I re-ignited my Salsa Mojo this week by the quite simple, accidental and random act of purchasing a CD whilst looking for another entirely different CD in HMV. I was searching for some Greek music, (I had my reasons, honestly - another story). but as is always the way when I am trying to keep my distance from salsa, I couldn't quite manage it, and bought the Best of the Fania All Stars for fiver, instead.

I put it on in my car – or The Salsa Wagon – as I call it when my children aren't in it, and KABOOM!!! I've rediscovered my Salsa Fire!!!. To the sad extent of spending a little bit more time driving to places than I need so I can finish listening to a whole track, and indulging in loud singing (without knowing the words), and a bit of wiggling (as much as one can do within the safety requirements of driving a car), sometimes with the window down quite low…..either this will convert people to the talents of the Fania All Stars, or do the opposite….who can tell….My favourite is Track 5, CD 1…altogether now…..la la la la la la la…….la la la la la la…..I am Welsh and do like a bit of a singalong.

(Although I do have a bit of advice….if you listen on the way to work, take time out to cool down before you get out of the car, as if you are still full of the Latin vibe when you start your working day you can a. trip up the stairs as you attempt complicated footwork b. walk into closed doors as you try to remember lyrics you can't even understand, and c. spill the tea when it's your turn to make the round as you shimmy from the kitchen. A tray awash with tea is not appetising. Not that I have done any of these things you understand, really…)

Although constantly spilling the tea is a good way to get other people to make the tea, so that one may be worth pursuing in your own place of work.

Anyway, on to more Salsa Chillout specific news. What have our favourite Essex Salseros been up to?

Well, then, first up The Fling. Did you go to that? I did and it were fab – it was an evening of diverse entertainments in Chelmsford – they had hula hoops, a sandy beach, a silent disco, music, poetry, other stuff and, of course, a dance tent, hosted by Our Very Own, The One and Only, Salsa Chillout.

The Exotic Dance Tent did good business all evening, starting with a class with salsa with Yolande, then cha,cha, cha and show by Mambata, some more salsa, some tango, some belly dancing and some La Rueda – a very brave effort by Terry Lewis, there, to teach La Rueda to us all – many of whom had partaken of some Pimms during the course of the evening. Needless to say, it was a riot, and we were all moving in broadly the right directions by the end of the class, clapping in the right places, and actually looking pretty damn good. (although that may have been seen through my Pimms tinted glasses). I'm sure Terry and Yolande got a few more salsa recruits from that evening.

We did, however, lose Terry briefly in the silent disco, and then found him playing football in a dark tent on an interactive mat……but best of all, we have filmed evidence of Terry Lewis hoola hooping. Oh yes……oh yes we do. Well I don't, but I know who has….

The following week, Yolande was out and about bringing salsa to the community, at a special Family Activity Day in Chelmsford , where she did a beginners class.

Do you know, we'll have so many people dancing salsa outside in Chelmsford , it'll soon turn into a little Cuba . And its no coincidence, I feel, that both places begin with a C…..

And next week Terry and Yolande are off to the Cork Salsa Festival, where they'll be bringing salsa to a beach…..see where I'm going with this, C…beaches….Chelmsford twinned with Cuba soon, I reckon.

There isn't a C in Tango, but there is in teacher Caro – so don't forget to look sultry and try your hand at the regular Tango class at Marconi in Chelmsford on the last Friday of the month.

So, back on Planet Earth, before I look back to our Mambata evening at Marconi in Chelmsford , looking forward to the next Big Marconi Nite Out….with Michael Y Los Mandrelles on Saturday 16 th August. Prepare to be blown away by a fantastic display of Rueda by this enthusiastic group of dancers.

And now, da da da…..Mambata.

And, so good, as someone remarked to me, to see people we know as social dancers to suddenly be up there, performing, and performing pretty damn goodly, actually.

Pre-show, we had a good advanced class. As all good classes should be, challenging, but achievable – the first part on footwork, the second partner work, the footwork later incorporated into the routine.

Then after that an excellent show – slick and sharp and very watchable.

But between the lesson and the show – my interview!!! And very glamorous the surroundings of the Marconi back stage changing room were. But hey, we overcame that, and Mambata are a pretty glam bunch, so I looked at them instead of the benches, and conducted the interview in my usual professional manner.

So, as per, I wanted to know the background of the quartet. And so, of course, I asked.

Tee and Guy were both professional basketball players in their younger days and played for many teams – both nationally and internationally. And it wasn't until they retired from the sport that they took up salsa in 1992, although albeit reluctantly at first.

“We had a friend called Floyd Matthews who was always begging us to go to salsa. But we never went,” explained Guy

“We didn't like the music,” said Tee

“He just kept bugging us, so we went,” continued Guy. “He was and still is a really good dancer.”

“We went to Bar Salsa and stood around all night because we couldn't dance,” said Tee. “But we got hooked straight away.”

“It was quite friendly and the girls asked us to dance!” said Guy, “Now we're crazy for the music and are always trying to find more. It's a similar story to a lot of people.”

As for Yuko, she started dancing at 17 and was a cheerleader in Japan . But she found her way to salsa when she came to the UK in 2006.

“I started Modern Jive when I was in Portsmouth – someone took me, and that's when I started partner dancing, " she said.

“At the beginning I struggled as I didn't know how to follow! It started off as fun and more social dancing, but then I started competing. And I became UK Jive Champion.”

But how did she eventually find salsa?

“My friend took my to My Place,” she explained, “and I was shocked! It was really fun and really macho!”

“I'm fading out of jive, and now my priority is salsa.”

And what about Fiona. She wasn't all that interested in salsa when she first came across it.

She explained,” I did ballet and modern jazz when I was little, but I never really liked it. When I was 17, I walked past Bar Salsa and heard music. I went in and saw a couple dancing and thought it was fantastic.”

“I then went to their Brazilian night, and did Samba and Lambada for five years.”

“I did do salsa afterwards,” she continued, “but I wasn't in love with it. Then I moved to Paris for three years. They had no Lambada and that's when I fell in love with Salsa..”

So, there are four social dancers – why did they decide to start performing as a group – a relatively new one at that – formed towards the end of last year, and only performing for four months so far.

Explained Tee, “I was going to a lot of congresses and saw a lot of groups, and I enjoyed it. But we thought we could do a good job as well. I want to try and go out and do I myself.”

And Guy didn't really want to do it at first, “Performing looks hard. I respect people who go out and perform. It's really hard…..when we first started, we were horrified at our efforts when we filmed them!”

“Tee convinced me to do it,” he said. “And I want to do it as best we can.”

They got Fiona on board quickly, as they had known her for a while, but Yuko came later – she was effectively talent spotted.

“I'm glad I was talked into it,” continued Guy. “It's hard work, but the good responses make it worth while. We've been surprised by the response.”

Said Tee, “Guy does the choreography, but with ideas from the rest of us. Mambata has taken over our lives and pushes us as a group of individuals. We have become very tight knit and we're doing everything the best we can.”

“And when we're teaching, we try to dance with everyone in the club at the end. We know what it was like to start as beginners and take it into consideration.”

“We really enjoy it – we enjoy the travelling, the shows and everything!”

 
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Copyright Chris Penhall 2008

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