“If
music be the food of love, play on,” said William
Shakespeare. And he was right – I think music, food
and love are probably three of the best things in
the world (although he didn't mention shoes which
are way up there with them) so why wouldn't you. And
you can AT the Special Salsa Chillout Valentines party
featuring PALENKE on Saturday 16 th February at Marconi
in Chelmsford . And they will be playing on for you
– two sets I believe – providing the food for love,
as required. Palenke were the first live salsa band
I saw way back when I was a little bit younger than
I am now and they were and indeed still are, fab!
So the party starts at 8.30pm, finishes at 1.00am,
wear red or black or both (or indeed neither if you
are feeling rebellious) and get down there to “Feel
the love”.
And
if a Valentines Party isn't enough, Terry and Yolande
are giving you the opportunity to have even more romance,
because “love is in the air” on Friday 29 th February
at their special Leap Year Party at Marconi in Chelmsford
. So, ladies, put on your running shoes, choose your
target, and make sure they know that “love is a many
splendoured thing.”
But
there is more to February than romance…..there's RUEDA.
I love rueda, I do, and I particularly like that move
that the great Eddie Waring would have described as
“Up and Under”, although being Cuban its not called
that in all probability. If it were in Friends, however,
it would be “The one where all the men walk into the
circle at the same time and as they move back the
women link hands and move into the circle, and as
they move back….” Well, anyway, you can give it a
go – rueda, not rugby league, at the Special Salsa
For a Fiver La Rueda class taught by Steve Eden, at
the Wooden Hut in Stanford Le Hope on 8 th February
at 8.30pm. Get down there and get in the throng!!
Busy, busy, busy……and “Looking back over my shoulder……”
at Niko and Anetta's visit to Chelmsford – well, I
did enjoy myself. And so did everybody else. The class
was fun, challenging enough, and a friend pointed
out that the fact that the duo demonstrated the routine
before they started teaching it was very useful. For
me, learning the footwork at the end made me feel
like I was in West Side Story, so anything that makes
me fee like Rita Moreno is a Good Thing!
As
is usual, I grabbed Niko and Anetta for my normal
probing interview, and because my regular office –
i.e. the foyer – was full, I took them to my plush,
spacious interviewing suite – i.e. the bar. Conducting
episode two of the interview – episode one was done
by Salsa Chick Nikki Parker and can be found in the
July column if you click on Achieves above.
So,
I always want to know – what brought people and salsa
together – because it's never as straightforward as
you think; there's always a story.
And,
of course, the route for both Niko and Anetta was
a bit of an interesting one.
Anetta
started off in ballroom dancing. “The engine that
sparked it up,” she explained, “was ballroom. It was
very schematic, very competitive, and there was a
lot of tension and pressure because I entered a lot
of competitions.”
And
the salsa – she ended up at a salsa congress before
she'd actually done any salsa!! She continued, “My
first contact with salsa was at the Polish Salsa congress.
I was in a dancing company, and did my first show,
which was La Rueda. I didn't experience salsa until
after the performance. I saw people like Leon Rose
and Johnny Vasquez, and I liked the atmosphere. Everyone
was very friendly. In ballroom you go to practice
and rehearsals for 3 or 4 hours a day; you can have
fun and play with salsa.”
“When
I was 16, I was supposed to come to London from Poland
to study ballroom – I had a trainer and dance partner
lined up. But my mother said, no, finish school –
she wanted me to have qualifications. |
“But
I did come to London in 2005 to study Interior Design.
I met Miguel in September and he asked me to join
him in his show. I got into the salsa environment
more and really enjoyed it. Then I met Niko and here
we are.”
And
Niko's rise through the salsa ranks began in Spain
. “I told my mother I want to learn to dance to meet
girls – I was about 15”, he said. “I started merengue,
and began working in a Latin club at 19. I learned
merengue and bachata, but the salsa was just animation.
“I
never knew what salsa was,” he continued. “I only
saw one guy dancing salsa. I didn't know what I was
missing. And when I started dancing salsa I felt so
bad. I couldn't pick it up! I was like that for three
years!”
He
found salsa properly when he came to London in 2002.
“I studied acting in Spain for two years and came
to the UK for the summer. I went to a salsa club,
and that was the first time I heard 123 567! I thought
it was funny. For me until then, it was all about
feeling.”
Motivated
by this new introduction, Niko began to dance and
learn more salsa, until he was ready to enter competitions.
And he improved by watching routines on the internet,
“I saw Johnny Vasquez and wanted to be just like that.”
Niko
then learned to teach. “I had a Cuban teacher and
he used me as the girl, and as I was doing that I
was learning how he taught. People think that if you
go to an easy class you can learn nothing. But you
can always learn something.
And
I wanted more and more.”
“I
went to my first congress in 2004 and came to London
in 2005 which is when I started to learn Cross Body.
I then won a competition got sent to Las Vegas to
compete and ended up as 10 th in the world!”
As
Anetta says, “Niko is very determined. I can count
on him – we support each other and we help each other.”
And
what about the performance? How does that feel?
“You
don't think that people are looking at you,” explained
Anetta. “It's your passion – you live in the moment,
forget everything. You go there and you cut off from
the outside world. The feeling leads that.”
The
performance went down very well – and the pair had
a special message for Essex 's Queen of Salsa, Yolande.
“Happy Birthday to Yolande. We are honoured to be
here and dance for her, and dedicate the show to her.
We want to give big applause to the things Terry and
Yolande do for salsa, and wish them all the best.”
And
the last word goes to Niko: “Salsa is something people
really need to love. And if they want to do something,
fight for that because you really can do it”
Copyright
Chris Penhall 2008 |
