Salsa dude diary

Hi there!

Karen & Sel

I managed to bork my knee last week, not doing my lunges right while exercising. Then compounded it during a run as part of boxing practice.

Help was on hand, though. My chiropractor was able to fix my ligaments and I was as right as rain. People have wondered how I coped with not dancing salsa for 6 whole days! Do drop me a line if you'd like a recommendation for a chiropractor :-)

Saturdays down at La Fontana, Caversham, Reading is a chilled evening. It's not a busy, packed to the rafters club, it's a bar / restaurant with dancing. I can walk there in 15 minutes, have a drink without worrying, sit and chat.

Sara & Dave

I find it's good to mix up the venues I go to. Sometimes very busy clubs further afield, sometimes a more local club. It's similar to music and dance styles to my mind. Too much specialism is a dead-end.

I plan on heading over to Loudwater tomorrow night for their First Friday party.

There are two things you should know about the Loudwater parties. One: They're really hot. And two: They're really hot. Now I realise that, technically speaking, that's only one point; but I thought it was such a big one, it was worth mentioning twice.

Hi everybody!

Cha cha cha

I've had an excellent week of salsa, here are some highlights…

Robert Charlemagne was at High Wycombe last week, teaching Cha cha cha and salsa.

I don't seem to have my Cha cha cha head on right at the mo and struggled :-( However, I really enjoyed the salsa routine, taking three different moves out of it. Two in particular are similar to existing moves I use. So that makes them easy to remember.

That's great for me as I'm a paid up member of the "Most Moves Wins" club. I hear there are other clubs such as the "Not many moves but a lovely dancer" and "Why is he looking at the ceiling". But for me it's More Moves.

3some with Lindsey & Abi

Friday night down at Ealing was good fun. Not at busy as some nights due to the Pakefield weekender and a party at Vauxhall. That meant it was a little cooler with more room.

I'm still searching for the last half hour as it disappeared in a dancing haze.

Debbie's dropped me a line about an on-line salsa radio station. This one actually works for me, so I thought I'd list it :-)

I mentioned about a really good Latin radio station (Radio Salseros) that a friend has set up - take a look (and listen) to the link.

After asking about advertising on the web site (not this email) I've now added Google Ads to the web pages at www.davidsugarman.co.uk. Hopefully, any revenue will help pay for hosting and software.

Hello!

Sarah and Tony

Last Friday I went to Candente Salsa's Bachata evening.

Dan and Bex taught a good Bachata lesson, catering for all levels. It was also Sarah's birthday. So, there was cake (tasty!) and a birthday dance. Every guy in the place took a turn in spinning Sarah around to one of her favourite tracks.

Finally, here's a video of Dan and Bex, possibly the last time they'll be performing this routine as they've started work on the next one.

The Newsletter and the web site continued to be updated. I've added Facebook links into the Music page and I've now started including Facebook Pages in addition to the Groups. My site is found here www.davidsugarman.co.uk.

Hi there!

Loudwater, June

I've had two brilliant nights dancing in the last few days.

Loudwater was great again. I know I say it every time but I do like the venue, the floor and the teas & coffees at midnight :-)

Yes, it's the hottest venue in the area. Yes, it's busy. It also gets a high standard of dancer attending.

And the other venue I enjoyed this week was the Polish Social club in Stoke Poges. I managed to get along there after my boxing and circuit training and had a night that left me grinning during every dance.

All at sea

On Saturday though, I was fortunate enough to go sailing with Joe, Fritha, Sukhy and Michelle.

For me it was a great day training but the unexpected Reggaeton lessons from Fritha and Michelle were so funny.

So, just to embarrass Fritha, here's a video of her and Joe bachata-ing on deck!

More changes to the on-line Newsletter. I've added consistent menus to every page and made sure you can see all of the features. I've also tested the site with IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari. My site is found here www.davidsugarman.co.uk.

Hello All!

Adrienne and Sheila

I love it when the temperature goes up :-) I know the clubs are hotter but that adds to the atmosphere. I like to see a sheen on people, it means they're trying.

