Salsa Show Down in Kuala Lumpur

Still in KL, I went to a dance party on Saturday at The Bodega. They had only mentioned Salsa, no Kizomba or Bachata…I was very intrigued! After all, I AM JustSalsa! The cover charge was 50 Ringgit ($10), but it included 3 drinks, and they could even be beer. A beer can set you pack $5 easily in KL, so it was a decent deal.
The Bodega is not easy to find, as it’s on the 2nd or 3rd floor of a business building. But a guy recognized me (I’m getting recognized already…good!) and accompanied me inside.

The Bodega has a bar at the entrance and a larger room behind the bar. From outside it looks tiny, but it isn’t. The large room was split into a seating area and the dance floor. For the dance floor they had laid out large tiles of what looked like drywall on top of the carpet, similar to what’s often done at Salsa congresses, which often take place at convention centers that also have carpeted floors. Not ideal, but it ended up working quite well.

The DJ was an older gentleman from Cuba…very stylish…he reminded me of Buena Vista Social Club .. look it up if you don’t know what it is! The music was top notch and JUST SALSA! I think the entire night I heard maybe 2 Bachatas and 2 Cha Chas. The place was crowded, but not too much. As I was putting on my dance shoes I started chatting to a long legged Asian beauty and I was more than happy to break the ice with her, so we headed for the dance floor. After just a few songs I was so In the Zone! No Kizomba or Bachata breaks just as you warmed up…and warming up I did: contrary to most places in KL, the AC was not working…and we were sweating!

With all the Salsa, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven…or I was having a dream….and I would soon wake up and they’d play Kizomba!! No, no, please don’t let me wake up!!! But no, it was real! There were lots of ladies…and they were all charming and very good dancers! I didn’t have a single bad dance all night! We even kept dancing when they switched on the lights. The DJ, the elderly-but-stylish gent from Cuba even kept dancing when the music was turned off already. He tried to encourage the crowd to clap the Salsa clave beat for him… it didn’t work…the clave beat for Salsa is a complicated rhythm and very hard to clap without music!
I left more than happy, thinking that this is how I want my Social in Da Nang to be like (ok, I’m going to have to fill in for the Cuban guy)…and create some more Salsa dancers!