Salsa in London! [Archive]

pepe

05-10-2004, 09:08 PM

Web sucks, connect to dancers.

Venues open and close at such rate that webmaster cant keep up.

London is one of best cities to stay late. Night transit is great. But if you go early still lot of dancers to dance with. I visited even two places per night that are close. Places vary a lot depending of day in week or music (chose from Cuban, Mambo, Colombian...).

Pacion

05-11-2004, 06:16 PM

Venues open and close at such rate that webmaster cant keep up.

Pepe, I would be interested to know which venues you are referring to as many of the ones I know have been going for years. Yes, there is the occasional one or two that is "here today, gone tomorrow", but, in my opinion, they are the exception rather than the rule. This is in London. I cannot speak for outside/smaller towns.

Jenibelle, can you PM me the area in which you will be staying? I can then, hopefully, give you some good suggestions.

pepe

05-11-2004, 07:39 PM

I didnt mean All places in London open and close but those few (advertised on web sites) are enough for someone visiting and dont know anything about London to spoil his/her trip.

I visit London every year or two on my way to Europe and back. I saw in London the same trend now I see around world. New instructors and venues popping faster than mushrooms (everyone wants to cash on Salsa). The problem is - some last like mushrooms.

I don’t look just for one or two club in order to say I danced Salsa in London. I try to see as much as possible. For someone who travels it is just a few days to find information. So most rely on Internet, I did, I used the same web link that helped me in past and was a big mistake.

I just wanted to recommend to all travelers who want to enjoy Salsa everywhere – don’t rely on Internet and guide books, connect to real people, find friends.
I did, I learn my lesson and now I have great time everywhere I go.

Pacion

05-11-2004, 08:24 PM

Sorry Pepe but that description of new venues popping up, I just do not recognise. :( New instructors yes. New venues, no. But, if that is your experience, then so be it.

I do agree though that the internet information can be a bit out of date, to say the very least! But, some sites have gotten better over the years, thankfully.

MacMoto

05-27-2004, 05:20 AM

I may get a chance to try out the London scene at the beginning of July. Possibly Saturday but more likely to be Friday. Any places to add to the previous recommendations (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2413)? As an intermediate-level backwater girl, friendliness is more important than high skill level of dancers.

MacMoto

06-08-2004, 03:14 AM

I'll be arriving in London on Friday 2nd July, and I've just realised there's a big event that evening.
Latin Splash@Clapham Common (www.true-vision.net/latinsplash/)

Are any London-based DFers going? Is it worth going to, or would I be better off going to one of regular clubs in London instead? I'll be staying in central London.

templeria

06-08-2004, 11:12 AM

I'll be going but as I didn't go last year I'm afraid that I can't tell you too muc about it. The event is being organised by salsa-uk - more info on their website www.salsa-uk.com. If nothing else Oscar d'leon will be there and there will be shows from Johnny Vasquez and Frankie Martinez.

Afterwards there is an afterparty at the Coronet - very large venue, nice area upstairs but the main floor is concrete so kills the feet a bit! Also the area it is in isn't too great so I would advise getting a taxi back if you are going to be on your own. AGain I think there is more info on the Salsa-UK site. Maybe see you there. :D

Pacion

06-08-2004, 12:59 PM

Hi MacMoto, I have no immediate plans to go but in terms of logistics, you may need to check the travel time from Victoria station (I believe) to Clapham. The evening starts at 5pm as templeria said. Personally, I might be more inclined to go for the afterparty (especially when I don't tend to walk out of my office building until 6/6.30.

I also agree with templeria about taking a taxi (or booking a mini-cab) afterwards as it is also my understanding that the location of the venue isn't in the best of areas :?

MacMoto

06-09-2004, 10:41 AM

Thanks Templeria & Pacion!

The afterparty sounds tempting, but I probably shouldn't considering I have an early start the following morning... :( (not that it's stopped me before :lol:). Would be nice if we could meet up.

I did wonder about the area -- yes, a taxi for me I think.

