The Best of Salsa Classes, Salsa Clubs, Salsa EventsCo-Author "Find the Rhythm" & Founder of London's Carnival de Cuba
LONDON SALSA SCENE - Feature Dateline: 26th April 2010
Keeping the Faith with Salsa's Dancing Gods
While the origins of most popular dances were lost in time centuries if not millennia ago, Salsa has retained a living connection to its primal folkloric roots and inspiration, writes www.londonsalsascene.co.uk's Lee Knights.
Born in Cuba, Salsa is a product of what the Cubans call "transculturacion", a melding of the traditions of African slaves, the Spanish ruling class, with the indigenous Indian people. Most of those taken as slaves were Yuroba, largely from Nigeria, West Africa. Forbidden from worshipping their own gods and goddesses (Orishas) and forcibly converted to Christianity by their Spanish overlords, the Yuroba resisted. As they appeared to worship Christian saints, they secretly linked these to their own pantheon. This way, they held onto their own belief system, sacred dances and music. Today, the Santeria is an everyday part of life in Cuba and growing stronger than ever. While the spiritual dances of the Orishas influence a host of genres including Cuban Son, Rumba, Cha cha cha, Mambo and others, they are strongest in Casino (Cuban style Salsa). This directly incorporates unadulterated movements from the Cuban folkloric tradition. For example, in Rueda de Casino (Cuban circle dancing in a group), some calls name individual deities from the Santeria and require dancers to perform actual sacred movements. At the Spring Salsa Fiesta at the South Downs Holiday Village, Bracklesham Bay, Chichester, West Sussex, on 9th -12th April, dancers packed out workshops on Afro-Cuban folkloric dance. These were led by Ariel Rios Robert, a former director of Cuban folkloric dance at the University of Havana and Lazaro and Paola Lopez, and Leo Henriquez, among the UK's leading experts. Ariel Rios Robert (right) has been teaching in the UK for four years. "I've been surprised by the real interest coming from dancers in the UK about the Orishas, it is becoming very popular now. In Cuba, everything is changing - now the political situation is opening up, people are no longer hiding their religious beliefs - this is helping us
create interest in the UK and elsewhere." This was a chance to get closer to the roots of dance itself, making connections between the basic footwork and body movements of salsa and its spiritual origins. Here, we experienced the compelling spiritual dance and music of the orishas, including Elegua, the opener of the way; the sensuality of Oshún, the Goddess of Love and the Sweet Waters; the fluidity of Yemayá, the Sea and Fertility Goddess, the ruggedness of Oggún, the God of War.
Whether we know it or not, we're worshipping the Cuban Gods and Goddesses when we dance salsa. More on the Orishas: www.afrocuban.co.uk – Afro Cuban Salsa Fiesta with Ariel Rios Robert, Alexis Hernandez, Osbanis Tejeda & Anneta Kepka at Mundesley Holiday Park, Mundesley, Norfolk, 10 - 13 September, call 01263 721 553 to book. www.afrofusiondance.com – Ariel Rios Robert www.afrocubano.co.uk – Paola (shown left with her Orishas) and Lazaro LopezFor insights into the roots of salsa music and its rhythms:www.findtherhythm.comLee Knights is an IDTA Salsa Instructor and Co-Author with Alex Wilson of "Find the Rhythm! The Dancers' Guide to Feeling Salsa MusicThanks to Ariel Rios Robert and Paola and Lazaro Lopez. We will be updating this item with details of where to learn more about the Orishas.