And, given that salsa attire is wonderful anyway, the ladies look even better…

Speaking of temperatures, I broke out the ¾shorts for the first evening's dance this year. Those, plus a short sleeved shirt are enough to keep me cool.

Hello Boys!

However on Tuesday I had cause to regret the change away from trousers / jeans when I came home with a 2" scrape down my ankle from a pair of heels. Sorry to my partner for the "f"ing and blinding when I was caught by another couple.

I've been making further changes to the Newsletter. I've improved the use of icons in the Newsletter and have collapsed the email addresses into a simple icon on the web site. And I've tested the web site / Newsletter with IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari.

Do check your club is on tonight. The European elections mean at least one venue is being used as a Polling Station.

Also, there is no advanced class at Jongleurs, Reading this Sunday.

Shoe of the Week!

Link to "Shoe of the Week!".

¡Hola!

Laura & Ali

Back at Ealing last Friday. I don't go for a year and then twice in a fortnight :-)

Competing as it was with Vauxhall, it wasn't packed to the rafters. But there was a good crowd and I had many lovely dances.

Over the Bank Holiday I didn't go dancing on the Saturday as I went to support my friend Puja in her 2nd boxing match. Many of you know Puja as she dances *all* over. Now you know why you've not seen her in a while as she'd been in training :-) If the match had gone to 4 rounds, she would have won on a knockout, she was so strong. But, in the end, she lost on points.

Bar Risa, Reading on the Sunday was generally good, but there was some dodgy music at times.

Helen and Ian

P was at the Black and White Ball at the weekend and sends me a report (I've slightly edited it) …

Twinkling lights and salsa music welcomed guests to the May Ball at Ampthill, on Sat 23 May. RedHotRed, the hosts, had made a sterling effort. Dancers arrived in posh frocks and DJs, in keeping with the black and white theme. Frank Santos set the mood for the evening with a sizzling bachata lesson, full of dramatic humour. Mambata led a funky salsa warm-up, teaching us a shine which became part of the routine. Both classes could have done with a few more men, but we made the most of those we had!

Lorna and Marcus

There were some fantastic shows lined up. Tee and Yuko of Mambata were performing - only half the team, but all the grace and charm. It was like watching a gladiator sweep his feather-light princess around the dancefloor. Poetry in motion, elegance, perfection... aaaaahhhhh, I'm such a fan! Then came the grande finale: four sticks of dynamite exploded into view and gave us the salsa equivalent of a fireworks display. Frank Santos and his dance troupe 'A Yemaya' took the ballroom by storm. Their funky style and cat-like movement left the audience breathless and amazed. Apparently, Frank is looking for new dancers to join the team - I might offer to bring on the oranges at half-time.

Hi everyone!

Andrew and Jo

Last Friday I went back to Ealing for the first time in, I guess, about a year. No reason why I've not been. It has great floors and ample parking.

I like the split level dancing especially. So many venues are just boxes, Ealing, on the other hand, has atmosphere.

In the photo on the left, I'm on the top floor, looking down to lowest. Let's talk technique :-) Notice how Andrew's lead is squarely over Jo's head, see how Jo's hand is in "pizza" position with lovely tension in her arm. Great stuff!

Sexteto Cafe

Saturday night at High Wycombe was everything I wanted it to be.

The band, Sexteto Cafe, were one of the best I've ever seen. I loved every track. As I've got one of their albums, I recognised their own music but the covers were well chosen and suited them. Gotta love the vibraphone.

Live music is a rarity on the English salsa scene so I applaud Neill for bringing bands to the area.

Claire and Ethan

It's Whitsun Bank Holiday this weekend. Please take a moment to double check venues are open over the weekend. Bracknell definitely is open on Monday.

There's been a last minute change at La Fontana in Reading as they've had to move from Saturday to Friday night.

And I notice that there are now 3 organisers working in Banbury, with a party night this Friday.

