Hugh, I look forward to hearing how you fare.

Hi Folks,

Normally I avoid negative posts however, in the interests of helping others:

Its with a certain level of surprise and sadness that I must report that the salsa scene in Genoa is anything but welcoming to outsiders.

I tried a few places, the best venue was definitely El Cafe Latino, massive dance hall, brilliant music ( cant say that strongly enough - the DJ was fantastic, all latin, all brilliant Salsa / Bachata song choices), and the bar staff were friendly enough.

Alas, the clientel, not so great.   I've never been refused a dance with such out and out rudness, not once but almost every time.   I'm not fluent in Italian far from it, but a polite "would you like to dance" and an outstretched hand, I can pretty much do.   When I go salsa dancing I always ensure I'm well dressed, groomed etc, and anyone who knows me knows I'm courtesy itself when dancing so I was surprised, especially considering how open / welcoming most Irish Salsa places are to newbies or strangers.   People there would rather look bored and longingly at the dance floor than dance with an "English".    Lame mach 10.

My advice, based on my experience, avoid the salsa scene in Genoa, or try an orgainsed congress instead.    Or learn fluent Italian   Or go with a big group of people and be prepared for the worst in terms of dance refusals.    I've heard that South Italy is more friendly than the North, so perhaps Salsa there would be different, based on my observations, I doubt it, certainly I am unwilling to invest any more of my time in finding that out.

One more thing to note:  the Cafe Latinos website says it opens at 10pm, it doesnt, its open from 11pm to 4am, its in a VERY safe neigbourhood ( Brignola ), its 12-15 euros in for men, 8 for women and all drinks are 6 euros (atow) so if you are forced to prop up the bar its best to stay on cocktails    

Hope that helps someone,

Tc4n/H.

- Edited by Hugh1a on 12/09/2010 at 12:13

those situations are always tough going.

I'm afraid to report it can be the same in Paris, girls say no all the time, which was surprising coming from irish scene. I've never been refused but I'm very scardey cat about who I ask. I think its an extension of the general sleazy men in this town thing. The amount of guys here who go to salsa events who can't really dance and use the dance as an opportunity to grind their 'third leg' against you is high! Maybe its the same in Italy? Its for this reason girls seem to refuse people they don't know. Needless to say when zouk comes on I head for the hills

Hmmm.... yeah I did consider that, but to be honest after a while I just got annoyed, so when my favorite songs came on, I just went into solo shine mode, so they knew I could dance.   I also didnt discriminate: e.g. I didnt pick the 'stunners', my way of picking who to ask was first based on who looked bored, second on who actually seems to know at least the basics, third who were looking at the dance floor and moving to the music ( which I always assumed to be secret code for I'd like to dance?  ).    

I dunno, maybe it was bad luck, or maybe I inadvertantly came accross like a three legged lizard ( dont know how to judge this but maybe? )  in any case, I guess I can be oversensitive sometimes, maybe the negativity in this post reflects that.   That said, if it were not for cool n' friendly cubans in one place I would have remained danceless in Italy.   There are lots of interesting things to do and see in Italy, so I doubt, even if given a longer term contract there, that I will try the Salsa scene again...

On a lighter note:  I've never had that problem in Paris   Also: checked out some Zouk videos on youtube yesterday, oh dear oh dear oh dear..... not my cup of tea either

Tc4n/H.

- Edited by Hugh1a on 13/09/2010 at 11:47

Its has to be said that no matter what country you are in, cuban clubs are the friendliest!

If Zouk isn't your cup of tea, thank your lucky stars that there's noone coming up to you for the "daggering" set.  Check it out on YouTube - not for the squeamish though ...

I wouldn't say Cuban clubs are the friendliest.... i think clubs that have complete beginners as a majority in it are the friendliest.

Maybe becuase there not expecting sleeze from anyone. I really do believe that if your seen to dance sleezy then yes you should expect to get NO replies. 

But style could be confused for sleezy. A simple example would be a body roll.... If I do a body roll it's sleezy, if WE do a body roll at same time it's totally cool and great to look at. Alot of time is spent by every dancer to remove their blocky dance moves and develope a salsa groove/style.

I think as it goes a high majority of Salsa people do not concider salsa clubs as a club (in which people are hitting on each other).

Hi LL,

Yes thats true for the Salsa scene in  Ireland, and was very true for me in the Salsa scenes in parts of France, Germany, Malta, Spain, Mexico, Poland, Czech etc.    But not in Genoa in my experience.  Note I say Genoa, and not all of Italy, as my first vist to the Office in Galway, the ever lovely Italian instructor Samantha, had introduced herself and had me up dancing before I could get my shoes on!    I value my time too much to keep looking for nice places though.

I also met many friendly people on my trip  anywho, I just didnt meet many particularly friendly people in the Salsa scene there, the vibe I picked up was more "you are not welcome!", and some of the refusals were rude and not worth repeating.    Lets leave it there

There were some beginners in the mix, so it wasnt that.   I just think the culture there is more conservative, more cautious and umm... a little strange for me to understand.   I really dont know,  but this thread is getting too negative, Jak asked me to report on how I fared, and I reported on my experience for better or worse in the hope of helping others, as is my way.

Lets kill this thread and move on to something more fun

- Edited by Hugh1a on 14/09/2010 at 13:17