An Education in Salsa

I always thought that I would never find anything more fulfilling to me than Ballet. After dancing for the Spanish National Ballet since I was 14, until I left 10 years later, I could never dream of dancing again. When I arrived in London everything was new and exciting and I never imagined that my life was about to change forever.

I found Salsa in a dark and very hot and sweaty club called Villa Stefano in Holborn, London. From the moment I walked in I knew that that was exactly what I wanted to do. I took Salsa so seriously and managed to make a career out of it.

"I have seen Salsa grow in the UK and in the 1990s it happened faster than in any other European country"

When I started dancing there was a very small community with about six clubs opening only once a week and I used to go to all of them. I have seen Salsa grow in the UK and in the 1990s it happened faster than in any other European country and here is why: I am going to take London as the point of origin for being not only the capital but also the most cosmopolitan city in Europe with a large concentration of Latin people. Going to those Salsa clubs made me feel at home.

I think the British people really appreciate the Latin approach to life. This is very much reflected in the way we socialise and dance. They found in Salsa a healthy way of de-stressing after work in a very friendly environment.

Salsa dancing is as social as a dance can get. It is a free-style dance which didn’t really have a structure in the beginning but over time it has developed so much so that it has become as technical as many other free-style dances. 

The history of Latin music in the UK takes us as far as the 1930s with people like Marino Barreto, the Cuban musician who played in the UK with his Cuban Band. When Barreto passed away, one of his vocalists and percussionists, Edmundo Ros, took over. By 1941 Edmundo had his own band and his first album. The group played regularly at the Coconut Grove club in Regent Street, the Cosmo Club in Wardour Street, the St Regis Hotel, Cork Street and the Bagatelle Restaurant. Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen, made her first public dance at the Bagatelle to Edmundo’s music. The subsequent newspaper reports made his name. By 1946 he was the owner of a club, dance school, record company and an artist's agency. In 1951, he bought the Coconut Grove on Regent Street and later, in 1964, renamed it Edmundo Ros’ Dinner and Supper Club. Ros retired and moved to Jávea, Alicante (Spain). At the age of 90, in the 2000 New Year's Honours List, Ros was appointed to the Order of the British Empire.

As you probably all know, Latin music gave way to Rock ‘n’ Roll and Pop in the sixties but at the end of the seventies and eighties it came back, first in the USA then Europe. The way Latin music was introduced in our society was through political migrants like Silvio Rodriguez, Mercedes Sosa, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, just to name a few. They used to sing ‘protest music’ to explain Latin American oppression to the world.

In the UK it all started with events like Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign with invited artists like Ruben Blades and Silvio Rodriguez or the World Music event promoted by mainstream music magazines like NME. All this, and the popularity of Cuban music, gave way to the success of the Buena Vista Social Club in the nineties. Also we cannot forget the commercial side of Latin music which gave Salsa huge popularity. We are talking about artists like Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Chayanne and Shakira.

All these were mirrored in the London clubs like Havana and Bar Salsa which kept the Latin theme. I believe that people thought that the Latin vibe would be a trend but I think we passed that line a long time ago... Latin is here to stay!

Salsa has grown enormously in the last 20 years. We have passed from dancing with live music only to studios, clubs, schools, congresses, festivals… and the list goes on. We have to thank all the promoters, DJs, teachers and dancers who have participated in the development of Latin music and dance in the UK. 

There is, I’m afraid, a down side to this popularity. Many people saw a business opportunity in Salsa, nothing wrong with that, but in my opinion not all of them prepared themselves fully for the job. In Britain there are a lot of teachers now who are not properly trained and have no real interest in the culture, language or music, but just want to make a quick buck, and this has brought down standards and devalued Salsa on every level – the dance, the music and the culture in general. I believe that Salsa deserves the full respect of the person who teaches it, not because I am Latin but because I have spent the last 18 years trying to get Salsa at the same professional level as that of other dance disciplines. 

It was an honour for me when Richard Marcel asked me to contribute to a new Salsa qualification for the ISTD. I felt extremely lucky to be able to work with such a prestigious organisation. We have been working on this for the last two years and despite the time it has taken I am very proud of the work the Faculty has done. Also I have been very lucky that in my Salsa career I have had the pleasure to work with the best in the business and some of those professionals have contributed towards this work as well. 

The syllabus covers the main Salsa styles: Cuban, Los Angeles, New York, Puerto Rican and Colombian. Why? Because every one of these styles has contributed to what Salsa is today. Every style is unique in its own way, its culture, its music and its technique and we recognize the variety, freedom and the social/street aspect of Salsa. 

We have designed what I believe to be an exam that combines the knowledge that every Salsa teacher should have; a complete understanding of the dance and its different styles always respecting the improvisation and following and leading techniques that characterise this dance. 

We have been working with experts in each style putting together not only the syllabus but a comprehensive book with full history, musicality and technique. Icons like Eddie Torres, the man who reinvented New York Mambo, has given us permission to use his technique for our cross body styles. Eddie is not only regarded as the best teacher in the world but is the most respected within the global Salsa community.

We have also had guidance, support and backing from Tito Ortos, and his wife Tamara Lovolsi, who are currently and without a doubt the most famous and talented couple representative of the Puerto Rican style. Eider Rua Giraldo, a Colombian dancer and the director of BNF Dance & Entertainment Company in Colombia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Cesar Velasquez, top UK teacher and promoter of Cali style Salsa and Ariel Roberts, a professor of dance from the University in Havana, Cuba. They all have contributed to making this project possible as they believe that Salsa should be promoted and taught to the highest level. I would personally like to thank, not only them, but also the ISTD for its flexibility and open mindedness, without which we could not have achieved it. 

Susana Montero