MacMoto

06-29-2004, 05:23 AM

Lita_rulez

06-29-2004, 05:57 AM

I was surprised to see F. Martinez, J. Vasquez and J. Aponte are attending that event, given that they are scheduled to give a class in Cannes for the International Salsa Congress on saturday morning (10:00 AM for F. Martinez!)

Pacion

06-29-2004, 07:13 AM

Latin Splash is only 3 days away! :shock: So who's going?
I will arrive at Heathrow around 6.40pm then have to check into my hotel first, so will probably end up missing at least half of it. Still haven't decided about the afterparty yet... :?

MacMoto, depending on where your hotel is, you may have to rethink on Latin Splash :( I think it finishes at 10.30? So depending on how long it takes for you to get from Heathrow to your hotel and then to Clapham Common, you might only have an hour there.

You might be better off going to the After Party and booking a taxi to get you back to the hotel? Do you have any telephone numbers for cab companies or shall I PM you some?

I was surprised to see F. Martinez, J. Vasquez and J. Aponte are attending that event, given that they are scheduled to give a class in Cannes for the International Salsa Congress on saturday morning (10:00 AM for F. Martinez!)

Maybe they are flying in Frankie M by helicopter :wink:

MacMoto

06-29-2004, 08:27 AM

MacMoto, depending on where your hotel is, you may have to rethink on Latin Splash :( I think it finishes at 10.30? So depending on how long it takes for you to get from Heathrow to your hotel and then to Clapham Common, you might only have an hour there.
The nearest tube stations from the hotel are Marble Arch and Bond Street. No idea how long it would take to get there from the airport... :?

You might be better off going to the After Party and booking a taxi to get you back to the hotel? Do you have any telephone numbers for cab companies or shall I PM you some?
Can you PM the numbers? Thanks for your help, much appreciated. :)

cvillarl

01-24-2006, 12:21 PM

Hello everybody:

I'm going to live to England in a few weeks, but I'm still chosing the city (I can go wherever I want to). As you might guess, chosen city needs to have an "important" salsa scene. I mean, I want it to have at least one club open each day of the week, just to have my daily dose. I've been thinking about:

Newcastle upon Tyne
Liverpool
Bristol

Mostly because they are the three biggest metropolitan areas on the seaside. But don't know how big is their salsa scene. I don't need names nor addreses right now, just a quick count if you live over there. Eg Zaragoza (Spain, where a live right now) have mostly 1 club open Sunday-Thursday and 3 Friday-Saturday and have a similar number of inhabitants, but don't know how popular salsa is in UK. If the scene ins't big enought, I'll chose a bigger city on the inside. Thanks for your comments.

DeeplyDippy

01-25-2006, 06:55 AM

Newcastle upon Tyne
Liverpool
Bristol

None of these have a huge salsa scene.

Ellis

01-25-2006, 09:22 AM

You will have trouble finding anything like the amount of salsa you say there is in Zaragoza anywhere but London.

Outside London, your best bet is Birmingham, although you will have to travel across the city if you want to go every night and you are likely to have to do something else three Saturdays a month. Aparently the Birmingham scene is more friendly than London, but I have not been out in London enough to coment.

I can give you URLs for the main promoters in the Birmingham area on request.

HTH

Ellis

SurfSalsa

01-25-2006, 10:22 AM

Hi Carlos, if you want to salsa EVERY night, London's your place... I LOVED it!!

Brendan

01-25-2006, 10:30 AM

Hello everybody:

I'm going to live to England in a few weeks, but I'm still chosing the city (I can go wherever I want to). As you might guess, chosen city needs to have an "important" salsa scene.
...
Bristol

Mostly because they are the three biggest metropolitan areas on the seaside. But don't know how big is their salsa scene. I don't need names nor addreses right now, just a quick count if you live over there.