I've been asked to say that BBC Hereford & Worcester is attempting to get 2,000+ salsa dancers together to break the current record. If this interests you, all the details are on their site.

Hello!

Loudwater

Many thanks for the birthday wishes, both mine and the Newsletter's :-)

A quieter week than most for me. I did get up to Bedford and watched and videoed Marchant and Davina's new performance.

Hopefully, I'll be able to edit the video shortly and get it uploaded.

I've mentioned before that I love music featuring the vibraphone. Lots of jazz and from the latin world, Tito Puente, Grupo Latin Vibe and Sexteto Cafe. So I'm very pleased that Sexteto Cafe are back at High Wycombe this weekend.

I missed them last time round BUT I was at the Winchester Ball :-) Looking forward to this one.

Perry & Patricia

More good news next weekend as there's a salsa night at Berkhamsted Town Hall. I believe this the first time that salsa's been allowed there since the last organisers had to relinquish the venue.

I like this venue, the floor is large, the building attractive and there's a very large car park behind it.

Hi there!

Coral

Firstly, the Newsletter is now 6 years old!

Originally started to help people share lifts and to find venues further afield, I've been working on it constantly. By continually adding new features, I keep it fresh for me. I remember the early days of the calendar when I listed 60 events, Today, I've just uploaded over 280.

The party night listings have now got so big I've had to break them down by month and I maintain a database of over 500 venues.

So, a big thank you to all the people that tell me they enjoy receiving the Newsletter and scanning through the listings :-)

Tony, Lindsey & Dave

I had an excellent weekend. Starting with Loudwater on Friday night. Hot, crowded, the usual :-) I was taking it fairly easy (more why in a mo). Yet had many lovely salsas and fantastic bachatas.

There were quite a few people trying it for the first time too. A good sign, I feel, for any club's continued well being.

Sunday night over at Bar Risa, Reading was also a good night. I heard from several ladies who all thought it was one one the best nights they've had there.

What a shame not every weekend can be a Bank Holiday!

Dave's 50th

The reason I took things easy on Friday was the big Saturday event. Years in the preparation, its time had come.

It was my 50th birthday on Saturday and I had a very, very enjoyable party at my apartment. I'd been polishing the wooden floor and with everyone wearing soft shoes (I love stilettos but on other peoples floors) the words "Ice rink" and "Floor of death" were muttered :-)

I'd put together a DVD of music and a player that randomised the music wonderfully. There was cake & candles (thanks Maggi), Banoffie pie, barbecued polenta chips, lemon infused rum, home made dips, s*x, dr*gs and sausage rolls.

And a birthday dance with every lady there :-)

Should I slow down now I'm in my fifties? Not a chance while there's so much dancing to do! Let's get ready to Rumba!

¡Hola!

Shirley & Tony

I went along to Strictly Salsa's Cha cha cha lesson with Miriam and Jeff last Thursday.

The first 20 minutes or so were spent in separate groups working on men's or ladies's shines. I found it quite useful, it reinforced that I'm on the right track with my Cha cha cha. Jeff was patient and drilled us in feet, hands, body and attitude.

Then we got together as a group and worked on turn patterns with Miriam :-)

On Saturday night, I walked down to La Fontana restaurant in Reading, organised by RedHatSalsa.

There were many salsa people having dinner there but I guess the numbers were doubled by folks walking in later. The usual suspects (at least from Reading) were present :-)

Karen and Dave

Dancing is from 10pm, it's a chilled experience. I chatted more than danced. The dance area is smallish but I've been to worse and it worked well.

I've been working on the Newsletter website and have made some improvements to the Party listings. While the email Newsletter still lists the next 2 weeks, the website now lists parties by month. This way, I can list all future parties without the pages getting too big.

And I've been experimenting with a new way of displaying the parties, weekenders etc. Have a look at this page and let me know what you think.

