Salsa outside your scene

[MacMoto]

Inspired by this exchange in the "In your salsa life time (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?p=88572)" poll/thread:
Nada :shock: yet..........considering my salsa life time is longer than most people I know this is moi -----> :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: !
But you're a veteran at "salsa out of home town" :wink: -- something I hope to be doing more of in years to come.

Have you ever danced salsa outside your local scene?

Include congresses, weekenders and festivals by any means, but (unlike Pacion's Outside of your home city (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=5741) poll) also visits to regular clubs/smaller events outside of your local scene. Same cities/events visited multiple times should be counted separately, but if you have danced in the same place in more than 5 separate occasions, you should probably consider it your "second home"...

Unlike Pacion, I am curious about specifics, not just numbers! :wink: What is it like to be a visiting salser@? Share your experience with Enquiring Minds!

[salsachinita]

Thanks, MacMoto :oops: ....!!!!

Well, my salsa travellings come hand-in-hand with my regular travelling, really. At first it was like: "Hey, I'm visiting such & such city, might as well check out salsa while I'm there!"

Then, it became: "Hmmm, love to check out the scene at such & such city, who lives there....? What can I do to justfy the trip?"

Now, it's like: "Salsa..? I'm so there! Where's that bank :P ?!" (please refer to *the plan* :wink: )

This is my old thread: http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?p=16367&highlight=scene#16367

These days I'm not travelling as much as I'd like......but hopfully that's gonna change 8) !

[pygmalion]

No salsa wanderers yet? :shock: :lol:

[tj]

I wander quite often, and it's a lot of fun!

MM, you were mentioning that you have no qualms asking an experienced Lead to dance, so I think you'd enjoy it as well. I have noticed that it seems to be easier for experienced Leads to travel than it is for experienced Follows. Especially if the Follows are used to being asked rather than asking themselves.

Case in point - went to Portland with a group of about 6-8 of us. We danced at the Viceroy Club, and I had a fun time. The Follows who went with us are excellent and attractive dancers, but they didn't do all that much dancing compared to their "home" scene.

It's particularly fun when a bunch of Follows "discover" you, and they and all their friends want to try you out. This is more likely to happen in smaller scenes where the experienced dancers already know each other a little too well, and are therefore excited at the prospect of dancing with someone new.

[Cist]

whenever possible. first thing when i visit a new town is ***googleing*** around for a salsa club... :roll:

[youngsta]

Big time wanderer here! As a matter of fact I'm going to dance in the bay area this week!

[Vin]

Travelling as a salsero can be fun, or tough. I have always done it alone, once with a gf. Overall they have been good experiences. Alot depends on the night for me. When going alone I have had a signifcantly better time when there are alot more people there to dance. ie: a crowded night rather than a night with the regulars. Because of this I am more apt to want to go on the big nights. Whereas if I am familiar with a scene I have much less of an issue with going to nights where there are not alot of people because you are bound to see a familiar face.
The scenes I have been to as a visitor/newbie are
Cleveland, Raleigh, Atlanta, New York(I was a beginner so I don't count this), and DC(my new home scene).
Raleigh was a friendly scene, as was Atlanta. The other scenes appeared to me to be more difficult to break into but that may just be the nights I attended. The place I went in Atlanta for example was friendly on a saturday but not on a Thursday.

[Sagitta]

New York city for salsa congress
Wyalusing, PA - counts as I did salsa / cha -cha all night at a zydeco/swing dance
Syracuse, NY - pretty good crowd
Binghamton, NY
Owego, NY

[MacMoto]

whenever possible. first thing when i visit a new town is ***googleing*** around for a salsa club... :roll:
... or, even better, post here to get info :wink:

[pygmalion]

Raleigh was a friendly scene, as was Atlanta. The other scenes appeared to me to be more difficult to break into but that may just be the nights I attended. The place I went in Atlanta for example was friendly on a saturday but not on a Thursday.
Interesting. I wonder why? Is it a crowd of regulars versus a mixed crowd with some outsiders that makes it more or less friendly? :?

[danceguy]

I've never travelled to another scene - but I really want to. Although I live an hour from SF - I still consider it part of "our scene"...so I'd have to leave the state or at least travel a few hundred miles to go to somewhere totally outside of it. :wink:

Youngsta - hope you have a good time! Which clubs are you going to?

SG

[youngsta]

Down Low Lounge and Roccapulco SG.

[danceguy]

Ah, never been to the Down Low...a friend just told me that this Thursday is an anniversary night at the Roccapulco, no cover charge and free food. :P

Not sure if I'm going to go...I'm sort of still on dance hiatus...but then again there should be lots of ladies there...hmm...decisions, decisions! :wink: :lol:

[cocodrilo]

Since we have no clubs to speak of here(not to mention large-scale events, unless I'M the one who's producing them!) I have been dancing at a lot of clubs outside my city. I also look for places to dance when I travel abroad. If I am with someone who knows salsa, we try to ferret out the salsa clubs. A travelmate that just likes clubbing, we check out the clubs.(Nightlife a MUST on my travel agenda! :D )

[azzey]

I'm a salsa wanderer.. but have been a fixture of the local scene in Glasgow until recently. During my 1.5 years there at one point I frequented the Edinburgh clubs (an hours drive away) so often that some people thought I lived in the city! Part of the reason for me not getting out as much as I used to (more in this later) is that I was splitting half my time between the Cuban clubs/studios and half my time with the LA crowd. A foot in both camps.

