the music...and then straight away they will go into a couple of minutes of complex turn patterns...and I think ... you've got such potential, if you would just slow down and listen to the music, and give yourself a chance to develop a connection with the music!!
 
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