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Originally
published on Salsaweb NY 3/00
This month I give my impressions of Addie Diaz's trip to London, England and a New Yorker's Point of view of their Salsa Scene. -Manny Salsa dancing has become so popular around the world over the last few years that it never quite dawned on me the impact that Salsaweb has had on Salseros worldwide. Suddenly through the Internet, Salsaweb has made the world a smaller place. I truly believe that many top salsa dancers today are traveling the globe because of Ben Rapoport and Edie "The Salsa Freak’s" creation (Salsaweb). As of this writing Francisco Vasquez & Los Rumberos are in London, as is Angel Navarro and his Mambo Unico Dance Team, The Side Street Kids are touring Italy and Descarga Latina has just returned from their trip to Denmark. People have benefitted from their exposure on Salsaweb (whether they like to admit it or not). I know I have. For example this past January 21th-30th, 2000, NY Mambo Dancer Addie Diaz traveled to Europe for a 10 day Mambo tour of London and Paris. Addie’s latest trip made her the first female instructor to lead a team of dancers (The Addie-tude Dance Company) to both of these countries. The team consisted of Addie Diaz, Josephine Torlone, Elias Rosario and yours truly (Manny Siverio). Also Ben Rapoport, Salsaweb Webmaster and Co-founder had unofficially joined us to document Addie’s tour and share in our little European adventure.
The team was so excited about the trip. We had heard so much about the London salsa scene and were dying to experience it first hand. It was a great way to start the new millennium. Personally, I had every hope that it would live up to the great experience our team had in Switzerland .....and it did. Addie’s London trip was sponsored by London Salsa Instructors Sai Hon Lee & Deanne Chandler. Their goal was to offer a series of workshops taught by Addie that culminated in a 3 day course on NY On2 Mambo dancing. It was grueling scheduling our time between performing, sleeping, dancing, teaching workshops, sightseeing and socializing, but we managed. Largely due to the incredible organization and planning of Sai and Deanne. They really took good care of us on a professional level while making us feel like family on a personal level. The team immediately bonded with them. Even though this was suppose to be a business trip, Sai & Deanne made it feel more like a social visit from the moment they met us at the airport. I have to admit that the Salsa world is populated by some really great people. Addie has had the pleasure to hook up with some awesome salseros, like Stefan in Switzerland and Audrianna in SF to name a few. Though the trip was confirmed only several weeks in advance, Sai & Deanne planned everything carefully, looking out for our comfort. We stayed at the Paragon Hotel, in Fulham, only 2 blocks away from Deanne’s home. This always gave us easy access to our sponsors. They were always very punctual and took care of all our transportation needs. With them, we explored London via car, train, cab and on foot. After our workshops we dined at Chinese, French and American Restaurants like Old Orleans (mustn’t forget good old Micky D’s). Unlike New York, the London Restaurant/food scene closes early. There isn’t a 24 hour deli around the corner for a quick snack. So one night after a performance we went to Deanne’s house and within a half an hour the women whipped up several warm dishes, salad, cold drinks, chips, snacks and coffee (just what this Puerto Rican was craving for at 3 a.m.). They really opened their home up to us. Like I said, we felt less like strangers and more like friends. They were incredible. I also felt that Sai and Deanne quickly bonded with Addie and the others. As I write this article I have fond memories of exchanging thoughts on salsa dancing, telling jokes, dancing at clubs, shopping, cab rides and eating with them. I think I most liked it when we began teaching Deanne New York collegial English. I loved the way she picked up our street lingo and slang. On the other hand she tried to teach us how to "speak with a British" accent. I think that Elias and Josephine did the best in mimicking it. I, on the other hand didn’t fair so well. The fact that they didn’t throw me out of the country for butchering their language was a miracle. 8-) We finally got to see the London salsa scene. The Addie-tude Dance Company was showcased at two well-known London Salsa Clubs: the Ellas Jazz Club and Salsafusion. The crowd opened their hearts out to us. Thank you London-seros (London Salseros) for your love and support. London has in my opinion the third largest salsa community in the world (NY and LA having the 1st and 2nd). Their clubs were playing some pretty slamming music and the floor was jamming with dancers. Most London dancers groove on "1", but there was also a decent number "2" dancers out there. Mostly because of previous trips done by Eddie Torres, Nelson Flores and Luis Zegarra.
