The Sydney Salsa Scene

which they would have replied, "Salsa". Then, you'd ask, "Where could I learn?" A typical answer would have been; "I grew up with Salsa. It's in my blood and I don't really know how to show you - just feel the rhythm"! Often, this would have led to a premature end to one's dancing ambitions!

In the early 90's, things started to change.A Brazilian musician & composer, Jose Prates,arrived. He had toured the world and decided to settle in Sydney, where he became Sydney's first well-known Salsa teacher. More importantly, however, was that for the first time, he started to teach large numbers of non-Latinos. This marked the beginning of the Sydney Salsa scene.

In 1997, Club Salsa was formed by the partnership of Ben Tang and Antonio Cortese, a Doctor and an Aeronautical Engineer respectively. Armed
with a passion for Salsa dancing and crazy determination, they embarked on a journey to teach Salsa to mainstream Sydney. Classes grew rapidly, and by 2000, their team of Instructors, DJs & support staff numbered over 20. Today, Club Salsa is Australia's biggest Salsa promoter.

In 1999, Casino Rueda was introduced to Sydney by a visiting Salsa dancer from Switzerland. A group of dancers enthusiastically embraced it and formed the first Rueda group in Sydney. Later the group divided into two groups, each forming their own Rueda school.

Now every week hundreds of Sydney Salsa lovers gather at various clubs and venues around the city, passionately embracing this magical rhythm of Salsa, which is as exhilarating as it is addictive. This network of Salsa enthusiasts, teachers and students brings together individuals with a common interest and shared passion, interwoven with stories of newfound friendships, dance floor romances and the frequent excitement of new moves, new classes and new venues. Yes, the Sydney Salsa scene is small, but it is exciting and is growing every year.

Where will Sydney be in another ten years? One can look at other international cities to gauge where Sydney may be heading. Salsa capitals in
Europe, like London, Barcelona, Rome and Paris enjoy at least twenty or so Salsa venues each.Other budding new Salsa capitals such as Tokyo,
Seoul and Tel Aviv are now also enjoying growing local dance scenes. Twenty years ago, all these cities were more or less like Sydney is today;
small but vibrant local scenes, growing steadily and gaining popularity over time. Maybe, given another 10 years, we'll be able to catch up with
these other cities.

Against the backdrop of continuous development in the international Salsa scene, Sydney will soon find itself connected with the rest of the world. It will only be a matter of time before more dancers return to Sydney from overseas, with more new moves to learn and teach. The steady growth in size of our existing market will continue and we can look forward to many years of happy dancing and partying!

Y que viva la Salsa!