Places I've been for Salsa: Basel, Switzerland. Nice, France. In the UK: London, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Birmingham, Bedford, Cambridge, Oxford, Swindon, Cirencester and Bristol. Also some salsa weekends at Pontins and the UK Congress.

Most of those would probably be counted as my second home as I've been to most of them more than 5 times and some to 2 or 3 clubs in each town/city more than 5 times.

I'm with Salsachinita on the travelling (I used to actively work travel into business, like "where do I want to go this week and how can I get myself there without paying for it") but recently it's more about the Salsa than the travelling although I still enjoy both.

In the past I've travelled to: Ibiza, Canary islands, Granada, Florida, Paris, Bruselles, Amsterdam, Zurich, Basel - Switzerland, China, Sydney, C'ot d'zur - France, Germany, Finland, Toronto, Milan, Boston, San Francisco and Chicago. I would love to go back to those cities and check out the Salsa scene as at the time I went to most of them I didn't Salsa. I'm actively reading the boards of some of the most interesting places with a view to going there in the future.

Some other interesting places I'm planning to Salsa someday: Portugal (the home of Espasso Latino who I met recently), Barcelona (for the Cuban style and Spanish girls), Milan (for the stylish Salseras and to see the girls from Tropical Gem again), Amsterdam (over 20 salsa clubs!), Paris, Norway, Sweden (very friendly so I've been told), Cuba, Dominican Republic (for Merengue), South America - Brazil (for Brazilian dances), Cali - Columbia (home of Salsa in SA), Argentina (for Tango) and of course New York! New York!

I think one of the best ways to travel and enjoy the Salsa scene is to move there and live in the scene for a while. Having Lived in the South of France for a while I can definitely recommend it! But for now I am moving myself closer to London to experience what it has to offer and we'll see what happens about Cuba and the rest. I'm still working on it.. :)

[MacMoto]

Ah ha, I knew there had to be a salsa wanderer or two amongst us! :D

[youngsta]

San Francisico is off the chain! Down Low Lounge was one of the best nights dancing I ever had!

[danceguy]

That's awesome Youngsta...are you still in SF?

[youngsta]

Yeah SG, going to Roccapulco tonight.

[danceguy]

Cool, I better see some good Bachata then. :wink:

My friends talked me into going...I haven't danced in a month though! Oh well, I'll just do my best. :wink: :lol:

[youngsta]

Awww yeah!!

[Spitfire]

I have danced some Salsa at studio dances I've attended when I've traveled elsewhere, but not at any clubs and I've done little of that here.

[MacMoto]

Youngsta & SG, be sure to report back!

[danceguy]

Well, I'll wait for Youngsta to report on his own, but I can assure the ladies at DF, he's a really great dancer! I didn't get a chance to talk with him but I saw him do a few Salsas and a Bachata...smooth, very smooth! :D

Myself, I didn't dance even once. I'm still on hiatus, so the fact that I even went out is a miracle in itself. :wink:

SG

[youngsta]

SG I hated that place! The bands sucked, it was WAYYY to crowded, and a LOT of dangerous dancers were out. I just wasn't feelin it. Man you reallly need to check out DLL. Where were you man? Did you come up to me at all?

I did get to dance, well defend, meagalita on that dancefloor! Meag, I promise a lot more fun on much safer dancefloor. :lol:

[danceguy]

You know, its interesting to hear your description Youngsta - because I agree with you 100%! Glad I'm not the only one. :? :wink:

I had a really bad migraine and that defeaning, out of balance sound system made it worse...I was just chillin' at one the tables most of the night. Hey at least they had free cake. :wink:

Man - I gotta check out some other venues...last time I danced there it was like playing pinball...a lot of people with bad floorcraft...I felt like I was doing MA training instead of dancing... :oops:

Its no wonder I've been burned out with Salsa...I've been going to the wrong venues obviously! :roll: :x

SG

[MapleLeaf Salsero]

Some other interesting places I'm planning to Salsa someday: Portugal (the home of Espasso Latino who I met recently),

Espasso Latino? I have my salsa lessons there. The instructors at this studio perform abroad a lot.

[salsachinita]

It's particularly fun when a bunch of Follows "discover" you, and they and all their friends want to try you out. This is more likely to happen in smaller scenes where the experienced dancers already know each other a little too well, and are therefore excited at the prospect of dancing with someone new.

indeed, TJ....! That precisely why I love salsa wandering so much 8) .........

[tj]

It's particularly fun when a bunch of Follows "discover" you, and they and all their friends want to try you out. This is more likely to happen in smaller scenes where the experienced dancers already know each other a little too well, and are therefore excited at the prospect of dancing with someone new.

indeed, TJ....! That precisely why I love salsa wandering so much 8) .........

:D

On that note, there's a really good dancer from Seattle who's going to be out here for a couple of days. I'm definitely looking forward to getting a dance with her.