I live in Bristol and its got a salsa scene but not the best. It depends a bit on what style you prefer though. If you want on2 then you'll need to go to the bigger cities (London, Manchester, Birmingham). Cuban tends to be a bit more widespread aound the Southwest of England.
Cardiff has got a reasonable salsa scene by the way and I think there is a club most nights of the week. Have a look at www dot salsacardiff dot com (sorry - not posted enough to be able to send links). It's a very nice city and there are reasonable beaches nearby.

Brendan

cvillarl

01-26-2006, 03:29 AM

First of all, thanks for your comments.
Note that I don't need a huge salsa scene, just one like I've described will be OK. But perhaps for you that's a huge one. I thought that salsa in UK was as popular as in Spain or more, that's the reason I suposed those cities (because their number of inhabitants) will have such salsa scene.
Another thing I've found different is that, althought Saturday is probably the day when most people go out, seems the worst day to dance salsa in UK because of the number of clubs opened (as I can see in www dot salsajive dot co dot uk). I find it the worst day to dance salsa in Spain too, but not because the number of clubs opened (more than the rest of the week) or the number of dancers (more thant the rest of the week too) but mostly because the dancefloor it's a bit too crowded for my taste.
Seems like I'll have to opt for a bigger city. London (with his 8 million) will be a secured bet, but I find it a bit overwhelming. So perhaps Birmingham. Having to travel around the city doesn't matter very much (is what I do riding right now) and perhaps neither having to surrender Saturdays.
About what style I prefer, I've always danced on1 and never tried until now on2, which is quite strange right now in Zaragoza. And mostly cuban style, and just a few line, which are 50-50 right now in Zaragoza. Don't know how it is in UK, but I've been told than mostly line and on1 but on2 been quite more popular.

SurfSalsa

01-26-2006, 04:26 AM

Yes, it seems quite crazy, but that is the same I experienced in London - Saturdays were the worst nights (by far) for salsa. All the other nights I found very nice salsa places, and on some of the week nights, even quite a choice.

Brendan, Cardiff sounds real cool - I like the beach aspect of it too! Will have to check that next time I get opportunity to visit the UK!

MacMoto

01-26-2006, 06:30 AM

cvillarl,

Most salsa nights in the UK are weekly or monthly events, often organised by teachers. There are very few dedicated salsa clubs that play salsa every night (or even dedicated latin clubs). Salsa dancers in the UK have a reputation for not drinking enough to keep club owners happy, so clubs put salsa on quiet nights (Sunday-Thursday) when they don't expect a good bar take anyway. On Friday and Saturday nights, they can get more drinkers in their premises (i.e., make more money) by playing mainstream music.

If you are a Cuban-style dancer, consider Glasgow (yeah I know you said England, but Scotland's only next door;) ). It's one of the few UK cities where Cuban is the majority style. Also, Edinburgh is only an hour's drive away, and if you combine the two cities, you can get some salsa every night most weeks, including Fridays and Saturdays (some nights are better than others, but that's the same in every city). Check out http://www.salsaholics.org/frames.html.

cvillarl

01-30-2006, 11:10 AM

Hello everybody:

Chosing the city to live, has been the way most difficult task/decission about moving to UK. Finally I've chosen Birmingham so I'll PM Ellis asking for URLs for the main promoters (and I'll google a bit). That will be enought to start dancing. There, you only need to ask other dancers about more clubs and lessons.
London, Cardiff and Glasgow sound interesting but I'm afraid I have to discard them.
In Spain happens the same MacMoto said for UK. At least in Zaragoza, plenty of clubs start to organice "latin nights" specially on Thursdays, but most of them are unsuccessful and don't go on, outside the three clubs I've told that have been working for years.
So, if any dfer is living over there and want to go some day to dance, PM me and we'll dance as soon as I've arrived and stablished myself.

Twilight_Elena

09-22-2007, 05:22 AM

Hello, guys. I wanted to know what's the best salsa club in London. :D Pretty straightforward, no?

