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My
Mum loves dancing and met my father across a crowded dance floor
(that's right, the old romantic cliche). So from the age of 3
my Mum took me to ballet classes, then at 8 introduced me to my
formal dance training in Ballroom and Latin dancing. After completing
all my medals to National Award II, my teacher asked if I would
help teach the children with their exam syllabus. In later years
I taught both children and adults in Ballroom and Latin dancing
and continued at competition level.
I
enjoy any type of dancing, whether it is Latin, Ballroom, Jazz,
RnB, Tap or Aerobacise etc. However, in 1994, just before I moved
down to Southampton from Hertfordshire, my aerobics instructor
took me to my first Salsa club in London with Elder Sanchez (one
of the first Salsa teachers in the UK) ..... and then my passion
for dancing took on a new level and I have never looked back!
Having moved down from Hertfordshire, to find a very limited Salsa
scene in Southampton, I decided to teach Salsa on a Wednesday
night to complement the existing club night run by Steve &
Kathryn Tracey. Mish and I began teaching every Wednesday, from
1st May 1996, at Bannisters Ballroom, Hulse Road. Mish would then
dash up the road to Club Havana at Burbanks on London Road (formerly
FYEO), to teach and DJ and we would follow to continue our dancing.
Little did I know that my hobby would change my life and culminate
in a buzzing friendly Salsa scene in Hampshire.
In
the early days, I travelled back to London every weekend to get
my Salsa fix and learn the new moves and styles. Now we are lucky
that Salsa is more widespread and have far more choice.
I
have oodles of patience (ask Brian!), so try Salsa or Argentine
Tango with us and learn in a fun and friendly environment at Tracie's
Latin Club - and I'm not biased at all !!
In
my spare time I am a trustee of the Chantry
Hall Trust, Southampton,
and involved
in the renovation of this historic grade II listed building, bringing
it back into community use in the St Mary's area.
(See
classes page)
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I'm the new kid on the block from Liverpool. Having first learnt
Salsa in Reading, I came down to Southampton in 1999 as I heard
Tracie was a good teacher and dancer. Being the cheeky scouser
I am, I pushed my luck and asked Tracie could I teach with her!!
Tracie called my bluff and while I thought "oh s**t"
at the time, her thorough training has since paid off. I love
the fun and energy I get from the classes I teach.
This
photo shows Heather, my wife, with me.
My proudest moment was when Heather saw me teach for the first
time in 2001.
I've
been told my teaching style is "Passionate" with a bite.
I have three rules of salsa:
1. FUN - It is all about having a good time, if not fun why do
it???
2. Passion & Expression - Interpretation of the music and
your dance.
3. Sex on the dance floor with your clothes on. - No explanation
needed.
Now
for a little secret .... by day I'm a computer salesperson and
by night I rave or dance salsa.
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Hi I’m Olga. I was born in Ghana and my Ghanaian name is
Nah shorme (pronounced Nah Shormé). Traditionally we are
given two names, a Ghanaian name to be used at home and an international
name to be used when abroad.
I
like to think of myself as an international being - I was born
in Ghana but my great grandfather was Danish, my grandfather was
German, (hence the name Olga), I went to school in Wales and I
now live in England.
I
have been dancing Salsa since 1996, and was one of Tracie's first
pupils. I think Tracie has created a wonderful Salsa atmosphere
in Southampton, (fun friendly and welcoming). I’m proud to
be one of the team.
If
I had to give a Salsa tip I would say have fun, laugh at your
mistakes and be patient, the basic steps and the timing are the
hardest things to learn. Don’t rush to learn 101 moves (slight
exaggeration!) before the basic step is right.
What
do I do when I’m not salsering? I’m a nurse and a reflexologist
and my hobbies are squash, Tai chi, and most sports that involve
chasing a ball!
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| Ivano
Ricci
(See
photo) |
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Hi, I'm Ivano. My name is Italian in case you're wondering.
I have been dancing salsa since 1996 when Tracie first started
and still passionate about it, travelling from Portsmouth each
week for a dose of TLC! (Incidentally, I won the competition to
find a brand name for the club, now known as 'Tracie's Latin Club'
(TLC). My play on the initials, TLC, in my opinion, best describes
her patience, care and attention to all of us.)
My
first awareness of salsa was at an open air Latin festival in
London (1996) where I saw a couple dancing Salsa together and
thought, "I want to be able to do that." Soon afterwards
I was fortunate to discover Tracie's classes. I struggled with
my basic steps for what seemed weeks on end, but I stuck at it,
and it was worth it!
During
2000 I was lucky to be able to dance Salsa in Portsmouth, Southampton,
London, Brighton, Bournemouth, Manchester, Birmingham, Camber
sands, Brean Sands, Paris and Barcelona. I have found Salsa clubs
in all these places to be friendly and welcoming and through Salsa
I have made some great friends.
When
not dancing I enjoy travelling, mainly to France and to Italy,
where I have family and I also love listening to live music, particularly
jazz, African and Latin (of course!)
