He puts his arms around her, she presses her hips towards him. Their legs start to move and their bodies twirl in perfect rhythm to the loud Latin beats. It's amazing to watch them, but nobody is looking. The crowd is too busy enjoying the music, smiling as they swing their bodies, clapping and shouting with pleasure. It's a typical salsa class, and there's more to it than just dancing. Salsa is also about exploring sensuality. It celebrates music and life and before you know it, a hobby turns into a captivating passion.
There is no shortage of places in Barcelona to learn salsa. Every night, a dozen clubs in the city pump out songs from Latin America until the early hours of the morning. Most of them offer everything from beginner to advanced classes and a number of them report a high enrolment of foreigners among their enthusiastic students.
Dance teacher, Pedro Gea claimed that hundreds of people come to Barcelona
every year just to learn salsa. This month, the 28-year-old Barcelona native
will give intensive two-week holiday courses to English tourists through Salsadelic
tours. He said tourists and Spanish residents were often surprised that learning
about salsa was also a way for people to learn more about themselves. "Salsa
is like an expression of your personality and your life," he said. "People
express how they feel that day."
Cactus Language (www.cactuslanguage.com) spokesperson Sarah Gooding said the
number of people going to Barcelona each year to learn salsa was rapidly increasing.
"'As a company we sent over 200 people to Spain in 2003 and nearly 250
people in 2004," she said. "It opens the door to a whole new holiday
experience. It's a great way to meet local people, practise the language and,
of course, have fun."
People don't have to be on holidays, or pay a fortune just to learn salsa. Most salsa clubs in Barcelona start three-month courses in September, and clubs including Antilla, Milpasos, Samba Brasil and Mojito offer free salsa sessions on different nights through the week. In true Spanish style, most classes officially start at around 10pm and finish at 11pm, but once people get started, it's hard to stop and it is common for classes to continue until the early hours of the morning. Mojito spokesman Alvaro Gonzalez said some singles worried about not having a partner before they started, but they were always matched up in class. "Before you know it they come every day to salsa, they become fanatics," he said.
Self-confessed salsa fanatic Daniel Rue, 55, said anyone who lives in Barcelona could learn salsa because it is something that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and levels. Old and young find it fun, exciting and a great fusion of rhythms, he said. "Salsa is not definite, every day it is in its evolution, developing new styles. You can mix it with hip hop, rap, with everything. It's a phenomenon around the world and a very sensual dance."