All posts in Dance

What happened over the weekend?

by Chris M on March 15, 2009 in Dance, My Life with 6 Comments

It’s been a fantastic weekend! Friday evening I did exactly what I wanted to do – nothing! I ordered my Kauai, as I always do on Fridays and then I spent the evening playing Battle Field 2 and watching series – absolute bliss I tell you.

Saturday morning came quickly and the first thing on my list was to get to the bank and that’s exactly what I did, however, seems like FNB broadcast that they close at 11am, but arriving their at 10h50 to closed doors sort of contradicts that, I really was NOT impressed at all that they closed 10 minutes early, are they even allowed to do that?

After getting denied at the bank, I had to race off and do some Woolies shopping before heading through to dance class. Now, as you know, Fe and I have been doing salsa, rumba, cha cha and swing, but this time it was an introduction to foxtrot and boogie. I must admit, ballroom dancing basics are far easier than latin basics – the foxtrot didn’t take long at all to learn and the boogie is extremely similar to swing, so it was a very easy class, but enjoyable non the less. If you’re interested in taking classes in the Southern Suburbs, John is the man to contact, you can catch him with the following details:

Email – jvhamman@gmail.com
Website – http://johnhamman.blogspot.com/

I cannot tell you how much fun I’m having, it’s really worth it for so many different reasons other than just learning how to dance!

After class, I went through to Johan’s place for a braai. Myself, Fe, Ian, Jo, Dave, Deon, Alice, Jax and Kyle all attended, which was a great group. Johan organised a huge steak and other braai goodies, including a delicious plate of nacho’s! Ended up drinking quite a bit and laughing most of the afternoon – it was a seriously great braai!

After the braai, Fe and my next stop was the launch party of the new venue of Que Pasa – We arrived a little late, but managed to join into the class and then did some dancing afterwards. The new location is nice, there’s a good amount of space and they’ve put huge fan all around the dance floor, which is such a fantastic idea!

It’s Sunday now and I’m feeling rather exhausted, but don’t have too many things on the agenda, so hopefully I’ll be able to chill quite a bit and feel refreshed for the week ahead!

How’s everyone’s weekends been?

Que Pasa Latin Lounge Launch Party

by Chris M on March 12, 2009 in Cape Town, Dance, My Life with No comments

Saturday 14th March presents the reopening of the Que Pasa salsa school. In light of the reopening, they are throwing a launch party, which promises to be great fun.

The way the evening is structured is that there’s a beginners class from 9PM to 10PM, where they will be going over the basics – I would imagine the 3 step movement and an under arm turn, probably. Then from 10PM the actual party starts.

The party takes place at 15 Caledon Street and the entrace is R60pp.

I’m very keen, are you?

Fiesta Cape Quarter Cape Town – taps, cafe and bar

by Chris M on March 4, 2009 in Cape Town, Cuisine and Beverages, Dance, Restaurants with No comments

FIESTA…. what does that word conjure up for you? Feast, fun, family, social – a festival of fine food? Latin American style with a taste for the unusual?

That’s exactly what you can expect from the newly opened Fiesta Tapas – Café – Bar in the trendy Cape Quarter in Cape Town .

Social eating is the theme with delicious little bites of food that make sharing a delight. Select a range from the tantalizing tapas menu and dip into each one with unabashed enjoyment. From the marinated artichokes with roasted garlic and rosemary (comes in a jar) to the pan fried prawns with peppers, garlic, paprika, cumin, lemon and parsley, there are dishes to die for. Grilled mushrooms with gorgonzola cheese or cheeky empanadas (pastries) filled with spicy Chorizo, green olives, red pepper, garlic and Mozzarella make the mouth water and provide a satisfying feast of tastes and textures.

fiesta-tapas-bar

As you dip chunky bread into the juices and sip your cocktail or crisp wine be transported back into a nostalgic Latin-American atmosphere! The core influence is Spanish with a touch of Moroccan, giving an unusual twist on the combinations.

Food consultant, Rimo na Taljaard says she could not resist adding these quirky touches. “The Mediterranean influence dominates to create this range of small, tasty bites but we added the Moroccan influence to create our own unique combinations” she says. They work sublimely – tempting dishes that will have the pickiest eater tucking in.

But that’s not all, for those looking for something a little more substantial, the Bigger Bites portion of the menu offers popular Mediterranean dishes to satisfy the hungriest!

Step into the restaurant and you’ll be struck by the mix of traditional elegance rubbing shoulders with distressed, worn café style tables and chairs. Baroque chairs create a focal point amongst the eclectic mix of furniture and the mood of relaxation is created. The restaurant exudes sociability! Wooden framed paintings depict an eralong past of dancing in the streets, crazy old cars and fiesta – not to be confused with siesta – this is no sleepy venue!

During winter the restaurant is open from 11.30am until 10.30pm Sunday to Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays it is open from 11.30am – the kitchen closes at 11.00pm, however the bar will stay open till late.

Fiesta encapsulates the lively and innovative trend of the Cape Quarter with carefully chosen up beat Latin style music, friendly staff and the service is professional and efficient.

Surrounded by other interesting restaurants and innovative boutiques , Fiesta is the new spot to enjoy those social outings, have a lazy sundowner or take in a nightcap after a long day.

They have a salsa evening every Friday from 10PM – I really wanted to go this week :(

We learnt the basics of the Swing in dance class!

by Chris M on February 26, 2009 in Dance, My Life with No comments

Since my first lesson at the Latins Lovers course, we’ve learnt from salsa to the cha cha to the rumba and last night we were jamming the swing!

Will I ever get this good?

I learnt the basics of the Cha-Cha

by Chris M on February 17, 2009 in Dance, My Life with 6 Comments

I’m totally LOVING dance class. Last night I danced with a different partner, as Fe couldn’t make it, which was actually really useful as it allowed me to understand how others dance. Anyway, we did the basics to Cha Cha and I wanted to share the footsteps with you..

Not too hard hey ;) Oh, and we did a turn and side movement as well. Doing a turn in salsa and rumba is alright, but in cha cha, it gets interesting!

This is the full routine we learnt:

Salsa music is something I’m loving atm!

by Chris M on January 26, 2009 in Dance, Music, My Life with 2 Comments

Since I started dancing, I have really been enjoying my Salsa music. If you’re a last.fm user, then you can click the links below and take a listen.

Joe Arroyo – Rebelion
Oscar D’Leon – Enamoraito
Fania All-Stars – Los Bravos
Eddie Santiago – Lluvia
Luis Enrique – Tu no le amas, le temes

There’s something really enjoyable and soothing about salsa music. I find myself relaxing and zoning out of stressful things, which is so very important! Come to think about it, it has that whole tropical beach bar vibe to it, doesn’t it?

Latin Love – Lesson 1

by Chris M on January 21, 2009 in Dance, My Life with 8 Comments

So this evening, thanks to my special girlfriend, we went through for our introduction class to latin dancing. I can’t tell you how much fun I had, it was incredible, I’m totally hooked!

Anyway, I’m not going to go on about it, but the video below will show you one of the things we learn’t for Salsa. We did not do the turn, we did a sideways step instead, I’d imagine the turn comes next time though!

We also learnt the basics of the Ramba, which was also good fun, we even got taught how to turn :) We did exactly what’s in the video below..

Stay posted, I’ll be doing a post after every lesson!

As I drift off to bed tonight.. quick, quick, slooooow, quick, quick, slooooow, quick, quick, slooooow, quick, quick, slooooow, quick, quick, slooooow, quick, quick, slooooow, quick, quick, slooooow, quick, quick, slooooooooooooooooooooow

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