London Salsa Scene -York Congress Review January 15th 2010
CLICK HERE! FOR THE YORK STORY, SALSA CON SOUL's LAST GIG, SEE MIGUEL DE LAS FOTO's GALLERY
THIS WAS ALWAYS GOING TO WORTH THE HIKE THROUGH THE BIG FREEZE TO CHILL OUT WITH A DOWN TO EARTH CROWD AND CATCH THE LAST EVER LIVE PERFORMANCE BY THE ALEX WILSON SALSA CON SOUL ORCHESTRA. Run by local club teachers for their local crowd, the 12th Night Salsa Extravaganza 2010, the North's 9th Annual Congress in Yorkshire on Friday 8th - Saturday 9th January bulldozed through the extreme weather conditions to lay down a sweltering party vibe that was easy going, fun and simply about enjoyment. Evening parties rocked - there was a dance floor meltdown as Alex Wilson and his band stormed through their best loved tunes for one last emotional time, while top DJ Lubi and more did the business on the decks. On Saturday, there were workshops with leading local instructors from Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear, Derbyshire and Nottingham - including a hugely soulful introduction to Cuban son with maestro Guillermo Davis and Jane (Cuban Dance York). For dancers looking to deepen their mastery the roots of salsa and bring greater authenticity to their dancing, this pared back workshop - and showcase in the evening - was classy as it gets, absolutely compelling. Other headliners included: Mauricio Reyes, Lee Hunter plus top-class dance shows. This was a nostalgic night for Alex Wilson, performing for the last time with his Salsa con Soul Orchestra at the University where he studied electronic engineering. The event was the launch-pad for Alex Wilson's new book - Find the Rhythm - The Ultimate Guide for Dancers Who Want to Connect to the Music, co-written with London Salsa Scene's Lee Knights. Over the weekend, Alex and Lee hosted a Find the Rhythm! workshop and the first ever live show with the salsa human instrument orchestra. Thanks to two of the best hosts around - Tony & Mary Piper - for a unique event, not easy to sustain the local club vibe over a big event but you kept it real! Contact for more: Tony and Mary at www.salsayork.com and salsayork@hotmail.com or 01904 636726. For more on Find the Rhythm! The Guide for the Salsa Dancer, visit: www.findtherhythm.com
London Salsa Scene - All New Gallery December 27th 2009
We Get the Picture Story at Pontins Strictly Weekender
MIGUEL DEL FOTO captured the full on party vibe at Club Cubana's Weekend at Pontins' Brean Sands Resort in Somerset in December. With a feast of Latin flavas on offer, three nights of late night parties and top dance shows, there was no let up for over 750 dancers who travelled from across the UK for the event. Check out our amazing gallery for the full story: CLICK HERE!
London Salsa Scene News Thursday 13th August 2009
Cuban Congress Is All Heart
A trio of world champions - Osbanis Tejeda, Janet Fuentes Torres, Rafael del Busto Cuni plus the UK's Kerry Ribchester brought a real taste of Cuba to the UK at the Cuban Salsa Congress, Pavilion Ballroom in Bournemouth Friday 7th - Sunday 9th August 2009. WE TOLD YOU THE VIBE WOULD BE THERE AND THIS ONE WAS UNMISSABLE. Hosted by Salsa Explosion's hosts with the most Enrique and Robert, featuring some of the world's best instructors, over 70 hours of daytime dance workshops, 3 late night salsa parties, live music, a parade of shows, top DJs, not to mention Bournemouth's beautiful beaches, this one quenched all our salsa thrill buds. Can't wait for the next one in December. And...it ran like clockwork - the only Cuban salsa event in the world that doesn't run on Cuban time!BUY TICKETS: the Pavilion Box Office by phone on 0870 111 3000BUY ONLINE AT: www.bic.co.uk (Booking charges apply). BUY TICKETS BY POST: from the Salsa Explosion Office: Salsa Explosion, Unit 4, 15 Sandbourne Road, Bournemouth, BH4 8JH. CALL: 07969 633701 (Enrique) or 07798 864998 (Rob)VISIT: www.salsaexplosion.com for more.