Karen & Adrienne

Joe's dropped me a line about Havana, Portsmouth…

Havana in Southsea, Portsmouth, is closing for refurbishment on the 4th May - reopening 29th May. The last evening of salsa will be on Thursday 30th April, which will be a buffet and dress-smart party night. Regular salsa will resume on Tuesday 2nd June and Thursday 4th June.

It's a Bank Holiday this Monday, do check that classes are running this weekend. Monday, Cobham Rugby Club is closed.

I now cover 126 active clubs in the area :-)

Club news…

• Havana, Portsmouth is closing for refurbishment on the 4th May - reopening 29th May
• Mondays, Farnham College has been now moved to Churt Village Hall
• Tuesdays, Woking Leisure Centre has moved to a Tuesday
• Tuesdays, Salsa Swindon, is moving back to The Apartment as was and it now renamed the Corner Club
• Wednesdays, Uxbridge Civic Centre has moved to Ruislip Manor Sports & Social Club
• La Rueda every Thursday at Bray 7.30 pm, Beginners to La Rueda welcome every 1st Thursday of the month.
• Sundays, Advanced Class, Jongleurs, Reading - 03/05 No Advanced Class, 10/05 Chunky, 17/05 Moe Flex, 24/05 Newton, 31/05 Chunky

We've gained some clubs…

• Mondays, The Bear, Oxshott from May 4th
• Mondays, Winchester Discovery Centre from June 1st
• Tuesdays, Preston Candover Village Hall
• Wednesdays, Crystal Dragon, Caversham, Reading
• Thursdays, Red Bar and Restaurant, Weybridge from April 30th
• Thursdays, Loddon Hall, Twyford
• Fridays, The Marlow Club for Rueda every 3rd Friday of the month
• Sundays, Izi, Oxford from May 10th
• Sundays, Banister Park Bowling Club, Eastleigh
• Sundays, Drift Bar, Southsea

However, we've also lost some…

• Removed Broom & Wades Sports & Social Club, High Wycombe
• Removed Colets Health Club, Thames Ditton

Hi everyone!

Spirellas

I took the opportunity to detour to the Picturedome in Northampton on my way to visit my father at the weekend. Salsatheque's opening night at Bedford had gone very well and I'd had a good evening.

So, I was looking forward to their first night at a new venue. Unfortunately I was disappointed with the bar. The acoustics were exceptionally poor; making it difficult to hear. I won't be going out of my way again.

Spirellas, Letchworth on the other hand was a very enjoyable night.

Julian @ Spirellas

It's rightly claimed to be one of the most attractive venues in the South. The large floor I find to be superb, the bar is cheap and it's easy to find with a huge car park.

What I'd like to know is ... where did the last 2 hours of the evening go?

It's one of those weekends where *all* the parties seem to come at once.

I'm counting 16 parties and workshops this weekend and there's probably more I don't know about :-)

Zoreh & Felicity

So, I hope you'll find something to enjoy and feel free to drop me a few lines for the Newsletter.

Hi!

Novice Crewman

No big party nights for me in the last week, just a few club nights.

The reason why I didn't salsa over Easter is because I went sailing for the first time :-)

I've had a bit more time recently and I've been updating the Newsletter. Here are some links to the changes.

I've updated the calendars produced by the Newsletter to produce Yahoo specific calendars. That's in addition to the Google calendars. Details on adding the calendars to Yahoo can be found here.

The general heading of Weekenders has been split between those in the British Isles and those in the rest of the world. Details of the changes are listed here.

I've also revamped the support I give to mobile phones, producing *all* the listings in useful mobile form.

Contact Dave.

I now cover 128 active clubs in the area :-)

Club news…

• Tuesdays, Salsa Swindon, Liquid & Envy has moved to Suju Nightclub
• La Rueda every Thursday at Bray 7.30 pm, Beginners to La Rueda welcome every 1st Thursday of the month. All dancers should be at Salsa Level 3/Intermediate to take part.
• The Danebury, Andover has changed venue to the Central Club, Andover. Anna Trant teaching.