The vote for the favorite salsa club by team members .......drum roll please.......went to Bar Salsa. We had the most amount of fun there. Just picture TGI Friday’s and add salsa music and you’ll get the idea. I found the dancers very friendly, open and eager to dance with members of Addie’s team. I spent most nights going from one person to the next. Every time I had a moment to look around, I would see Addie, Elias and Josephine doing the same. I hope they had just as much fun dancing with us as we did with them. Addie was like a magnet, women would come up to her to ask her questions about her styling, while men wanted to ask her out to dance. I think that much of her popularity stems from the fact that she comes across as sincere and easy to talk too. Its nice to know she has such a nice reputation in the mambo community and yet never lets it get to her head. She is still the humble laid back person I first met years ago. As I said earlier, Addie taught a total of 6 workshops in London at both the Pineapple Dance Studios and La Brasas dance club. One was a Ladies styling workshop which everyone expected her to teach (since it is one of her specialties), two were one day NY Mambo workshops and the remaining three classes were part of a 3 day progressive training course. People were surprised at how well organized the workshops were. Addie walked in with a lesson plan in hand and ready to go. She knew exactly what she was going to teach. No wasting time, guessing or making things up as you go alone. She takes teaching very seriously and was prepared to work. Most of her classes covered open floor shines, partner work and styling tips. Many of Addie’s students were amazed at how much detail she could crank out during each shine. She managed to fit in Ladies styling tips in all her classes, which went over well with local female salseras. The entire team pitched in to help Addie. Elias and I worked whenever possible with the men, while Addie and Josephine worked with the ladies. During partner work we all did our best to give everyone the attention that they needed. Students were grilled with shines, routines and partner work during the 1 day workshops; plenty of tips were thrown at the women during the Ladies Styling class and material was progressive supplied to students during the 3 day training course so that what was taught on the pervious day could be reviewed and incorporated on the following the day.
The workshop attracted some really great people. They were all extremely nice and went out of their way to make us feel at home. After class, students would stay to socialize. Our usual ritual would consist of finding a restaurant to eat at and then off to the Salsa Club of the night. This was where we got to know the London salsero. We met stockbrokers, University/College students, school teachers, etc. Bottom line, everyone loved to salsa dance for one main reason.....TO HAVE FUN. Many were very curious to know what the scene was like in NY and surprisingly I would say really not that much different than the scene in London. Bigger, but essentially the same. It was during these after class sessions that I got to meet London Salsa Instructors Robert & Jean White. I had briefly met them before, but my interaction was somewhat limited (I think I was too busy dancing my butt off at Jimmy Anton’s Social in NY at the time. I can be so anti-social whenever I’m being so social on the dance floor). They were another extremely nice dance couple who we met. What a pleasure. Like I said, the salsa community if filled with nice people. 8-). We also crossed paths with other local instructors while enjoying the London night life, such as Robert Chalemagne, his partner Crystal, Special Tee and his partner Diane. All of whom Addie and I had met before. I have to admit that I was really disappointed that we didn’t get to hang with Special Tee and Diane. Both are very nice people who had been my house guests when they had visited the NY mambo scene. They were even my guests on set while I was coordinating a Spike Lee movie and ended up appearing as extras during one of the scenes being shot at the Apollo Theater. Its ashamed we never connected because of our hectic schedule. I guess it will have to wait till the next time. Then there was Alan Blinder, a local Salsero, who came to see us performed our first night. I had met Alan in NY a while back and have kept in contact with him ever since. He traveled some distance to watch us perform. There were so many people around the first night, that I didn’t really recognize him until it was too late. He had to leave early, travel some distance to get back home and be ready for work the next day. Sorry Alan, and thanks for understanding and thanks for the moral support.
Even with all the dancing, workshops and socializing, the team managed to get some sightseeing in. Using the Underground or the "Tubes" as it commonly referred to in London, we ventured to the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace. At the Tower we learned about its rich history, heard stories about the Royal Court & Royal Family; saw the Crown Jewels and the London Tower Bridge. We also photographed ourselves in front of one of the Royal Guards. You know which guards I’m referring too, the ones that never react to your presence, remain impassive and stoic. Well Addie and I decided to strike up a dance pose. Though he didn’t react to our presence, it must have been a first for him. Later on we traveled to Buckingham Palace. Thanks to Elias’s unique sense of direction we took the long way around the Palace. We saw the Palace from the back side first. It was a tour that not many Americans get to appreciate first hand. After much walking we finally got to the front of the Palace. It was grand site to take in, royal in every sense of the word. Elias & I decided to celebrate this occasion by dancing in front of Buckingham. It was our rendition of a Royal command performance. We did some shines and partnered up for a couple of bars, while Addie and Josephine captured it on video. It was hysterical.
Our last day in London had stirred mixed feelings in us all. We were excited about our trip to Paris, yet we were torn about leaving Deanne, Sai and the others we had bonded with in London. Having packed the night before, we gathered all our luggage downstairs to the hotel lobby and left it with hotel management so that we can do some last minute shopping with Deanne. Faisal Hameed, Editor/Publisher of Salsa News International magazine, joined us as we were having our last lunch together so that he could interview Addie for his publication. Once that order of business was done, Deanne took us back to the hotel, we picked up our luggage and headed to the airport. Then came the moment of truth. We finally said our goodbyes to Deanne. It was the hardest thing for any of us to do, though we console ourselves in knowing that we left a little of us behind while taking a little of them with us. We all look forward to the day when we next meet our London Salsa "family". Thank you Sai and Deanne for making London such an awesome memory. Cheers!
New!
Addie-tude Ladies Styling
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