T_E

09-22-2007, 08:45 AM

T_E, there are a bunch of Brits who post over on our sister forum, www.salsaforums.com (http://www.salsaforums.com) - I'd suggest you ask over there if you don't get any answers here.

nowhiteshoes

09-23-2007, 12:10 PM

hi twilight i coulnt log in yesterday so sent you an email by hotmail. if you didnt get it i can now paste it hear. actually ill do it anyway.

modays:

Bar salsa (tottenham court road/leicester square tube). play a lot of commercial salsa/bachata/merengue early also decent salsa. later on you get great dancers + great music. packed.

two brewers pub (clapham common/north tube).

nice people, quite busy.

tues:

sound (leicester square tube). big beast of salsa, havent tried, heard mixed feedback. packed also.

abacus. in the city, classes start 6.45pm then dancing after. more fun time salsa (technique wise not too high, int/adv and lower. not really any adv dancers). nice atmosphere though. busy.

wed:

bar salsa (again). similar to mondays, better teachers. the adv class here is one of the highest (also sos, see sunday).

two brewers (again), havent tried wednesdays

thurs:

maybe bar salsa, went once wasnt keen the teachers (dont focus on technique, in my humble opinion). supposed to be busy, been tempted to try classes as phil is supposed to teach some interesting stuff.

chiswick town hall is good for classes (but way out west)

fri:

ealing town hall

havent tried (yet, going this week). suppoded to be ace (alot of on2)

sat:

bar rez/colloseum (vauxhall tube) on every sat. i went but 'salsafusion' also have sat venue every 2weeks so wasnt great. heard great reviews though so will give a 2nd go.

sun

sos (russell square tube). for me the best of the week. highest level of dancers go here (im not one of them but i have eyes!). they hire out a venue in a hotel so not about drinking etc just great dancing. alot of on2 dancers. get teachers coming on their "night off" to social.

for all venue info go to

lwww.londonsalsa.co.uk then club/classes also 4 reviews. (be suspicious of some ie wed in kensington, also turnmills on tues is shut).

MacMoto

09-24-2007, 09:16 AM

I like SOS. If you are looking for serious dancing rather than club atmosphere, it's great.

delamusica

09-24-2007, 09:19 AM

In Spain happens the same MacMoto said for UK. At least in Zaragoza, plenty of clubs start to organice "latin nights" specially on Thursdays, but most of them are unsuccessful and don't go on, outside the three clubs I've told that have been working for years.

Wish I had known where those were . . . I couldn't find any when I was in Zaragoza a couple of years ago. Darn my mediocre Spanish skills!

tangotime

09-24-2007, 10:46 AM

last time i was at bar salsa , was one of the worst experiences in many yrs !!-- The DJs ( s ) would not have lasted one set in most US clubs. The music was pretty bad .Its subjective, I know .

there were a few salseras present, but nothing out of the ordinary. But again, i,m making this comparison with state side clubs .=== also, looking thru prof. eyes.

This was a fri nite, so cant speak for other nites .

nowhiteshoes

09-24-2007, 11:30 AM

i wouldnt go to bar salsa fri/sat/sun. only mon/wed 4 me. empties out a bit by 11pm when music and dancing much better

tangotime

09-24-2007, 12:05 PM

i wouldnt go to bar salsa fri/sat/sun. only mon/wed 4 me. empties out a bit by 11pm when music and dancing much better

Guess i should know better about w/ends !!

nowhiteshoes

09-24-2007, 04:22 PM

Guess i should know better about w/ends !!

yeah its hen nights apparently! with lots of randy mature ladies on the prowl

Pacion

10-01-2007, 07:17 AM

wed:

bar salsa (again). similar to mondays, better teachers. the adv class here is one of the highest (also sos, see sunday).

Better teachers at Bar Salsa on a Wednesday night, than on a Monday? Hmmm. Have not been to both nights in a while, but, in my opinion, you could not get better than Mario and Susana.

Yes, there are people who are not 'fans' of Mario. I am not one them. However, whilst he may not be a dancer, he is a much better 'moves' teacher than many of the teachers around.

