Article Published in http://www.deccanchronicle.com/node/113434

I met Anu Bose when I was 14. We had a common close friend in Delhi, and I would see her every time she visited from Mumbai.

A little intimidated by her rebellious style, I stayed away from getting to know her better. Since I lost touch with our common friend, I lost touch with Anu, only to meet her years later in Mumbai as Anu Ansari.

I now noticed a change in her. Her rebellious streak had given way to a calm and more reserved person. Very different from the girl I knew, who was full of life, fun and wore her heart on her sleeve. Although we bumped into each other on and off and promised to meet often, we never got down to actually doing it. Finally, I called her for my birthday party after knowing her for 30 years.

She came with her friend who was a Salsa teacher. Even though I had a sprained toe, we danced and had a great time. She convinced me to come to her new studio. Something had changed in her. “Salsa opened something inside me that was locked for too long, and it set me free,” she said, as we sat in Studio 189, her chic and neat dance studio in Tardeo. “Dance and music are in sync with what you feel. Salsa connects the dots between what you feel and who you are. The dance has allowed me to express how I feel with freedom,” she said.

“As women, all our lives we end up playing different roles,” she added. Anu is a great sister to her brother, actor Rahul Bose, who she describes as “her backbone” and their relationship as two souls merged into one. She is a homemaker and a responsible mother to her daughter, Alya, who she calls her very “heartbeat”. “There was no space for me. Duty was my commitment and duty my goal. My own person took a back seat, and I lost myself,” she said.

“There was no space for my feelings, aspirations or goals. I became a different me, and slowly got shrouded by insecurity and low self-esteem. Many women go through a change once they turn 40. My mother once said to me, ‘A woman needs to revalidate herself as an individual — without tags attached of belonging to anyone’,” Anu said.

Alya, Anu’s 15-year-old daughter, recognises her mother’s devotion towards her upbringing. She gave Anu an ultimatum. “Within a year, I want you to be happy, working and in a relationship,” she told her loving mother.

“There were a lot of things pent up inside me in the form of stress and compromise. Dance allowed me to be myself. When I dance, it’s my space and I am protective abo-ut it,” she said. “Salsa helped me get my confidence back.” “In life there comes a time when you look at yourself critically, know your strengths and your dark spaces; know what you are capable of, recognise your weaknesses, and then accept yourself,” she continued.

“I am happy and comfortable with myself today. No more killing myself trying to be perfect. I got lost trying to do that. Perfection is indeed a bubble, and pressure makes it pop at some point,” she added. Many 40-plus women and younger people use Studio 189 to rejuvenate themselves, release their tension, and give themselves a chance to feel a selfish pleasure. “We are empty vessels at the end of the day,” said Anu. “You need to refill it to be able to give back,” she adds.

Since I live in Powai, thane is equidistant from say bandra, the party is held in a discotheque of a 4 star hotel by the name of United 21, the complete address is here.

One of my friend Bindu who lives in thane and is one of the principal instructors with Nakul was kind enough to let me know the details of the Salsa Party which is organised by this dance school only once a month at this place.

The Review.

As soon as I entered and changed in to my Salsa shoes, I had enough girls who obliged me with a dance, most of them were beginners and I prefer to dance with beginners. The experienced and good dancers were dancing with the other experienced dancers. The ratio of boys to girls “for heavens sake” was evenly matched, or I am sure they were more girls there on this particular day, I was dancing non-stop and had to leave because of hunger pangs.

The only complaint is the floor of the discotheque is too smooth made of plasticky disco material, which made me slip quite a lot. I wish it was a wooden flooring. But a fantastic experience here, do check out this Salsa party which takes place only once a month, called Nakul/Bindu or United 21 for more details.

The venue is one of the best venue I have seen for Salsa, much more better and spacious than zenzi. The bar area is separated by a glass partition to the dance floor which kind of gives the serious dancer great dance floor space. I saw kaytee and the santosh on their smoke break outside the door. The dashing Kaytee is looking much cooler with a sporty haircut and enquired whether I have lost weight.