Congratulations Deborah & Ali - You're Going to the Congress
www.londonsalsascene.co.uk RED HOT COMPETITIONS Congratulations Deborah Harewood, Stockport, Cheshire and Ali Le-Mar, Selworthy, Somerset, you have won 1 full dance pass to the Cuban Salsa Congress in Bournemouth. See you there! Thanks to everybody who entered - keep your entries coming, somebody's got to win more great prizes! Lee, London Salsa Scene
London Salsa Scene Review Monday 3rd July 2009
How to Put the Woe into Womad's Peace, Love & Cuban Grooves Fest
Orishas by Miguel de las Fotos, copyright www.londonsalsascene.co.uk
DRAWN BY THE ALLURE OF LIVE PERFORMANCES BY TWO OF CUBA'S GREATEST LEGENDS - ELIADES OCHUA AND ORISHAS, WE MADE THE TREK TO WOMAD's outdoor music and dance festival at Charlton Park, Malmesbury, Wiltshire this weekend (Thursday 24th- Sunday 26th July 2009). On our first Womad, we opted for a B&B in nearby Swindon instead of joining thousands of music lovers camping on-site. I wanted to do Womad in comfort. The thought of it chucking it down, roughing it with the wellie brigade, camping on a sea of mud, getting cold and soaked through, queuing for portaloos, peeing in portaloos, in fact anything in portaloos, were no-no's. Well, I admit it - I was wrong. We set off late from London, got caught in traffic and by the time we'd dropped off our stuff at the B&B - which turned out to be miles away - we missed Eliades' gig on Friday afternoon. Best known for his involvement with the Buena Vista Social Club, Eliades Ochua is one of Cuba's greatest soneros and finest exponents of traditional Cuban son. When Eliades stands there in his trade-mark cowboy hat with his guitar, you feel Cuba. Cuba speaks out of every rolling R, every vibrating twang of his guitar - Cuba is the blood and guts of Eliades' music. Not for no reason is Eliades dubbed the Cuban Johnny Cash - this is man's music making; muscular, magnetic, earthy, charismatic - a massive stage presence. I was gutted - if we'd signed up for the camping deal, we'd have been there for the gig. The whole point was to see generations of Cuba's finest playing live and together on the same bill. I wanted to see, feel and hear the evolution and revolution of Cuban music, be there as Eliades handed on the baton (or the clave) of Cuba's bone achingly beautiful traditional music to Roldán González, Hiram Riverí "Ruzzo" and Yotuel Romero of Orishas, with their hypnotic and unassailable mix of hip hop and Cuban son. It's got to a bit gobby to call your band Orishas (literally translating as Gods, from the intertwined religious beliefs of the Yoruba and the Cuban Santaria). Gobby in a good way, this crew have had the gaul to mix up traditional Cuban music with the raw rocket fuel of Cuban hip hop. The result is tunes that have become anthems, such as Represent ¿Qué pasa? and Nací Orishas. These iconoclastic sons of Cuba lived up to the hype, delivering a huge live performance to thousands of festival goers. To avoid putting the woe into Womad, to get the Womad experience, to get what it's about, you've got to buy into the whole thing, the community camping carry on, portaloos, everything. This festival is impressive for its inclusiveness and genuine sense of community. Womad is family and kid friendly, everybody mixes in, able bodied and disabled, young and the old, people of every nationality, colour and religious faith. Fortunately, the weather held and the food was good, tasty with plenty of outlets, no queuing! For one weekend a year, it's worth forgoing home comforts to step into an alternate universe where flower power really did change the world. In Womad world, a retro hippie peace and love vibe meets a right on global village that's friendly, polite and safe. See you in the queue for the portaloo next year. Ed.
CLICK HERE FOR GALLERY: Miguel de las Fotos Gets the Womad Story in Pictures
WOMAD FESTIVAL IS BACK! WOMAD RETURNS TO CHARLTON PARK, MALMESBURY, WILTSHIRE ON 23-25 JULY 2010. BOOKING LINE: +44 0845 146 1735 ONLINE: http://www.womadshop.com/detail/558 Adult Weekend Ticket: £125; Teenager (14-17 Year Olds) Weekend Ticket: £60; Disabled Weekend Ticket: £125; All Children (13 and under): FreePlease note that all minors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult Web: www.womad.org/festivals/charlton-park
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