As for Susana, she is really one of the best female teachers.

Therefore, it is quite subjective which night has the 'better teachers'. Personally, if I had to choose, I would choose Monday nights at Bar Salsa.

As for a lot of On2 at Ealing Town Hall on a Friday night? I would say that that is a subjective view. Robert White, one half of the MamboCity organisers does play a mix. Now, if there are dancers there who dance both On1 and On2, and choose to dance On2 to a song that may be more for On1 or even Cuban style... that is their choice. ;)

tangotime

10-01-2007, 08:03 AM

yeah its hen nights apparently! with lots of randy mature ladies on the prowl

What was that nite again ? :rolleyes::rolleyes:

nowhiteshoes

10-01-2007, 08:59 AM

tangotime

10-01-2007, 09:52 AM

havent tried their yet (!) and was stating their is apparently quite a few on2 ers that go (got this info from the 'other' website). made this comment as they were coming from usa may be an on2 dancer (but hey maybe not) was trying to be helpful info wise for someone coming to the uk.

Interesting how people assume that possibility , that may be --USA = on 2 . I know you said maybe not-- but----

The last major city in which I worked ( large latino pop. ) on 1 dancers were, by far, the most dominant .

Twilight_Elena

10-01-2007, 11:23 AM

Pacion

10-01-2007, 11:57 AM

was trying to be helpful info wise for someone coming to the uk.

Let's call it "even Stevens" shall we? You have your views/information re Ealing Town Hall on a Friday, I have my views/information re Bar Salsa on a Wednesday...

TE, how long are you here for? I think your PM must be lost in snail mail! ;)

nowhiteshoes

10-01-2007, 12:58 PM

just hedging my bets ;) because i was 2 lazy to see where twilight was from then reply.:)

Twilight_Elena

10-01-2007, 07:32 PM

TE, how long are you here for? I think your PM must be lost in snail mail! ;)

Here where? And what PM? Did I miss a memo?

T_E

sweavo

10-02-2007, 09:14 AM

Hello again, peeps. Found a club called The Clockhouse (Bar Tiempo/la Finca) which very conveniently located close to my house. It's near Angel, Islington. Does anyone know anything about it? Basically, is the music and crowd any good? Is it too crowded? Not so interested in classes.

T_E

I went to a place "The Finca" in the big town some years ago (2003 I think) and I found it to be very Cuban oriented and actually hostile to cbl styles (I asked a girl to dance and she said "are you any good?" then when we started. "why are you dancing American style? Salsa is from Cuba!")

Pacion

10-02-2007, 09:45 AM

TE, how long are you here for? I think your PM must be lost in snail mail! ;)

Here where? And what PM? Did I miss a memo?

T_E

Hello again, peeps. Found a club called The Clockhouse (Bar Tiempo/la Finca) which very conveniently located close to my house. It's near Angel, Islington. Does anyone know anything about it? Basically, is the music and crowd any good? Is it too crowded? Not so interested in classes.

T_E

Now, either I am drinking toooo much sherry, or not drinking enough, :lol: but, according to the initial post, I was/am under the impression that you are/will be, in London...

Twilight_Elena

10-02-2007, 09:53 AM

Yes, yes. I'm in London for studies and will be here for... oh, 5 years. :p

T_E

Dave Bailey

10-02-2007, 10:01 AM

Hello again, peeps. Found a club called The Clockhouse (Bar Tiempo/la Finca) which very conveniently located close to my house. It's near Angel, Islington. Does anyone know anything about it? Basically, is the music and crowd any good? Is it too crowded?
La Finca's been going for ages - at least 12 years, probably more.

I've not been there for a year or more, the music was too fast for my old bones - but it's a great venue, it's definitely worth trying a few different nights there.

Twilight_Elena

10-02-2007, 10:19 AM

La Finca's been going for ages - at least 12 years, probably more.

I've not been there for a year or more, the music was too fast for my old bones - but it's a great venue, it's definitely worth trying a few different nights there.

