And
so, as per usual I logged on to www.salsachillout.com to
see what I had missed and what I had to look forward to,
and was amazed, nay thrilled, to see that Terry and Yolande
had been very very busy salsa bees indeed during my sun
sojourn.
Have
you seen what you've got to look forward to???
Well, there's Ramark from France at the Chillout Bank Holiday
Alldayer at Marconi in Chelmsford – one of the leading four-piece
groups in Europe, last seen on these shores at the Mambo
City Five Star Congress in April. Here. On your Essex doorstep.
For You! Plus there's cha cha, tricks and dips and guest
DJs Mambo City's Robert White, Salsa Sensation's Steve Eden,
plus our very very own Terry and Yolande
But it does not finish there. Oh no!! A mere couple or three
weeks later, Salsa Chillout bring for your delectation some
real bona fide salsa stars – Leon Rose, his Project, and
Lee Hunter. I have come over all hot and bothered, frankly.
Should be a very interesting evening – excellent teaching
– salsa plus cha cha, and excellent shows. Excellent and
fun. If you've never done a class with this lot you are
definitely missing out. Get along to Marconi in on Saturday
15th September and see for yourself.
Then Salsa Chillout go posh…..dancing and food (two of my
favourite things) and their salsa dinner and dance on Friday
28th September. Check out the website for the menu, and
remember to put on your black tie, guys, and your glittery
frock, girls, and buy your tickets NOW because it's a very
exclusive do and there are only 140 tickets on sale.
A veritable feast of salsa (cheesy I know but I had to get
my teeth into that and butter you all up…)
And no, I haven't finished yet!! While my back was turned,
Terry and Yolande opened yet another classy club. This one's
for the good folk of Braintree (you can go if you don't
live in Braintree, obviously….) and is at Black Notely Community
Hall every Wednesday.
Is that it? It is for the time being – so while I go for
a lie down after all that, I will hand you over to Salsa
Chick Nikki Parker to whom I handed over my reporters biro
in order that she could do the Backstage Interview whilst
I was in Portugal sitting in some restaurant.
So, over to you, Nikki Parker
(so the beginning doesn't get lost in translation - * Good
Day. How are you? All good? Yes? Excellent (I'm no expert
in Portuguese, please don't write in…..
** desperate ***without)
The Niko and Anetta Interview – Salsa Chillout, Marconi,
Chelmsford – Saturday 21st July 2007
So…
Chris Penhall, our usual writer and Salsa expert extraordinaire
was being Earth Mother (rather than Salsa Diva). This meant
that I got the chance to do my first ever interview… (well,
it should have been my second, but through my misunderstanding,
I actually missed the first… so tut, tut… the heat was on
to make sure I did this last night).
Pestering Niko from the minute I saw him, I said, I need
to have a chat with you… when would be a good time? “After
the show” he said. So I waited, and grabbed the opportunity
when they'd finished.
And what a show that was. The thing that will stick out
in my mind is those amazing spins – of every variety – that
Anetta performed.
Now let's get this straight. It's ‘Niko' and ‘Anetta' –
note the spellings which are 100% correct – straight from
the horses' mouth!
So, I asked Anetta about her dance background?
For 10 years from the age of 11, Anetta danced ballroom
– so yep, she's 21 now. She can't imagine life without it.
It was a tough decision when she had to start Uni. and moved
to London two years ago. Studying (interior design), working,
dancing and teaching was a lot to fit into every week. |
Having been in a dance company in Poland, embracing different
styles of dance including Salsa, she was keen when she experience
Salsa in London, when she came to study and live there.
Anetta danced first with Miguel de Puerto Rico, and then
she met Niko, through the El Barrio show with Iris de Brito.
Both Anetta and Niko danced in the UK Congress competitions,
but not with each other. Their most recent competition was
at Vauxhall where they came 2nd and are delighted to have
won a trip to Havana. Anetta had an even bigger grin than
normal when she told me this. Having said that, that's one
very distinctive thing about this couple – they have the
biggest grins imaginable – LOVELY!
So to Niko and his background…
Niko started dancing for fun, and just because he liked
it, at the age of 20 (he's now 26). Originally from Spain,
he enjoyed Latin and danced meringue for 3 years (gosh,
3 minutes is hard enough for me!). Coming to London in 2002,
with no coordination, he studied acting which included ballet,
technique and body movement – something he's sure adds to
his ease of learning Salsa. In 2003 he discovered Salsa
and in 2004 came 4th in the London Salsa competition at
the Tropicana.
Niko began teaching in 2005. He then entered competitions
with Black Magic Productions. The UK Congress also saw him
winning a competition which then meant he represented us
in Las Vegas.
Niko spent some time dancing with Larissa, performing shows
and travelling before he met Anetta whom he has danced with
since February. In that short time, they've had the wonderful
opportunity of dancing in Spain, Poland, Slovenia and Croatia,
to name but a few.
And so I said, finally “Anetta, I have to ask you how you
spin so amazingly?” I was delighted to hear Anetta say that
she felt much of it was a natural thing, though Niko did
interject to say how important it is to practice! What a
coincidence, it was at this point that Terry Lewis, our
local King of Spin, walked past who himself practiced for
hours in his flat in Wapping.
As a last word, Anetta said she finds that dancing gives
you a chance to express your emotions, yourself, your feelings
by movement, both happy and sad (but happy of course when
you're performing!) and it also gives pleasure. She said
it's important that you have a “caring partner” which she
insisted she did! And Niko said to that one of the most
important things is that you like the person you're dancing
with, that you're friends!
Anetta and Niko dance for passion, and the money is an aside.
They think it's nice when people ask questions after class.
They want to project a close, social, learning situation
– they're not there to preach Salsa but to instruct – sharing
in this Universal language.
Of Terry and Yolande, they said they were amazing and that
they love coming to Salsa Chillout!
Thank you, Anetta and Niko – you made this such an easy
job for me.
Reporting from a Salsa venue near you – SalsaChick, Nikki
Parker, over and out!
Copyright
Chris Penhall / Nikki Parker 2007 |
