After our first social event at Carlton village hall and having run two Cuban salsa parties in York which we aim to continue on a bimonthly basis, we are very happy to have found a venue in Leeds where we will run our first party this Thursday (27th July). Despite the fact that it proved more difficult to find a venue in Leeds compared to the other locations we teach in we have searched for a suitable venue for months to accommodate our growing student base in Leeds without having to make entry prices too expensive.
The venue we have found in the end comes with the perfect atmosphere that we were looking for as well as a dance floor that is the closest thing to Cuba we have seen in the UK so far. In addition, there is free parking outside the venue and people are invited to bring their own drinks along to the party so everyone can get the drinks they want and enjoy themselves dancing Cuban salsa on a Thursday night in Leeds without having to pay the usual city centre prices for an evening of fun. The building itself is in an old factory style which has lounge areas with sofas for people wanting to take a break from dancing and we have been given free reign over the remaining décor allowing us to create the friendly and homely atmosphere that we want in a place that resembles one of the dance halls of Havana in the middle of Leeds.
While the dance floor is exactly what we were looking for in terms of authenticity it is uneven in places which would initially seem like a challenge for dancers, but does just add to the flavour of the venue and should not bother any serious Cuban dancer as the dance style is designed to be suitable on any terrain with many Cubans dancing on the street or the beach. However, it may be more difficult for dancers used to the more flashy type of salsa parties often seen in the area as it is a fundamentally different flooring and atmosphere usually seen particularly in the more cross-body orientated Leeds salsa scene of recent years. We have therefore advised our students to wear footwear that allows people to keep a good balance ideally trainers instead of high-heels etc.
We do hope that enough people are able to join us at our first Cuban salsa party in Leeds and embrace the more homely atmosphere and the dance floor the same way we have when we chose the venue as we would certainly love to organise more parties there in the future. We are extremely excited to dance at this venue ourselves as for Cuban salsa dancers there is nothing like it in the area from what we have seen so far.
