The Salsambo social at Westville Square last Friday night was such a nice change for me. The Wednesday before that, I went to one of the smaller clubs. I had a great time dancing. For about an hour. If you have ever danced at a small club on a popular night, you know that by midnight you feel about the same as you do on a New York subway train at rush hour. It’s hard to relax, there is no place to stand, definitely no place to sit, people bump into you, and you start smelling things. There is only one thing that I can learn on a tightly crowded floor and that is: how to dance on a rush hour subway train. My solution: go to a social.
Washington D.C. at Salsambo!
Last Friday night, Mambodelphia held its monthly social at Westville Square. It was a unique night. Earl Rush a/k/a “Go Go Earl”, the well-known D.C. salsa promoter and owner of the online mambo magazine, The Mambo Scene came up from D.C. He brought along Pyson Mauricio, the founder and director of Mezzlocutis Dance Company based in D.C. Pyson, usually an On2 dancer, gave a workshop with On1 footwork (so flexible). The workshop really stretched my thinking — almost every pattern had a unique twist. On moves where I usually expect to go left, Pyson had us going right and vice versa. This is excellent for learning to follow, because it helps me to stop anticipating so much, which usually sets me up for a following mistake. You have to be ready for anything, as Big George says.
It also makes for some cool, interesting patterns.
Earl Rush took Mauricio's class too!
There was a lot more happening at Salsambo than workshops. We also celebrated Latin Dance Scene’s Newsletter 4 year anniversary with D.J. Sazaam. And, of course there were performances! Christy Kam’s group, Musicaliente, performed a Bachata routine. And Salsa Georgia Dance Company was here from central Jersey.
A great aspect of this social is the venue. It is more intimate than Stardust, but very spacious in comparison to the clubs. There is plenty of seating and you and your friends can enjoy a large, clean, table that seats at least 8 people. There is lots and lots of side space, with more seating, to take a break and watch the other dancers. The floor is slippery, so if that bothers you, wear “stickier” shoes. Mambodelphia always supplies a buffet dinner for free, and bottles of water are on sale for $1 (beats Brasils $3 bottles!). For alcohol, you can bring your own. So for $12 (if you buy early) you get: free parking, free dinner, a free top quality workshop, and lots of space to dance nonstop-and-bump free for 5 hours. Altogether, a bargain and a relaxed, enjoyable, fun, night.
I got there early to take pics of this very nice venue!
Just because Salsambo is a Mambodelphia event does not mean that you must dance On2; or that only On2 dancers show up. I prefer dancing On2, but when I go to the Mambodelphia socials, I still end up dancing more than 50% On1. We had lots of great dancers show up last Friday. Check out some pics:
© Kathleen Aguilar 2010 – Check Out My Blog: Journey Through The Mamboverse
© Mambodelphia LLC 2010
