London Salsa Scene: Your Salsa Letters, Your Salsa Views

The Best of London Salsa Classes, Salsa Clubs, Salsa Events in London & the UK
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Your Letters: Best of London Salsa


	Water, Water, Everywhere Nor Any Drop To Drink...


	I have to make a big complaint about a particular once-monthly south London salsa club I was at the other night that has the gall to charge £10 to get in, then charge £1 for tap water, writes Betty Boo.

I have health issues and I need to drink a lot of water but this is not the point. Everybody needs to drink lots of water when they exercise - this is a health & safety hazard and should actually be illegal (charging people for tap water, I mean -- on a previous visit, I was literally about to pass out from dehydration after several quadruple spins to five long tracks in a row, and although I nearly fell onto the bar gasping in desperation for water, I was refused tap water as I had no change on me at that moment).
While I do understand that some venues 'need' to make money from non-drinking salseros, there really ought to be a law against this (actually I thought there was one!) - because if I had passed out and concussed myself and they'd refused to look after me as a customer, I’m sure I would have been within my rights to sue them! Betty Boo




	After hours of dancing, Felix asked for water but had no change. The barman played a cruel joke.


	‘Scandalous’ Water Charges


	I do agree with Betty Boo. I think it is scandalous that some places charge so much for water especially now as the summer is approaching and more salseros will demand more water, writes Nirano.




Next time, Felix took a friend.

   I think I know the south London monthly club to which she refers. I seldom go there - I think it is overpriced and do not really think it has a good atmosphere. The organisers also have a Saturday club where although you get water free, you have to pay £1.00 or £1.50 for cups to drink the water in.
   Although I understand that organising salsa clubs and events requires money, this should not in my view be at the expense of salseros.
   Unfortunately in south London these days there aren't many places to go since the Loughborough Hotel which had salsa on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, closed. Clapham Junction is good on Thursdays sometimes and they still serve free tap water. There is also a new club in Camberwell on Fridays and Saturdays - I don't know if you get water free though. If salseros don't like a venue they should vote with their feet. Nirano
Editor: more letters to come. Keep checking back!


	*We’d like to hear from you if you agree or disagree strongly. Email us: editor@londonsalsascene.co.uk*

Your Letters: Best of London Salsa


	Don’t Dance & Not Drink


	I'm sorry but I really can't see what Betty Boo is moaning about (see Letters above). Both her and Nirano appear to understand very little about being a Salsa promoter.

The venue in question is only being hired by the promoter and the bar is run by the owners. Therefore the promoter has no control over bar prices. I know for a fact that the promoters in question would prefer water to be free but it is not their decision to make.
The water is the same price as the soft drinks so why not drink those instead?
I suggest there is an increasingly common breed of salsa dancers who want to go out and pay very little to get in somewhere. (I even saw someone recently try to get in to the club on someone's guest list and the teacher didn't even know who he was) then drink free water all night.




		*Ginger was worried. He tried to save the club by buying the drinks - but which one was the diet Coke?*

   Come on it's 2006. Where can you go for a night out these days for £20. It costs £10 to get in but there are 6 teachers, 4 DJ's in two different rooms playing different music and a show each time. Doesn't sound bad to me.
   My students pay £7 on Mondays for class and Club and they think they get good value for 3 hours dancing. How can 6 1/2 hours dancing plus classes etc be expensive?
   As this is currently the busiest venue in London week on week and you only have to look at the number of teachers who turn up on their night off, they must be doing something right. Graeme


	WATER DO YOU THINK?

I’ve been to that club a lot (see Betty’s letter above). I’ve also been to a lot of other salsa clubs and though I do not advocate that tap water should be charged for I would like to say that you can’t blame the promoters for this.
It is in fact the fault of the club. The promoters run another venue in the week where tap water is free. This makes it seem distinctly unlikely that it is part of a vendetta of the promoters to dehydrate the salsa dancing public.
I personally enjoy the club, it has a friendly atmosphere, good music and how busy it is month on month is obviously a reflection of the appreciation that salseros have for the place. So they charge you for water. If salseros had put their hands in their pockets sooner, this wouldn’t have happened.




		*Fluffy found a good way to save money on drinks when he was out dancing.*

There are so many venues where you just see people drinking tap water. How are our salsa venues going to be sustainable if the bar makes no money?
This is why time and again salsa venues close, because if there is no bar revenue generated then the hire of the venue will be increased and this can topple small promoters. If everyone made a conscious effort to buy a couple of drinks (if you’re trying to rehydrate how about some juice or even – god forbid BOTTLED WATER) then bars wouldn’t feel the need to implement a price for tap water. Hannah

Your Letters: Best of London Salsa


	SALSA - A HARD WATER AREA FOR VENUES AND PROMOTERS

As the promoter referred to on the London Salsa Scene forum (See Letters), we felt the need to respond, write Phil & Mandy of Simply Salsa, co promoters of El Grande).
We have no say on the bar & drinks policy of the venue. Should anybody require drinking water, there are two drinking water only taps in the cloakrooms. These have been there since we started two years ago. Whist we sympathise with people wanting water, the reverse side of the coin is that salsa venues in general have the lowest bar




	Tiddles came up with a cunning plan to sneak into the salsa club with a bottle of water.