We've gained some clubs…

• Mondays, The Bear, Oxshott from May 4th
• Mondays, Long Island Exchange, Rickmansworth
• Mondays, Winchester Discovery Centre from 1st June
• Tuesdays, Fat Lil's, Oxford
• Tuesdays, Preston Candover Village Hall
• Tuesdays, Littlehampton Badminton and Squash Club
• Wednesdays, Crystal Dragon, Caversham, Reading
• Wednesdays, Totton Sports and Social Club, Totton
• Thursdays, RED Bar and Restaurant, Weybridge from April 30th
• Thursdays, Loddon Hall, Twyford from April 23rd
• Fridays, Bourne Hall, Ewell, Epsom
• Fridays, The Marlow Club for Rueda every 3rd Friday of the month, Starts 17th April
• Sundays, Izi, Oxford from May 10th
• Sundays, Banister Park Bowling Club, Eastleigh

However, we've also lost some…

• Tuesdays, Baroosh, Staines
• Thursdays, Waters Edge Restaurant & Bar, Uxbridge - closed until Mid-May
• Saturdays, Raphael's Club, West London
• Sundays, La Tasca, Portsmouth

I've created News feeds (RSS feeds) for the weekender, holiday and music events in addition to the existing party feed. I've wrapped all of these feeds up into one Widget, shown below.

To add the Widget to Netvibes, iGoogle, Apple Dashboard, Opera, Windows Vista or Windows Live, please click below.

If you see a warning triangle against a club it's because

• I've not been able to track down a website for the organisers
• In a couple of rare cases, the organisers have cancelled events with little warning

Listings are available on-line - starting at www.davidsugarman.co.uk.

Hello there!

Abi

Last Friday a friend started teaching again and I was glad to get along and see how things were going. After a lot of enjoyable dances I drove over to Loudwater and continued the dancing there.

Loudwater was the busiest I've seen it for the last few months. I'd have to say that the numbers were right up with the opening months. It was hot & sweaty. You know, good fun :-)

It's the Easter weekend and that means some clubs will be closed, either on Friday or Monday.

Do check your normal club is running. Caversham is closed on Friday, Guildford is closed on Monday. Archers Road is open on Friday and Baroosh, Uxbridge and Lakeside, Frimley are open on Monday.

Contact Dave.

I now cover 123 active clubs in the area :-)

Club news…

• Thursday, Henley, Nathalie Cuzner will be taking Improvers at 7:30pm followed by Intermediates at 8:30pm
• Tuesdays, Salsa Swindon, Liquid & Envy has moved to Suju Nightclub
• La Rueda every Thursday at Bray 7.30 pm, Beginners to La Rueda welcome every 1st Thursday of the month. All dancers should be at Salsa Level 3/Intermediate to take part.
• The Danebury, Andover has changed venue to the Central Club, Andover. Anna Trant teaching.
• Sundays, Jongleurs, Reading 12/04 CLUB MOVED TO LA TASCA ONE NIGHT ONLY - no advanced lesson.

We've gained some clubs…

• Mondays, The Bear, Oxshott from May 4th
• Mondays, Long Island Exchange, Rickmansworth
• Tuesdays, Littlehampton Badminton and Squash Club
• Wednesdays, Crystal Dragon, Caversham, Reading
• Fridays, Bourne Hall, Ewell, Epsom
• Fridays, The Marlow Club for Rueda every 3rd Friday of the month, Starts 19th April
• Sundays, Berkhamsted Civic Centre

However, we've also lost some…

• Tuesdays, Baroosh, Staines
• Thursdays, Waters Edge Restaurant & Bar, Uxbridge - closed until Mid-May
• Saturdays, Raphael's Club, West London closes immediately.
• Sundays, La Tasca, Portsmouth

Hi everyone!

Glastonbury Tor

To get back from the ElGroove Street / Glastonbury salsa weekender I needed 4 Proplus caffeine pills, a stop for a Redbull followed by another stop for a cafe latte.

