Swinging Hips and Salsa Grooves
Climb a few stairs in Hall E at Gasteig HP8 on a Salsa Night and looking down over the balustrade you’ll see a sea of bodies moving to the groove of salsa in unison. And the people down there couldn’t be more diverse. Our by now well-established dance events regularly attract 1000 people to the Gasteig HP8. So what’s the appeal of these popular dance parties?
Carlos Lazarte runs one of the dance schools that offer taster courses at the regular salsa evenings held in Hall E. A stalwart of the Munich dance scene for a long time, he is in no doubt about the importance of the Salsa Nights at the Gasteig HP8. “There was a time where we had more Latino pubs, where restaurants moved the tables aside in the evening. People met up there – kids, grandparents, friends – and everyone danced together.” After the Second World War, American GIs from Puerto Rico were stationed in Munich. Later, many came here fleeing the military regimes of Latin America.
As more and more dance schools began to offer courses, many parties specialised in one style, says Carlos: salsa cubano, bachata, LA style or mambo. And the whole scene is now converging again at the Gasteig HP8 for the free parties. “The sporting aspect and the going-out-and-having-fun aspect of the event mix well. Everyone finds their place there to feel good.” That’s why it has become a regular for so many dancers.
Janine Bogosyan, project manager of the salsa and bachata evenings, agrees that there is no such thing as a typical attendee. People from all walks of life mingle here: “The great thing about the event is that everyone dances with everyone else. Barriers and inhibitions dissolve into thin air.”
“Especially on the salsa nights, we are a place where differences dissolve and merge into a shared feeling of happiness.”
Ecco Meineke, a salsa teacher, musician and Salsa Night regular, also appreciates the fact that no-one puts on a show of superiority: “Dancing with novices is part and parcel of the event. After all, we’ve all learnt from good people.” That is also how Patricia Stadick came to salsa. “I needed a little persuasion to join in,” she says. The dedicated student of dance found her love for salsa music along the way. And now she has taken on a special task: Together with Carlos, she will be DJing at the Salsa Ball, which after so many memorable nights is shaping up to be a real highlight. On 29 December, Hall E will be transformed into a glamorous ballroom with two DJs, a dance show and David Lenis’ eleven-piece salsa orchestra.
“Live music makes for a different energy than canned music,” says Patricia. This is also down to tempo, as live bands tend to play faster than the majority songs on recordings. Plus live bands usually stretch songs out longer than recorded versions. That calls for stamina.
For DJs Carlos and Patricia, the challenge will be to complement the orchestra and respond to and maintain the energy it whips up. They’ll know they have succeeded when the whole room reacts as one to the music. A descarga – an instrumental break – following a melodic build-up, for example, adds fire to the dancers’ feet. Whether they listen to the clave or the conga, their steps will already have become natural, set without thinking or counting the bars in their heads. “People feel the energy created in moments like these,” says Carlos. “Sometimes you forget that an entire room is pulsating in unison all around you.” Asked how she feels after a salsa party, project manager Janine says it’s like “a thousand smiling people floating home in happiness.”
For the New Year’s ball, Carlos and Patricia hope for a festive atmosphere with lots of smartly dressed people in a party mood. What they love best are those special in-between moments, like when Patricia, watching the action from outside, revels in the way the dancers communicate to the music. Some things are only apparent to the onlooker.
Salsa at Gasteig HP8
Text: Benedikt Feiten