takings in comparison to other nights. We, as promoters pay the highest hire fee for the venue because of this.
   We feel that £10.00 entrance fee is more than fair, we supply 5 teachers (3 salsa levels, a Cuban class plus a bachata class) we have 5 DJs on the night, all of the highest standard, plus a showcase, sometimes two! Unlike hired halls we supply a manned car park free. Also required by law – security staff, add this to the receptionists, advertising etc. Our overheads are huge. We are open from 9pm – 3.30am, thus working out at about £1.50 per hr! We have always had nothing but support and positive feedback from our regular customers.
   Sadly, the attitude of people who won’t buy a drink (soft or otherwise) does not help salsa as a whole. Conclusion being, we shall keep doing what we are doing and let the dancers decide…
   More of your letters to come. Let us know if your club’ s solved this thorny problem. Editor

Your Letters: Best of London Salsa


	Salsa Dancers Are “Tight Wads”

		I’ve lived here many years and seen more salsa places come and go on account of “the usual reason” than i have eaten hot empanadas. i dance because to dance is to enjoy but a lot of English dancers i think are “tight wads” is the correct expression. They don’t dance to the music, they dance for a sport, don’t realise salsa is for social reasons. English salsa dancers have a lot to learn from Latinos. Maybe some Latinos drink sometimes but they know how to dance with women to enjoy and not exhaust partners with too many spins and mechanic moves. *Juanito*




		Tabby looked cute but it was all a sham to secure his drinks supply.

I Drink Therefore I Am


	*by Moe Flex*

I wish people would do a little research to find out the costs involved in running a venue and how much this kind of thinking costs us as salseros when we start to lose good venues because of poor bar take. This is pushing us into grotty little venues that will take anyone as long as they get the hire rate (which is hiked up for

salsa promoters as venues know they won't make money on the bar).
   It is so disappointing that some people in salsa think like this. This sort of thing holds back the expansion of the salsa scene.
   I understand Betty's point of view but the promoters are not to blame. I'm sure the club doesn't have the same water policy on a non-salsa night - but these are the nights when tap water isn't the main drink served at the bar. Salsa promoters never make any money on the bar and therefore have no say as to how the bar is run.
   On top of the costs of the venue, advertising, teachers/shows, DJ's and much, much more, the promoter dedicates a lot of time (days if not weeks) to presenting an event that will probably not make them as much as the teachers they employ. They may even make a loss - and the only person left to cover that loss is the promoter themselves.
   Most teachers and promoters are highly qualified in other areas such as law, medicine and media. If they were simply all about making money they wouldn’t work in salsa.
For these reasons I personally am not a promoter.
   I admire those who work hard to keep us all on the dance floor. Phil and Mandy are an exceptional pair and go out of their way to make sure they do everything the right way, the decent way. They look after all their clients, teachers, performers and staff very well and respect other promoters and organisations.
   In my opinion, the Saturday night venue in question is great value for money and if the price came down at all the promoters would be running a loss thus jeopardising the quality and future existence of the night. Regardless of what competition the club may have on any given Saturday, the club is always buzzing which means that they must be doing something right.
   If you look into any non-salsa dancing venue in London on a Saturday night, the spend per head has no comparison: without classes, specialist DJ's or the extras you get from a salsa venue, the average cost per person is £10 entry + expected £10 - £20 on drinks and on any theme night or special event (eg. live bands, shows, DJs, etc) the average cost per person is on average £20 entry + expected £10 - £30 on drinks. All things considered, we get a bargain!

Best of London Salsa: Your Views


	Keep Salsa Alcohol Free!


	One thing I'm proud of when I go back home after a salsa night is that I've had a great time, in a healthy environment, where the most popular drink is water and almost no one smokes. In four years of dancing I've only once seen a fight in a salsa club (due to alcohol, of course).


	Jemima and Freddie of the Mambo Miaow Dance Company told our reporter that they never drink alcohol when practising their cross body lead steps with styling.

And while I'm driving back home and see all these drunkards coming back from the pub, looking really awful, and not even being able to walk, I just feel so sorry for them and so happy that I don't do what they do. I would really hate to see salsa clubs changing towards that... I don't know about you but I sweat when I dance, sometimes even more than when I go to the gym... Would you drink alcohol when you excercise in the gym? This is the same. You can't dance and drink. It is just bad for you.
Also, in most cases, the real salseros are those who don't like this aspect of the British culture: the senseless drinking. I just can't stand it!! I drink alcohol the Mediterranean way: a bit of wine with your meal. A cocktail here and there. But the British just drink alcohol like water. The truth is that alcohol is bad for you, full stop!! The human body is not built to take big amounts of alcohol, that's why it impairs the senses. The funniest thing of all is that if you don't drink, those who do think you are boring. I can't think of anything more boring than sitting the whole evening in a pub, driinking beer and watching football!
Just in case, please let me clarify that I like England and I think it is a great country with great people. The drinking is just one aspect of its culture that I just can't stand...(As I can't stand some aspects of my own culture). All England needs to be perfect is to get ride of the alcoholic culture (and get some better weather!!). Karina

©London Salsa Scene is an online, independent magazine guide covering salsa and the Latin lifestyle in London and beyond. The views published are not necessarily those of the Editor. All rights reserved. London Salsa Scene retains Copyright over all the articles and photographs published on this website - it is an infringement of that right to use this material elsewhere without our written permission. Disclaimer: London Salsa Scene publishes information on behalf of promoters, organisers, dancers and others in good faith but is not responsible if these events are cancelled, altered or if performers and instructors billed not not appear; this is exclusive liability and responsibility of the event organiser.


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