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| Brian
& Fiona Gale (See
photo) |
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Brian and Fiona Gale have been dancing Tango for over a decade
now, learning from a wide range of Argentinean Tangueros visiting
London. Both are professional teachers and musicians. Brian is
primarily a scientist, concerned with human movement and he works
with bugs, beetles, plants and moulds as well as anybody who wants
to Tango!
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Marcus
(AKA DJ Grooves): I’m the new NEW
kid on the block from London (kid being the operative word as compared
to the rest, I’m the baby of the bunch!)
From
a toddler, I have danced all my life, firstly as my father’s rule
was “Friday night is dance night”, and secondly clubbing to
RnB, Hip Hop and Jungle dancing until my early twenties. Then a bolt from
the blue……a friend took me to Merchants in October 2000 and
I was introduced to a new way of life … SALSA!!.
I
met great people of all ages from 16 to 65, kept fit and agile while dancing
so often and became addicted. Soon I was travelling hundreds of miles
to attend salsa clubs and classes throughout the UK, 4-6 times a week,
sometimes to all night events and driving home the next morning in bright
daylight (that’s a killer).
In
2002 Tracie took me under her wing and tutored me to be a future salsa
dance instructor for TLC, hence in January 2003, after having been educated
to a brain aching degree, I have immense pleasure in instructing others
in Salsa on Fridays at Caliente and on Tuesdays at Ford (see classes
page)
I
cannot put into words how much I love the feeling of expressing myself
to music, the different moods from Mambo, Latin Jazz through to more funky
or romantic salsa, it is one of the best feelings in the world. Because
I also DJ at the “best Salsa club on the South Coast” Salsa
Caliente, my hope is that you will feel the same way too, so give
it a try, you might just like it.
In conclusion,
here are a couple of top tips for those new to the salsa scene:
- Go to
classes as often as you can for the first few months. You will need
this time to get comfortable with your footwork, learn a few moves but
more importantly appreciate and learn to read the music. Once you’ve
mastered the basic step, you will have wished you'd started 10 years
ago.
- Buy salsa
music and practice the basic step at home, this is invaluable but be
warned, there are a lot of poor compilation albums out there and some
of them are labelled Salsa. So when you come along ask an instructor
or the DJ for advice, especially if you hear a tune you like. There
are many varieties of Salsa, you will surely find some music you will
love.
- Lastly,
don’t be shy to get up out of your seat and ask everyone to dance
(that goes for the ladies too). You will make many friends and improve
your Salsa all at the same time. As you dance with everyone, you will
find that they act and react differently, so you will need to adapt
your dancing accordingly, hence becoming a well rounded, more experienced
and better dancer.
That’s
it from me, see you on the dance floor!
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Steve
& Debbie Morrall
(see photo)
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Steve and Debbie have recently returned from Spain to "be with their
tango family" here in the UK. Steve is a life-long musician who plays
piano and bandoneon. He has a musician's understanding of tango music
that is apparent in the way he dances and the way he teaches others to
dance.
They teach salon tango as a form of improvised communication and self
expression rather than a series of steps to execute on a dance floor.
Their method will teach you how to dance tango with your hearts and discover
the true beauty of this wonderfully expressive, passionate and connected
dance.
They have learnt from the following argentinian and european maestros:
Gustavo Naveira, Pablo Veron, Carlos Copello and Alicia Monti (Tango Lesson),
Facundo and Kely Posadas, Milena Plebs and Ezequiel Farfaro, Geraldine
Rojas and Javier Rodriguez, Alejandro Sanguinetti, Eduardo Bozzo, Metin
Yazir, Yvonne Meissner and Eduardo Aguirre, Sebastian Arces and Marianna
Montes, Leandro Palau and Andrea Mice, Fabian Lugo and Laura Cairo, Gisela
Navoni, Carlos Gavito and Eric Jeurissen (El Corte, Nijmagen)
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Learning to study hard, work hard and earn a good wage was OK at first,
but then it slowly dawned on me that this was not enough. I started
Tango with a ballroom teacher, but then TLC saved my soul and I discovered
the beautiful Argentine tango which has grown and matured inside me
ever since. I shall never forget the first time I stepped into the
milonga at Southampton. It has become my sanctuary.
Drawn by the dark and moody Piazzolla tango, then
the happy milongas and finally the elegant vals, I have been enjoying
and living Tango since 2000 but I still consider myself a beginner.
An old milonguero once told me his three basic considerations
of tango, in decreasing order of importance; the woman, the music
and finally, if there is space, the steps. I try to share this:
ie dance for your partner not for the gallery, be a slave to the
music and not the steps.
In
my spare time, I work in hospitals and have been nick-named 'The
Tango Medic'.
In September 2006 I married my beautiful wife and left the shores
of Southampton for a year's research secondment to San Francisco.
I will see my UK Tango friends again from October 2007!
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| Stephen
Phillips (See
photo) |
Since the birth
of my baby daughter Rianna in 2002, my friends call me Dr Daddy - as I received
a PhD in Chemistry as well as becoming a proud father - who said guys can't
multi-task!!
The
latter event has obviously curtailed my teaching role as well as the number
of Salsa party nights.
I
joined with Tracie back in September 1996 and remember Olga patiently
helping me through my basic steps.
See
my web site www.scphillips.com
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