The floor was sparse with a few people dancing, I could see I am not the only one who didn’t have a partner, there were a few other guys out there looking out for girls who they could ask out. After about 20 minutes of observing the dancing scene, i realised all of them were Salsa India students and it would be rather difficult to get a partner, and none of the guys were interesting enough to hangout with. So I beat it.

The problem with the Salsa party at C’est La Vie is that it is not really promoted in any general media and people who are outside the Salsa India classes/community might feel inhibited and unwelcome. The whole meaning of a Salsa social becomes boring if there are not enough ladies(beginners) to dance with.

Would it be a good idea if Kaytee and other dance instructors who organise these Salsa Parties encourage new comers and outsiders to attend? How about promoting on other forums, bombay times perhaps? Do drop in your ideas and urge kaytee to promote these parties more aggressively so more newcomers are encouraged to check out the Salsa scene.

The Salsa India scene to be on a very low key, with them no longer organising the Salsa Festival and bigger events, which they used to earleir. They certainly need to look at the India scene with a fresher perspective instead of diversifying into other dance forms.

I plan to check the other parties soon and write about it too, till then. Viva La Salsa. If any dance instructor Salsa DJ can support Mumbai Salsa we can organise a general party and get the community scene rolling?

The salsa scene in Kolkata has been a fairly recent addition to the city’s culture and is ingrained with the presence of Aditya Upadhaya who moved there in October, 2005. Prior to that, few individuals taught moves to Hindi songs and called it Salsa. There was no concept of the salsa rhythm “quick-quick-slow” or the count “1,2,3,- 5,6,7”

My meeting with Aditya happened in Delhi in 2005 approximately at the same time he had moved to Kolkata. On December 9, 2005, Aditya organized the city’s first salsa party ever, which he called “Vive la Salsa Night at Roxy, The Park”. When asked about it, he confesses that it was only him dancing on the floor and luckily a friend from Delhi was visiting so he had someone to dance with.

Slowly over the years the level of dancing has risen, and currently Salsa parties of the “Vive la Salsa Nights” at Venom is usually packed with budding salseras and salseros.

Salsa in the Conservative Kolkota

Salsa nights are organized twice a month at Venom on Wednesdays, and once a month on Sunday at Plush. These parties attract teachers from other schools, but somehow they do not attract their students. One major problem cited about students in Kolkata is that the majority of them are not locals but are in the city for a few months and have to leave soon. These non-locals usually are the ones who stay on longer at the parties and seem to enjoy salsa more.

Kolkata being more conservative may seem different from Delhi, Bombay or Bangalore as far as the comfort level between partners is involved – especially Bachata – and many girls do not join because they feel awkward dancing with strangers, even just Salsa. In spite of this, most students who have stuck on for more than 3 months tend to stay on for long. The largest batches are the intermediate level Salsa dancers. It is observed that Bollywood is what makes the people have fun, which is why most English movies are not released in Kolkata even though they would have in other parts of India.

So today all Kolkata residents are welcome to the world where you can ‘Live Salsa’!

A Growing Salsa Community

The Salsa community in Kolkata has been growing steadily since its inception and the sessions even bring together entire families. They assure genuine and detailed instruction coupled with plenty of opportunities to enhance social life, physical and mental wellness and make new friends while learning how to dance. Students have also had opportunities to perform at, and attend Salsa parties and festivals around the country.

Casa de la Salsa (House of Salsa) was formed in May 2005 and operated through workshops in and around Eastern India. After the success of these initial workshops, the company’s name was changed to Vive la Salsa, ‘Live Salsa’, to better embody the organization’s aim of building a community. Salsa enthusiasts in Kolkata have taken Salsa to new lengths. Some of them have gone all the way to win the first place of the salsa championships at the International Salsa India Fiesta 2005, held in New Delhi, and placed second at the India International Salsa Congress in Bangalore in August 2007.

This is Vive La Salsa’s newest dance routine performed at the Hong Kong Salsa Festival 2010.