If sheer tiredness is any measure of a good weekend then this one passed

The weather was a bit murky when I first got down to Street on Friday afternoon. But, as you can see from the photos, the weekend was gorgeous. So much so, that at one point I sat in the sun, reading, drinking and listening to Marc Anthony rather than doing salsa lessons.

Dean and Katherine

The ballroom at the Wessex is superb. The rest of the hotel… so so. The rooms were fine, the food was OK. They are renovating however, so it'll be better next time round.

I enjoyed all of the lessons. Angus taught a large, early morning Improver class and did a good job. Demonstrating a smooth style, he took time to let people video the lesson. Mauro and Eva's Cha cha cha lesson was superb. For the very first time, the timing became crystal clear.

Rohan's advanced Cuban style class was also very enjoyable. He took time out to recap some Cuban basics which I found useful. Dan & Bex's Bachata classes were really well received. I had problems getting my head around new footwork but got there in the end

Wessex Ballroom

For me, the really good thing about the weekend was that I've come away from it with an increased love of Chachacha, Bachata and Cuban style salsa. I've remembered, and have been using, moves from all of the classes.

However, the big disappointment of the weekend was the announcement that the party nights would have to be curtailed to 1:30am. Yes, the evening was started earlier as a result. But it then became a bit of rush to have dinner and change, leaving little time for the usual drinking and socialising. Maybe it was the change in timing that left me so tired

I now cover 122 active clubs in the area

Club news…

• The Danebury, Andover has changed venue to the Central Club, Andover. Anna Trant teaching.
• CubanaFest Weekender, Hayling Island 05/06 - 08/06 has been postponed this year
• Wednesdays, Loddon Hall, Twyford is back as a absolute beginners and beginners class
• Sundays, Jongleurs, Reading. Chunky 05/04, 12/04 CLUB MOVED TO LA TASCA ONE NIGHT ONLY

We've gained some clubs…

• Mondays, Long Island Exchange, Rickmansworth
• Tuesdays, Littlehampton Badminton and Squash Club
• Wednesdays, Crystal Dragon, Caversham, Reading
• Fridays, Bourne Hall, Ewell, Epsom
• Saturdays, Raphael's, Hayes
• Sundays, Berkhamsted Civic Centre

However, we've also lost some…

• Tuesdays, Baroosh, Staines
• Thursdays, Buzz Bar, Wokingham
• Thursdays, Waters Edge Restaurant & Bar, Uxbridge - closed until Mid-May

Added My Yahoo and Bloglines to the list of RSS / News readers. And I've also added a link to my Twitter feed now that I'm posting photos to it.

I've rationalised the mobile phone pages, which are available in both WAP and HTML format. They're tiny in comparison to the main web site, ideal for checking venues when you're on the go.

I've created News feeds (RSS feeds) for the weekender, holiday and music events in addition to the existing party feed. I've wrapped all of these feeds up into one Widget, shown below.

I'm quite pleased with this and I hope you'll find it useful.

To add the Widget to Netvibes, iGoogle, Apple Dashboard, Opera, Windows Vista or Windows Live, please click below.

If you see a warning triangle against a club it's because

• I've not been able to track down a website for the organisers
• In a couple of rare cases, the organisers have cancelled events with little warning

Listings are available on-line - starting at www.davidsugarman.co.uk.

Hello there!

"Quick! Make it look like you're doing something"

Just a short update tonight following the lateness of the last Newsletter.

Praise Be! It's Friday tomorrow

That means I'm off to the weekender at Glastonbury / Street along with people I know. Meanwhile, there's another weekender in Bournemouth and lots of you are off there too.

The two weekenders are at the opposite ends of the accommodation spectrum. Street is taking place in a hotel. Fewer people but a more intimate setting. Smaller, more personal classes. Places to see, time to be pampered. Bournemouth has you finding your own hotel and going to the central venue. Bigger numbers, bands, high profile teachers.

There's a place for both and I've been to both styles of weekend. As chance would have it, I saw the Street weekend first.

Interesting development or just coincidence? Two clubs have closed this week due to the poor nature of their floors.