Hey thanks! :D It's my first time in London, and I don't dance salsa that much but there are some friends here who do more than me and plus I miss ballroom socials. Need to go out dancing.

Vibrance

10-02-2007, 11:53 AM

Hey thanks! :D It's my first time in London, and I don't dance salsa that much but there are some friends here who do more than me and plus I miss ballroom socials. Need to go out dancing.

I've been to La Finca several times in the last year and it's an OK venue.

The split between CBers and Cuban style is about 50/50 now.
The classes can be good, but are often very crowded and chaotic.
It's one of the few clubs in London where the men sometimes outnumber the women, this made for a bit of a weird atmosphere one time I was there.
Some nights the floor is full past midnight, sometimes it seems to die at 11:45.

A bit too changeable for my liking - I've had great nights there, other times I've wanted to leave after 30 minutes.

sweavo

10-02-2007, 12:17 PM

I've been to La Finca several times in the last year and it's an OK venue.

The split between CBers and Cuban style is about 50/50 now.
The classes can be good, but are often very crowded and chaotic.
It's one of the few clubs in London where the men sometimes outnumber the women, this made for a bit of a weird atmosphere one time I was there.

Maybe I got one of those nights... it was really hard to keep smiling that time!

caroleb123

10-18-2007, 09:10 AM

I was looking for an activity in the evening and I finally found the club I LOVE SALSA! They are so nice! They organise Salsa classes but also Salsa parties... So, don't hesitate, you won't be disappointed!;)

AndrewS

11-06-2007, 05:24 AM

I went to a place "The Finca" in the big town some years ago (2003 I think) and I found it to be very Cuban oriented and actually hostile to cbl styles (I asked a girl to dance and she said "are you any good?" then when we started. "why are you dancing American style? Salsa is from Cuba!")

:lol:

La Finca always puzzled me in that the classes were in cross body style (with a nod towards some Cuban movement) but the club afterwards was 80% Cuban style. Because of that and because it was a long journey for me I only ever went about 4 or 5 times.

AndrewS

11-06-2007, 05:38 AM

hi pacion couldnt quote your text but will reply anyway. you think mario's intermediate is more interesting than joes? really thats your opinion, mine is the opposite (but thats mine, no prob). bar salsa wed improvers teaches similar moves to bar salsa mon intermediate (where they ALWAYS teach xbody, xbody turn, double spin, copa - every week, im not the only one to comment on this).
I thought that the aim of the Monday intermediate class was to allow you to practise the core moves - the ones you mention above and not neccessarily to teach a new turn pattern every week? They did used to explain this at the start of every intermediate class but perhaps they have stopped saying it.

I'm definitely looking forward to the day when women come up from that intermediate class with a solid set of core skills and can complete a double spin without staggering around for the second one. And where they actually wait to be led for a move rather than doing it themselves three counts too early because they "know" what's coming.

made this comment as they were coming from usa may be an on2 dancer (but hey maybe not) was trying to be helpful info wise for someone coming to the uk.

Isn't on2 a predominantly New York thing? If someone came over from the US and they were from, say, LA I would be very surprised if they only danced on2.

tangotime

11-06-2007, 05:57 AM

I .

Isn't on2 a predominantly New York thing? If someone came over from the US and they were from, say, LA I would be very surprised if they only danced on2.

NO .-- they were dancing on " 2 " in LA, back in the fifties, as were most.
You will find a mixture of styles, in all the larger cities ( 1,2, and 3 ) and the proficient dancers, will change to suit the occasion .

himji

12-08-2008, 07:40 AM

Since most things change and move on, I'm sure alot of this is out of date now. Can anybody give me a new heads up on where to go in London these days?

I'm moving back to NW London (Harrow) in January and so looking for place round form the north to the West of London and maybe in central as I could always tube it in.

I want to look for the best places/nights in the City so I can plan the rest of my life around that :p

I've already asked this on SalsaForums (sorry for x-post) but asking here too