Duplessey Monday Morning

When I arrived in NY late Sunday afternoon I went straight to the Piel Canela social, and after two hours there I continued to the Mojito Sundays at club Iguana. Lots of good dancing both places and many familiar faces.

Next morning I woke up at dawn as usual (after approx 4 hrs sleep) and went out to explore NY. At 11am I had an appointment with Duplessey-Monic Walker for a private salsa lesson, and "Wow!" did she do me good. She gave me loads of tips and exercises, and she did not let me relax for one moment. I could feel it afterwards, and I am sure the changes are visible in my dancing.

Monday evening it was my intention to go drop in to some classes and then go dancing at Session 73, but at nine pm I fell asleep on my bed in the hostel and slept as a stone till next morning. Duplessey sure worked me good.

Photo courtesy: salsanewyork.com

Eddie Torres

The Mambo King, the master of footwork, is sooo fast! Check out his footwork shines and try to follow in the rhythm - it is not as easy as he makes it look.

Taj Lounge

Taking it easy, strolling slowly through a street market in the afternoon, shopping useless items and souvenirs, ... and dancing all night long!

The NYC salsa congress has arranged for a whole week of pre-congress parties with entry free of charge for congress full pass holders. Saturday the party was at the Harlem YMCA, Sunday it was Piel Canelas Sunday social, and yesterday the party was on at Session 73. However, yesterday was also the After Work Salsa Mondays at the Taj Lounge with DJ Henry Knowles and live salsa band and show by Ismael and Shani. I went there to enjoy the music and the exotic lounge, and the dancing of course, before I went of to join my fellow congress participants at Session 73.

Tip of the day: Henry Knowles is an amazing DJ!

Photo courtesy: Taj Lounge

Frankie Martinez

A tip from Stanley made me look up Frankie Martinez on YouTube. Until now I thought the best footwork I ever saw was that of Mambo D (which I saw perform live in NY), but this guy Frankie sure has some moves too. Really smooth dancing!

Check out this solo performance from the 2003 West Coast Salsa Congress

New York, New York

I bought the ticket, booked a hostel, yes, you got me right, I am going to New York again! This time for the NY salsa congress August 30 to September 2!

Thursday salsa

Dropped-in at Cynthias spinning and salsa3 lesson and went with the crowd to Gonzales y Gonzales to eat and listen(dance) to live music. Later I got a ride to Club Cache, where I saw the best crowd of dancers so far, all advanced and on2. Great dancing!

Wednesday salsa

I went to the Ripley-Grier studios where I did a private lesson in spinning and styling on2 with Cynthia La China. That was really the worth it. Cynthia is very good at noticing points for correction while smiling and giving encouraging comments at the same time.

Straight after that, only stopping for something to eat, I went to LQ (the former Latin Quarter) to dance and watch Eddie Palmieri perform live.

Photo courtesy: NYsalsababy.com

Sunday salsa

I went to the Sunday social 'Latin Sundays Party' at Dance Manhattan Studios. I guess I arrived around 6pm, and the place was already filled with on2 dancers. Nice big place for a social, and a fair deal of good dancers there. They closed at 9pm, and after a Chai Latte break at Starbucks, I went to 'Mojito Sundays' at Wish 26. It is a smaller place, which does not look like it was designed for dancing. The floor was wobbly in places, and the light very dim, so it was actually not a good place for practising new moves. Nice atmosphere though.