List of Salsa Schools

·       Vive la Salsa
·       Vishal Kanoi
·       Salsa India Dance Company
·       Twist n Turns
·       Mambocity
·       Dew drops
·       Tito Dey
·       Suman Mukehrjee
·       Sudipto Kumar

About the Author

Lourd Vijay is the principal Promoter of Latin culture, music and dance in the Asian Region. He recently stood 10th at the “most Popular Entrepreneur of the year 2009” amongst 180 nominees from across the country. An innovative choreographer and a very able instructor, he is the director of the Lourd Vijay’s Dance Studios (www.lvds.in | www.indiasalsa.com ) in India.

Lourd holds a Post-graduate Diploma in Management. He has just launched a project called the Street Kids Street Dance Initiative – a project to impart dance as a vocation to socio-economically challenged individuals. Lourd is also the organiser of The India International Salsa Congress, the All India Salsa Championships, the Chennai Salsa Festival, the Goa Salsa Festival, the Winter Dance Festival, The Spirit of dance festival, Free Spirit Street Arts Festival as well as the Ambassador of the Hong Kong Salsa Festival.

It’s hot! It’s happening! And it’s very, very saucy!! Salsa is hot! No matter when and where, it is spicing things up – film, music, and dance…just about anything.

The Sunny Source of Salsa

Salsa is a dance like no other. Its genesis began in not just one country or origin, each wrapped in its own brand of misty mystery, but through several streams melting into a mix which is still developing and transforming to this date. My gut feeling has always been inclined to the esoteric, and maybe because I wanted to believe it so badly, that when I stumbled upon it during my favorite salsa R&D sessions, my jaw dropped. Here was the proof that I always believed existed.

In some inconceivable way, India, I was convinced, was connected with the origins of Salsa. I guess you are surprised and I dare to say intrigued too. Don’t be! Our country is one having given rise to high societies, religion, free thinkers, and inventions, fueling ancient global developments, which today is what we would say…history.

From Gypsies to African Slaves

So here is what I know…a zillion moons ago, Gypsies from Northern India drifted aimlessly (yes, yes, I know, all gypsies do that!). They camped by rivers and dared unknown trails.

By night, they sat under the stars and let the flames of a blazing fire form the backdrop for a rare dance, which we later recognized as India’s classical dance, the Kathak.

The following is a clip of two young ladies dancing modern Kathak. Notice the hands telling a story. This manner of using the hands when dancing  Kathak evolved into ‘styling’ in Flamenco Dance (- S -).

In time, they danced their way through the portal of the Arabian world to the Iberian peninsular (what we commonly today call Spain), where their dance form merged with that of the local Spanish dance, and the fusion saw a hybrid take shoot – The Flamenco – one of the most fiery dance forms!

The following video is of a ‘Sevillanas Enamorado’, a ‘Love Sevillanas’. Sevillanas is the only ‘Couples Flamenco Dance’ which has been developed by the gypsies in Andalucia, southern Spain. The hands and arms are now used as natural extensions of the dancers’ emotions, and to mimic the movements of bull-fighters (- S -).

In later years, European Colonies set foot on Latin American soil and began work on the plantations. ‘Labour’, as in slaves was imported from Africa to work on the cotton, sugar and coffee fields. Having toiled all day, they amused themselves with song and dance, at the haciendas, in secret.

Eventually their African music intermingled with that of the French, Creole and Spanish, giving rise to completely new forms of music like the Son, Rhumba, Guaracha, Conga, Mambo, Cha-cha-cha, Pachanga and Nueva Timba.

Centuries later, a similar exodus was emerging in the USA, where
New York became a melting pot for Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and other Hispanic communities settling down and working in the New York & New Jersey area. Their interaction, spearheaded by Latin illuminaries and revered music enthusiasts such as Machito, Mario Bauza, Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo, gave rise to music such as the Boogaloo, Latin Jazz….and the Salsa.

The following videoclip of Griselle Ponce from New Jersey shows how the ‘Flamenco Hand Styling’, which would become a standard for Latin American Dances,  merged with Afro-Cuban body movements resulting in modern Salsa Arm and Hand Styling (- S -).

