In my last post I explained the attraction of the Paris salsa scene, but I didn't comment on it. Here I will try to provide a short review of the salsa events I went to while there, such that anyone who is going to Paris might get a better idea of what to expect while there.
Phil & Madj
The music was excellent. Because of the residential nature of the area, it is not played too loudly. Some have complained that the sound is too low, but personally, I found it refreshing to be able to converse without shouting or leaning into someone's ear. Moreover, the music is loud enough to mute out the sound of feet and heavy breathing so it was fine. The music choice was fantastic, there's really nothing to say, it was an on2 dancer's sound paradise.
The dancers were excellent. Known for being the lair of Paris' on2 snobs, I felt right at home from the moment I walked in! The dancers obviously weren't snobby at all vis a vis yours truly, but then I did know a good few dancers there and was introduced to a few more by my friends. I was actually trying not to dance too much at the beginning because I was freakishly tired from the Eurostar journey and a couple of intense days at work. I was not allowed that much respite though and had all the stress of the week danced out of me instead!
The smell was slightly troubling. The room smelled of damp clothes - you know when you wash clothes and they don't dry properly? That's what the whole place smelled of.
The floor was perfect - rather like a gym linoleum floor but less sticky. Not the prettiest of sights and not the perfect wooden floor of your dreams, but highly satisfactory.
Free water at the bar and one drink included within the entry price as well.
Overall, I would highly recommend Phil & Madj to any on2 dancer visiting Paris. If you don't dance on2, unless you really want to stand and watch others dance all night and be inspired, I wouldn't bother going. I can't recall anyone dancing on1 and I didn't see any beginners around. All the dancers were top notch. In fact, I think it was the largest group of great dancers that I've ever seen outside of a congress. Seriously nothing to complain about, other than the fact that I was completely exhausted when I got there, that it took me over an hour to wake up (dancing heals, but sometimes it's not as fast as you'd like) and that it ended at 2am! Such a party should really last a couple of hours longer!
Festival de Palaiseau
In Paris, just like in London, there is no regular (read: brilliant) night on Saturdays. This is because venues are more expensive to book on weekends and there is a more lucrative pool of heavy drinkers for clubs to tap. The answer is to leave the city center or find something else to do.
On the weekend we were in Paris, there were a few things on in the 'burbs - the Festival de Palaiseau, a one-day festival with workshops, shows and party and Le Moving de Thiais, a regular Saturday night party at approximately the same distance. Having canvassed the social scene, we opted for the former on the basis that it might have more of the Parisian talent we were seeking.
While we obviously had an amazing time (highlights include me driving a car for the first time in 6 years and driving round a roundabout 3 times in a row for kicks), the party really wasn't up to much. The floor was an ice rink, the crowd was mostly Cuban and the music, albeit chosen by a well recognised Parisian DJ, was mixed to please everyone and thereby please only a few. There was way too much bachata, kizomba and Cuban to my taste and there was also a couple of instances of "crowd motivation" that I could have done without (i.e. when the organisers intervene and make everyone line dance in order to be inclusive or democratic). Moreover, the party ended at 3am, after the DJ had promised us one final cha-cha. Suffice to say, we had to dance our cha-cha without music because of noise restrictions.
Luckily there was a handful of lovely dancers from the Parisian on2 scene to keep me happy. Feeling surrounded by friends as I was, I barely noticed anybody else and had a great time. Had I gone alone and not known these people, my opinion of the party would have probably differed quite a bit.
Barrio Latino
Sunday afternoons at Barrio Latino are well-recognised across borders. Any salsa dancer who has been to Paris, has been to this event. If they didn't make it, it was probably not for want of trying. If you're going, make this an obligatory pit stop.
The concept of dancing in the afternoon, without having to dress up or deal with pseudo-alcoholics is brilliant.
The venue is gorgeous - beautiful couches, a central staircase and colour everywhere. Lots of nooks and crannies to make it interesting. The only issue is that there really isn't enough space for all the dancers. To be honest though, if you pick the right people, space will never really be a problem as I found that my dance partners did a great job of protecting me from stray heels…Potential danger everywhere though, so beware if you're skittish!
The music was amazing. DJ Willy ("the Viper") probably even out-DJ'd Phil & Madj from Friday night. Give this guy some decent dancers and he really does pull out all the stops.
The crowd - Well everyone in the Paris cross-body scene goes to Barrio Latino. This is one place where you really do need to understand the geography of the dance floor as the quality of your afternoon will depend on where you choose to stand and which dance partners you elect to dance with. I last went to Barrio Latino two years ago and spent an hour mapping the place - suffice to say, there was an hour of some dodginess before things improved! This time though, I had a wonderful regular as a side kick and my past experience on my side. Not to mention the countless French dancers I have got to know since then. So for me at least, the dancing at Barrio Latino was amazing - such joy and happiness, it was really a wonderful way to spend an early Sunday evening and I definitely regretted that the music came to an end, despite being in serious need of a caffeinated beverage!
The location is perfect - really central, very easy of access via metro.
Water? Who knows, I didn't stop dancing for long enough to grab a drink!
Floor - You know the wood sprung floor of your dreams? Yup, that's what they have here…The floor on the side lines isn't so bad either.
All I can say is I walked in excited and I walked out happy. What more can you ask for?
O'Sullivans
After Barrio Latino we headed for a lovely dinner in the Bastille district, joined by a whole host of dancers, including some who were going to be heading off to kizomba afterwards and others who were too tired to dance anymore. I should have been included in the latter category, but I'd elected to stay till Monday morning precisely because I wanted to go to Sully's so giving up and going to bed was simply not an option.
Dinner was lovely - typical French restaurant - it didn't look like anything special but the food was amazing. Just what I needed. Any table of 20+ salsaholics always makes for good company, so it was pretty lively. As with most of the weekend, those present were mostly international or French Morrocans - it seems that these guys have taken the Paris salsa scene by storm and made it theirs…We should definitely encourage more of them to set up shop in London!
The trip on the metro to Sully's took about half an hour. Sully's is in Pigalle, in the North of Paris, so conveniently located for us, given where my friend was housing us, but slightly dodgy by Paris standards. We were fine with the 20 minute walk home though, so nothing to worry about.
O'Sullivans is your typical Irish pub. So typical that they have them everywhere. This one is special though: a student bar at the front and a special hidden room at the back for dancing. The bar in the salsa room wasn't open but they generously served water in the main bar and you got a free drink with your entry ticket as well. None of the drunk bar people were allowed to enter the salsa room because the ticket payment desk acted as a barrier. The worst they could do was stand at the door and look in.
The floor was good - nothing special, but nothing bad either.
The space was large - at least, it felt really spacious compared to Barrio Latino and there was room enough to dance big if you wanted to.
The music was fantastic - not too commercial, not too much bachata and generally a great mix. I personally preferred the music at Barrio, but there was still nothing to complain about.
They had a show - nothing really impressive, but a good break in the dancing!
The crowd was great, but it felt a little quiet to me. Somehow, at SOS I get to the end of the three hours of dancing and am disappointed to find there is still a long list of people that I have not managed to dance with. Sully's has the benefit of going past 1am so you can happily dance past 2 in the morning to get your fill. I also blame the fact that I'd been dancing all weekend - I'd already danced with most people more than once and so felt that the crowd was a little thin because I recognised everyone. But that's just tiredness talking. The dancers were great, the mood was wonderful and while I didn't make many major dancer-discoveries, I had some amazing dances with all of those present. And it didn't occur to me to even think about leaving before 1:30am so it must have been good!
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