Excerpts from my book “Salsa in my Pocket”

About the Author:

Lourd Vijay is the principal Promoter of Latin culture, music and dance in the Asian Region. He recently stood 10th at the “most Popular Entrepreneur of the year 2009” amongst 180 nominees from across the country. An innovative choreographer and a very able instructor, he is the director of the Lourd Vijay’s Dance Studios (www.lvds.in | www.indiasalsa.com ) in India.
Lourd holds a Post-graduate Diploma in Management. He has just launched a project called the Street Kids Street Dance Initiative – a project to impart dance as a vocation to socio-economically challenged individuals. Lourd is also the organiser of The India International Salsa Congress, the All India Salsa Championships, the Chennai Salsa Festival, the Goa Salsa Festival, the Winter Dance Festival, The Spirit of dance festival, Free Spirit Street Arts Festival as well as the Ambassador of the Hong Kong Salsa Festival.

1. We don’t endorse the use of force.

Ask the lady to dance with you, don’t tell her she is going to dance with you. Grabbing her wrist and urging, “Come on. Just one song” does not fly. If she declines, the best reaction is to acknowledge her choice and walk away. No verbal persuasion, cajoling or physical dragging should be utilized – especially when her boyfriend is around. If she gives the bathroom excuse, do not wait for her outside the bathroom- that is just plain creepy.

2. Ask her twice, she’ll turn to ice.

You can ask twice in one night, but not one right after the other. When a song has ended, it is best not to ask her to dance right away. Even if you both seemed to have fun, give it some time and leave her wanting more… that is much better than risking her wanting to push you away.

3. Yakkity Yak? We won’t come back.

Leave the chatting to Cathy! Keep talking to a minimum- exchanging names and where you are from at the beginning of the song is fine, but what the ladies don’t like is when guys sacrifice the dance itself, and end up doing basic step the whole song while chatting. This comes across as hitting on us.

4. Giving advice is not very nice.

A HUGE dancing no-no is giving lessons on the dance floor. Many guys assume the girl is a beginner (and if she is not, this is extremely insulting) and give her lessons or tips while dancing. Advice has its place…in the studio.

5. Look at her eyes, not at the prize

Maybe the girl is so enthralling (read: hot) you want to gaze into her eyes (or  somewhere else) while dancing–but resist this temptation. It comes across as predatorial. Staring at her the entire time without blinking comes across sort of serial killer-ish. On the other hand, too little eye contact comes across as disinterested. Ladies appreciate a lead who makes eye contact now and then, to “check in”, or establish a connection. This ensures that both of us are having fun

Read the rest of the article here

1. Fruko y Sus Tesos – Barranquillero Arrebatao
2. Grupo Niche – Oiga, Mire, Vea
3. Rey Ruiz – No Me Acostumbro
4. Sonora Carruseles – Micaela
5. Joe Arroyo – Yamulemao
6. Ibrahim Ferrer – Compositor Confundido
7. Marc Anthony – No Sabes Como Duele
8. Poncho Sanchez – Mambo De Cuco
9. Afro Cuban All Stars – Campina
10. Celia Cruz – El Son Sigue Ahi
11. Coco Valoy – Juliana
12. Eddie Santiago – Lluvia
13. Oscar D’Leon – Melao de Cana
14. Ricardo Lemvo – Mambo Yoyo
15. Wayne Gorbea -  Cogele el Gusto

Article Source: latindancepro.com

She ordered
And waited for her drink
When led, moved smoothly
Like a skater in the rink

When the music started
And upped the beat
Her magic moves
Turned on the heat

Twist, turns and drops
Our chemistry was unprecedented
Her passion was sizzling
First drops of rain on a roof cemented

If beats maketh a ‘music’
And moves maketh a ‘dance’
Wonder what
is this cryptic word ‘Romance’

Salsa, merengue, cha-cha
The music never would stop
The tempo was up
Our HIGH never took a DROP

I woke up in the morning
‘It’s a dream”, I thought as much
But my heart kept pounding
I could still feel the touch…

Sourced from: YK’s blog